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1933 R319 Goudey Uncut Sheet with #1 Benny Bengough and Seven Hall of Famers
Sold For:
$48,000
Year: 1933
Auction: 2016 Spring
Lot #: 9
Auction: Prewar Baseball - 1930s and 1940s Cards
Extremely rare and stunning 24-card production sheet of 1933 R319 Goudey "Big League" Chewing Gum cards (#1-5, 25-35, and 45-52), highlighted by the key condition rarity of the 1930s: #1 Benny Bengough. Any uncut 1933 Goudey sheet would be a highlight in even the most advanced collection, but a sheet with card #1 Benny Bengough (to the best of our knowledge only two examples are known) has an even greater universal appeal. It is not just a key Goudey sheet because it includes the earliest card numbers and therefore represents the launch of the entire 1933 Goudey set, it is also simply rarer than any other 1933 Goudey sheet. "The Bengough sheet" would be recognized as museum-caliber by any sheet or card collector. Fewer than one-hundred Goudey sheets from all baseball series are known to exist. Of the two known Bengough sheets, this is by far the finest in terms of condition. In addition to card #1 Bengough, the sheet includes seven Hall of Famers: #2 Dazzy Vance, 25 Paul Waner, 29 Jimmy Foxx, 31 Tony Lazzeri, 35 Al Simmons, 47 Heinie Manush, and 49 Frank Frisch. This auction represents only the second time this sheet has ever come up for sale publicly. It appeared as lot #532 in REA's 2010 auction, realizing $32,313, and has been consigned directly by the buyer at that sale. Prior to that, it was purchased by the consignor in the 1980s from legendary collector/dealer/auctioneer Lew Lipset (author of The Encyclopedia of Baseball Cards). Another comparable example has never surfaced!
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 sheet is spectacularly bright and clean, with bold and vibrant colors, and a stunning overall Nr/Mt-Mt appearance. There is an extremely light hairline crease on the Frisch card, but due to its size this minor flaw has no impact on the sheet's essentially perfect appearance and extraordinary display value. A sharp and very insignificant miscut exists along the top and right edges of the sheet, but again has no bearing on the impressive display value and is mentioned strictly for the sake of accuracy. The impressive reverse of the sheet is fully and boldly printed, with several very light surface creases down the middle. In the original auction description from 2010, we noted that there were four strips of masking tape all the way around the extreme edges to hold the sheet on a matting (removable if desired) from being framed for display. Our consignor opted to have the tape cut down to the borders and then had the remaining traces of tape covered through professionally framing and double-side matting (so both the front and back can be viewed) in a bird's-eye-wood frame with a Mylar insert to total dimensions of 17.25 x 20.25 inches. Reserve $10,000. Estimate (open).
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 sheet is spectacularly bright and clean, with bold and vibrant colors, and a stunning overall Nr/Mt-Mt appearance. There is an extremely light hairline crease on the Frisch card, but due to its size this minor flaw has no impact on the sheet's essentially perfect appearance and extraordinary display value. A sharp and very insignificant miscut exists along the top and right edges of the sheet, but again has no bearing on the impressive display value and is mentioned strictly for the sake of accuracy. The impressive reverse of the sheet is fully and boldly printed, with several very light surface creases down the middle. In the original auction description from 2010, we noted that there were four strips of masking tape all the way around the extreme edges to hold the sheet on a matting (removable if desired) from being framed for display. Our consignor opted to have the tape cut down to the borders and then had the remaining traces of tape covered through professionally framing and double-side matting (so both the front and back can be viewed) in a bird's-eye-wood frame with a Mylar insert to total dimensions of 17.25 x 20.25 inches. Reserve $10,000. Estimate (open).