1919 WS Program
 

I have a friend, who used to be a dealer but solely on the uniforms, bats etc. side of things and got out a few years ago. I was over at his house the other day and he brought out a 1919 WS program. It was, I would judge, in excellent condition, unmarked and full of great 'fotos of the Reds and Sox, intriguing advertisers, line ups and the like. But here is the hook: on the front cover in pencil is written the name Joe; not Joe Blow or Joe Biden just Joe. And, yes, it does bear somewhat of a resemblance to copies of you-know-who's signature, at least the first name, that I have seen. There is no provenance and my friend doesn't even remember where he got it. He seems quite happy to let it go and asked me what I thought it was worth. Quite wisely, I said I didn't have a clue but would inquire via this learned forum if those folks who collect and/or specialize in WS programs/ Black Sox memorabilia if anybody might have a clue as to its' value. Can anybody help?

A friend of mine bought one at auction about ten years ago. I think it was in very good condition at best. Back then. he paid about $3,300 with the juice.

One sold at REA
 

Take a look at this from 2009 REA auction. There was another item along with the program but the program and team post card went for $23.5K

http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/...36.html#photos

Looks like it also depends which ball park it was sold in, was it a home game for the sox or the reds?

That is mucho helpful. Tks. I believe my friends copy is from Cincinatti, but I will check with him. And it is much cleaner, no center crease, not scored (except for the mysterious Joe on the front cover).

Indeed the one my friend bought is the
Cincinnati version whic I assume is less desirable.

That is correct. Whilst it is rare (as are all pre-1920 World Series programs), significantly more original copies are around than of the White Sox version.

In part, this is likely to be due to the quality of the Cincinnati publication which was very high and, no doubt, led to more of the copies being retained. In fact, from recollection, it was headlined as a 1869 - 1919 Golden Jubilee souvenir. This compared to the White Sox version which, again from recollection, was more akin to a conventional scorecard.

It's worth a generous donation ........... to me =)

Do you know if it was more ornate, being the Golden Jubilee souvenir? Some of the early scorecards have fantastic lithography.

Do you have any pics?

I sold my personal copy approx 6 to 7 years ago so am going on memory but, less ornate in the style of some of the turn of the century scorecards. Rather, a very substantial publication in terms of page size and number of pages. In addition, it contained many photos. A very modern look and feel.

Many of the World Series programs of the 1910s were high quality publications with exceptional visual appeal - those of the NY Giants in 1911, 1912, 1913 and 1917 were, in my opinion, especially so.

The 1919 Cincinnati Reds World Series program was reprinted by Robert Opie as the first volume in a series of reprints of World Series programs. I believe only 1,000 were made but they're not super scarce and can be found on Ebay. (As of now there's one copy on the auction site, the seller is asking $27.95 as a "Buy It Now.")

Another option is to get a copy of the book Souvenir Programs of Five Great World Series, 1914, 1917, 1919, 1926, 1934, published in 1980 by Dover Books. As implied by the title, the 1919 Reds program is one of the programs included in the book (curiously, sourced from an Opie reprint rather than an original). What makes this book a must-have is that the 1926 program included in the book is the Yankees' version, which was not reprinted by Opie. It's available on Amazon for less than $10.00 and, in my opinion, is well worth it.

Bumping this thread after two-and-a-half years to ask if anyone knows if the 1919 White Sox World Series program has been reprinted, or if there are any sites that have good quality scans of the entire program. Thanks!