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1916 Boston Red Sox "Stag Brand Sweaters" Team Cabinet/Advertising Display Photo with Babe Ruth - One of the Finest in Existence!
Sold For:
$22,800
Year: 1916
Auction: 2017 Fall
Lot #: 6
Auction: Post-1900 Baseball Memorabilia
This extraordinary cabinet card-style advertising display photograph, with original decorative mount, captures the 1916 World Champion Boston Red Sox in a classic team pose. While this is an extremely rare piece, and one of only several known examples, it is further distinguished by its incredible state of preservation. This is without question the finest example we have ever seen, let along handled, and we would be shocked if a superior one ever surfaces. What sets this item apart is that it is remarkable both as an original photograph and as an advertising display issued to promote Stag Brand Sweaters. Technically this is both a large advertising card and a photographic cabinet card, as well as being an advertising item intended for display. It is also an extraordinary early Red Sox and Babe Ruth item. Included in the mounted photograph are Hall of Famers Babe Ruth (seated in the center of the first row), Harry Hooper, and Herb Pennock. “Red Sox” is printed along the top border of the mount. The lower border is lettered “World Series – 1916,” below which is a listing of the players pictured. Advertising for “Stag Brand Sweaters” appears in the upper right and left corners of the mount. It is fascinating to note that this identical image is featured in a Stag Sweater advertisement on the back cover of the Red Sox’s 1916 World Series program. 1916 marked Babe Ruth’s second full season in the Major Leagues. He made his first career World Series start that fall and it was certainly a memorable one. Ruth set a record for most innings pitched in a single World Series game when he went the distance in a 2-1 fourteen-inning victory over the Brooklyn Robins in Game 2. The photograph, which has exceptional clarity, displays three tiny areas of abrasion, the largest of which appears to the right of the trainer along the right border. A thin, rectangular, area of very light discoloration runs vertically down the left side of the photo and mount, but it is extremely unobtrusive and is only readily apparent near the base of the mount. Interestingly, there are a number of light pencil notations along the reverse of the mount that appear to be a publisher's editorial directions for print. Aside from those extremely minor flaws, the piece displays at a Near Mint level and is exceptional in all regards. Photograph dimensions: 7 x 5 inches. Mount dimensions: 11 x 9 inches. Reserve $5,000. Estimate $10,000+.