by Andrew Aronstein, Operations Manager Late last year, a very special collection of photographic images unexpectedly entered our offices. While magic lantern slides have remained somewhat of an oddity, often underappreciated in the sports collecting world, the grouping of 57 unique slides we inspected that day was highly impressive. Before us sat an array of […]
The Frank W. Smith Glass Lantern Slide Collection Read More »
by Al Crisafulli Back in late 2014, we received a consignment of several die-cut cards that were known at the time as “Scapps Tobacco” cards. Printed on a tab connecting some of the cards in red ink was “H.D.S. & Co.,” a clue which sent us on a lengthy mission. We knew the story of
The hobby needs a standard catalog! Read More »
1921 Herpolsheimer’s Origins Explained, Once and For All We have written extensively about the 1921 Herpolsheimer’s set for years, but they have been front and center in our Fall, 2023 auction due to the “Band-Aid Box Find,” a group of 39 newly-discovered 1921 Herpolsheimer’s cards, including Babe Ruth. Up until this discovery, just one example
An extraordinary piece of hobby research Read More »
The 1921 E121-style cards are found with a variety of different back advertisements, some more difficult to obtain than others. Among the most difficult, however, are the cards advertising the Herpolsheimer’s Boys Fashion Shop. The reason for this is that until recently, just 69 or 70 cards from the issue were known to exist, with
The Band-Aid Box Find of 1921 Herpolsheimer’s Read More »
Sandy Koufax was arguably the greatest left handed pitcher of all time, and is indisputably the greatest Jewish baseball player of all time. Barney Pelty’s claim to fame? He was arguably the greatest right-handed Jewish pitcher of all time. Known as the “Yiddish Curver,” he pitched from 1903 to 1912 in the deadball era, racking
A First Look at Memorabilia from Barney Pelty: The Yiddish Curver Read More »
In our business of specializing in rare and vintage baseball collectibles, one of the most exciting prewar card issues are Kalamazoo Bat Cards. Issued between 1886 and 1887 and known as “K-Bats,” they are CdV-sized photographic cards mounted on heavy cardboard. Some have advertising on the back, while others are blank, but they’re all very
Nine Examples of Rare Kalamazoo Bats Baseball Cards from 1887 Read More »
When it comes to vintage sports memorabilia collecting, it’s not just about rarity or condition; it’s about the nostalgia of being a fan. It’s all in our name: the Love of the Game. To tap into that love, we used Card Ladder to find out what the highest-selling cards are for all 30 MLB franchises
Every MLB Team’s Highest-Selling Baseball Card of All Time Read More »
Our Summer 2022 Auction lot 1393 is an outstanding example of the 1941 “Who’s Who in the Major Leagues” signed by more than 460 subjects. Unfortunately, character limitations both on our website and in our printed catalog prohibits us from publishing the entire list of signatures there. As promised, here’s the list in its entirety!
The complete text of lot 1393 Read More »
