Legendary August Live 2010
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on:
8/5/2010
This spectacular signed photograph captures Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, John McGraw, George Sisler, Nick Altrock and Christy Walsh posing together in front of the dugout prior to a 1924 World Series game at the Polo Grounds. Each individual pictured has signed the crystal clear photo in black ink directly below his image, with Ruth’s signature featuring his early trademark quotation marks around "Babe" (a practice he would shortly abandon). The signatures show generally “9-10” quality, with McGraw (“7-8”) and Walsh (“7”) a bit lesser. This premium-sized, approximately 14-1/4" x 9-1/2" photograph was created as a promotional piece for the Christy Walsh Writing Syndicate, and it features the syndicate’s credit stamp on the reverse. Christy Walsh was the first "super agent." He was especially well known for managing Babe Ruth's business affairs, and in fact represented each of the gentlemen pictured in this photograph. He also operated a newspaper writing syndicate that featured the bylines of many of the game’s top stars, as well as other famous celebrities of the day such as ace pilot Eddie Rickenbacker. (The actual columns, however, were almost always ghost-written for the celebrities by professional writers: it has long been rumored that future National League president and Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick was the true author behind Ruth’s exclusive commentaries. Regardless of who actually wrote the columns, it was the names at the top of each byline that attracted readers, and Walsh’s syndicate cornered the market in newspaper column star appeal during the 1920s and 1930s.) All of the ballplayers featured in this photo were members of Walsh’s all-star lineup of reporters at the time, and their expert analysis of the World Series was featured in nearly every major newspaper in the country. The offered photo has been slightly trimmed along the bottom border, not in the least affecting the photo image, and only obscuring a couple of the lines of printed Walsh Syndicate promotional text. The photograph exhibits some ever-so-slight rippling (which is extremely insignificant in degree and mentioned strictly for the sake of accuracy). Apparent Excellent to Mint condition, with outstanding contrast. The clarity of this large display photo is so dramatic that the observer can readily see the 1924 World Series press pins attached to the lapels of Ruth, Cobb, and Christy Walsh. The photo has been matted (by means of two pieces of small tape -- removable if desired -- along the top) and framed to 20” x 15” dimensions. Walsh annually posed his World Series reporting staffs for similar photos at baseball’s spotlight event throughout the 1920s. Signed examples of the extraordinary images are quite rare, and they stand among the most desirable of all signed baseball photographs: a signed 1926 World Series Walsh Syndicate photo, featuring Ruth, McGraw, Huggins, Altrock, Hornsby, Walsh and Fred Lieb, sold for $39,100 in the 1999 Barry Halper Auction. Here’s one of the most extraordinary and spectacular vintage signed display photographs in the collecting world, featuring five of the game’s legendary figures. LOA from PSA DNA.
Outstanding and Rare 1924 World Series Signed Photo (7 Signatures) Including Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Walter Johnson
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