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1933 R319 Goudey Uncut Sheet with Five Hall of Famers Including #181 Babe Ruth
Sold For:
$33,000
Year: 1933
Auction: 2015 Fall
Lot #: 5
Auction: Prewar Baseball - 1930s and 1940s Cards
Complete and extremely rare 24-card production sheet of 1933 R319 Goudey "Big League" Chewing Gum cards (featuring the twenty-four cards numbered from #166 to #189), highlighted by one of the four key Babe Ruth cards in the set (#181). Any uncut 1933 Goudey sheet would be a highlight in even the most advanced collection, but a sheet with Babe Ruth (and there are very few) has an even greater universal appeal, and can be easily appreciated as a museum-caliber card-related display piece by any card collector. Fewer than one-hundred Goudey sheets from all baseball series are known to exist and only a small number of these include Babe Ruth. This sheet also includes an additional four Hall of Famers: #168 Goose Goslin, 187 Heinie Manush, 188 Rogers Hornsby, and 189 Joe Cronin.
The 1933 Goudey set is the first of all modern gum-card issues and the most important of all Goudey issues. Uncut sheets of Goudey cards are extremely rare and among the most popular and sought-after of all baseball-card sheets. Few types of uncut sheets are held in higher esteem, are more meaningful to more collectors, or more ideal for display. Goudey sheets have always been considered the blue-chip staple of vintage uncut sheets, the standard against which the desirability and rarity of all other vintage uncut sheets are compared. The offered sheet originates directly from the files of Goudey. The sheet is spectacularly bright and clean, with just the slightest fade to the still bold and vibrant colors, and a stunning overall Excellent to Mint appearance. The impressive reverse of the sheet is fully and boldly printed, with only the slightest hint of excess red print in the center of the reverse from the original printing process. This sheet originally appeared as lot #474 in REA's 2009 auction, where it realized $29,375. It has been consigned to this auction by the buyer at that sale, who in the interim commissioned minor restorative work, at great time, effort, and expense, to return the sheet to its original glory. The minor restoration includes filling in the tiny, almost imperceptible staple holes in all four corners (related to storage as an official file-copy sheet by Goudey) and minimizing the light creasing in both the top and bottom left corners. In REA's 2009 description, it was noted that a small "#7" and a check mark written in pencil appeared in the top right corner (this is a notation by the printer or Goudey official noting approval) along with five very small pieces of white tape from once being framed. As part of the restoration, the pencil has been erased, and the tape has been professionally removed, leaving traces of the restoration visible under close inspection. This is a stunning sheet with an extremely impressive and extraordinary display value! Reserve $10,000. Estimate $20,000+.
The 1933 Goudey set is the first of all modern gum-card issues and the most important of all Goudey issues. Uncut sheets of Goudey cards are extremely rare and among the most popular and sought-after of all baseball-card sheets. Few types of uncut sheets are held in higher esteem, are more meaningful to more collectors, or more ideal for display. Goudey sheets have always been considered the blue-chip staple of vintage uncut sheets, the standard against which the desirability and rarity of all other vintage uncut sheets are compared. The offered sheet originates directly from the files of Goudey. The sheet is spectacularly bright and clean, with just the slightest fade to the still bold and vibrant colors, and a stunning overall Excellent to Mint appearance. The impressive reverse of the sheet is fully and boldly printed, with only the slightest hint of excess red print in the center of the reverse from the original printing process. This sheet originally appeared as lot #474 in REA's 2009 auction, where it realized $29,375. It has been consigned to this auction by the buyer at that sale, who in the interim commissioned minor restorative work, at great time, effort, and expense, to return the sheet to its original glory. The minor restoration includes filling in the tiny, almost imperceptible staple holes in all four corners (related to storage as an official file-copy sheet by Goudey) and minimizing the light creasing in both the top and bottom left corners. In REA's 2009 description, it was noted that a small "#7" and a check mark written in pencil appeared in the top right corner (this is a notation by the printer or Goudey official noting approval) along with five very small pieces of white tape from once being framed. As part of the restoration, the pencil has been erased, and the tape has been professionally removed, leaving traces of the restoration visible under close inspection. This is a stunning sheet with an extremely impressive and extraordinary display value! Reserve $10,000. Estimate $20,000+.