Let's See Your Legendary Winnings - Photos/Memorabilia/Autographs
 

Am very happy to add this pair of terrific 1939 Lou Gehrig Original Photographs to my collection...

Attachment 58738Attachment 58739

Attachment 58740Attachment 58741

Jimmy, those are great!

I lost out on all my Gehrig bids, but picked up these two Ruths, and the Johnson with Ruth. Got some Conlon lots as well and a Johnson letter. A very good two nights.

The Burke is to replace the one you got off of me in a weak moment!!!

http://www.legendaryauctions.com/Lot...28390a_lg.jpeg

http://www.legendaryauctions.com/Lot...28386a_lg.jpeg

http://www.legendaryauctions.com/Lot...25629a_lg.jpeg

Beautiful photos!

nice pick ups!

if the winner of lot #1598 (1900s-1960s Regular and Post-Season Tickets Grab-Bag Collection (28)) could contact me, there is one stub in that group that i am interested in. please send PM, thanks!

I was happy to pick up this 1913 Army Navy program. "Brush stadium" was the temporary name for the Polo Grounds.

I'll tell ya Scotty... you've got a terrific eye! You really picked out some gems there. George Burke was the absolute master of "soft" portraits, as your Mr & Mrs Ruth image provides overwhelming evidence to such. What a Great photograph that is! Congrats on all your pick-ups.

And regarding "Our" Burke/Ruth... it bonds us for life! ;)

That is a VERY interesting Burke, Scott. It almost seems like it's a studio shot because of of George's soft focus and whatever stuff he was doing to the background elements on the sides of the image. I don't know if I've ever seen anything quite like it.

And Jimmy, it's too bad you picked up two really crappy photos. :p

Graig

famous
 

Sort of famously popular cards......and corresponding photo....

http://luckeycards.com/1921cobb.jpeg

AWESOME pick-up, Leon. Please tell me you won't touch that display...

Graig

Hey Graig
Thanks for the kind words. As most board members know I am collecting this type of photo (used for cards) so it was right up my alley, though it went a bit higher than I expected. Of course I won't touch the display. Not sure where it will go in my office but it will go somewhere....just the way it is. I don't think I could improve on it.

thats a great piece leon! I was gonna bid on that and forgot. what did that end up going for?

Thanks guys.

Leon, that's a beauty. I picked up the two I wanted as well ('56 Tittle, '52 Landry) and also paid more than expected. They'll look nice with '55 Davy O'Brien.

It was about $2040 total......but with the 3 cards, even if they are AUT, it wasn't too bad. I would have eventually wanted the cards to go with it, as I do with the other 35-40 photos I have (ugh)....so this just did it for me :).

glad you got it. post a pic when you get it on your wall :)

Thrilled to bring this beautiful and rare piece back to the family. (Tried to get a bigger picture, but nothing seemed to work. My computer wouldn't let me download a blowup image from Legendary, just the small one. And copy and paste into this post also impossible. Anybody help?)

http://luckeycards.com/johnson.jpeg

It will be in my office somewhere but I have only 1 picture on the wall....All of my walls in my office are heavy, ornate paneling so I don't like putting nails in them. My one photo I did hang though is the 1903 Horner American League Team composite. It warranted a nail in the wall. ;)

I'm fully expecting a picture of that as well and if you could get lefty gomez to show up for the photo shoot that would be good too :)

Hank, Glad to see you picked that up - what a beauty! I'm guessing the Johnson/Ruth photo I won came from the same scrapbook - I'll send you a higher-res scan when it arrives.

Here's a Ruth photo I did NOT win - it was not labeled as such, but it's a Paul Thompson. Another from the same shoot has a modern '1927' date on it, but I think the '1920' on the back of this one is accurate. Probably a steal at the price it went for!!!

http://www.legendaryauctions.com/Lot...27618a_lg.jpeg

Early Gehrig
 

I'm happy to add this Gehrig!!

Very nice pick-up, Paul. That was one of my favorite pieces in the entire auction.

Thanks Phil. I can only imagine what Graig could do with this photo. He is the sultan of swat when it comes to painting. He just finished a Gehrig/Dimaggio painting for me that was mindblowing. He is " the man "

Hank - Being one of the underbidders, I am thrilled to learn that you got this!!
Best,
Val

I am glad you were able to get it too Hank....and I helped a brother out with a larger scan in your post......best regards

Thanks, Val, can't imagine what compelled me to sell it in the first place, must have really needed money at the time. Not a good enough reason for this piece. So happy to have it back. Hope to see you in Chantilly in a couple of weeks. Hey, you're a computer guy, aren't you? how can I get a bigger picture of this from the Legendary site?

Thanks, my brother!

..

Hank,
That really is a beautiful piece now that Leon enlarged it for us. Congrats on getting it back where it truly belongs!
Best,
Scott

Congrats to whomever won the Schmelzer's Cobb pin. A magnificent item that I don't believe has ever been offered at auction before.

Actually there was a big find of these pins a few years back and REA had 3 Cobbs in the lot.

http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/.../2006/932.html

I agree Paul that the Schmelzer Cobb was a nice win for someone, but IMO the winner of the 1910 Chance made the pinback purchase of the decade. That piece is a once in a lifetime opportunity to add a pin featuring multiple championships for a historic team that has few if any pins featuring those particular years.

http://www.legendaryauctions.com/Lot...o-Cub-Pennants

Did you win any pins this time around Paul?

Mike,

I had never seen the Chance pin before. Someone got an iconic pin from the early years that is a hallmark.

My best win was the 1910 A's pin. I was the underbidder on it about 15 years ago and have been looking for it ever since. Never did see another.

Congratulations on the Athletics pin Paul. That could be the centerpiece of any collection:) The Chance pin was featured in Baseball Smithsonian as was your Mack pin and a couple others. In fact, upon close comparison they clearly came from Rob's collection.

pin
 

Mike, Paul,
Hard to scan this book but here they are. And yes they are the same pins from Robs collection. You will probably never see another one of these pins!
Paul nice pickups! Looks to me that the flag was put on underneath the the pin rim and not just being held down by the spring pin!
Mike ,
Yes the Chance pin is just amazing a very nice item indeed!!!

pins
 

Mike,
Very nice postings about the pins that went in the Dreier collection. I posted up some of the pictures that were in the book Smithsonian Baseball Inside the worlds finest private collections. Im hoping that in the next Legendary auctions some of the pins that are seen in the photos and werenot in this auction start to become avialible to the collecting public again. As we all know it can take years for items to surface again . In pin collecting many pin lots were made so small lets say 50 at a time that for many to survive we may now only see a hand full of pins that are left. And in some cases it may be the LAST one that is left ,like the Chance 1910 world series pin. Also the Connie Mack W/S pin that Paul picked up may be one of just a hand full left.I have always been surprised that some of these pins are much rarer than some of the card counterparts I.E. t206 wagner 70-80-90 known examples?
Wagner our protection against loss pin 4 maybe 5 known to exist! I do believe one day that many of the rare pins will have their" day in the sun" as to a price increase just due to to rarity. I have seen a large pick-up in the last few years in pin collecting but it does seem to be alot more in type collectors I.E. collecting just Tigers pins, Cubs Pins, or world series pins. Good to see an intrest in these little circles of tin!!!!!

Book
 

Is there a price guide for these pins?

Pins
 

Bob,
There are a few price guides on pins . Many are very incomplete as some only deal with pins that have a catalog designation that is already established. I,E. Cameo pepsin PE1 PM10 stadium pins and so on. A good guide is Pauls Book Baseball Pinback Buttons By Dr Paul Muchinsky who as a matter of fact goes by springpin . You will see his posts in this thread. You might want to contact him and see if the book is still avialible. I believe its around $100 but you can ask him. Ted Hake and Roger Steckler put out a book long ago that has alot of great info in it but is a little hard to find and prices are from 25+ years ago, but a great reference. Goes by NON- Paper sports collectibles. Im posting a picture of Pauls book (paul I hope you dont mind) A great picture guide of pins.

Bob ,
Just to let you know the pins that we have been talking about were just in the Legendary auction that just finished the Schmelzers Cobb sold for 6000 The Chance 1910 world series pin sold for 4500 and the Connie Mack world series pin sold for 2200 that is before the 19.5% comission!!

Bob,

Regarding pricing...this is one of my favorite elements of pinback collecting. With cards there is a great deal of standardization and accumulation of pricing data, SMR, etc. With pins, it's more of a feel and what you see in the market.

I love the fact that while condition is obviously relevent, it doesn't drive the value of a pin up, but will push it down. Pinheads (for the most part), don't care about a little rust, minor scuffs or scratches, and perhaps a touch of foxing. This is one of the reasons that professional grading hasn't caught on with pins. I don't know a single collector who submits pins, or purchases graded pins without busting them out. Grade simply doesn't matter as much as scarcity and the "look" of the pin.

Paul's guide is INVALUABLE, but it really is a guide rather than a value meter. Some prices are right on with current markets, others are less so. When you get into it, you will quickly discover what is rare and what is not. I have spent countless hours flipping through Paul's book and highly recommend it. I would love to see volume II some day Paul;)

Mike,

I have been asked about a "Volume 2" of the baseball book in the past by other collectors. I am leaning toward doing it for several reasons, among them are the omission of pins in sets (because they have been previously described verbally if not pictorially) and additional pins have surfaced since the book was published. The major reason for my doing so is to create a record as to what is out there to collect. We will never codify pins as cards have been codified, but it is fun to try to bring some informational structure to what is a rather chaotic area of baseball memorabilia.

A reason for not doing another volume is the day the manuscript goes to press, it is too late to include any "last minute" arrivals that could be presented. As such, the need for a "Volume 3" begins immediately, and so on. If I were to do another volume it would be in some electronic fashion (about which I know very little). If it couldn't be continuously updated, at the least it would be easier to produce subsequent volumes compared to hard books. However, I am old-school, and like the feel and heft of a real book. I would rather flip pages than scroll on a computer screen. But that is the direction the publishing world is moving toward, and I guess I would rather do an electronic book than no book.

Long story short, I don't know what I will do. I plan on retiring soon, and it is a project that I look forward to contemplating, if not doing. If I make the decision to do it, I will tell the Net54 folks first. By the way, because the book ("Volume 1") is getting on in years, I am now selling it for half price
($42.50) by contacting me directly.

Mike, your description of the relative irrelevance of condition to value with pins (especially compared to cards) is absolutely spot on. In a previous post Al described how scarce some pins are, with some being (apparently) unique. It is difficult to give much weight to condition when there is a single surviving specimen.

And thank you for your kind words about the value of my book to collectors.

Paul

pin
 

Mike,
Couldnt have said it better myself!!:D:D But as you know Im more of a condition nut! But thats just me!;);)

Paul,

You have done a great deal for our hobby...cheers to you.

Regarding volume II. My preference would be hard copy with perhaps an electronic database for potential additions if you like. I'm old school like you Paul, but aren't most collectors of old "stuff"? I love having a book to hold and take with me and enjoy. I understand there will always be potential new discoveries, but there aren't as many as there once were. Beside, you said it yourself when you pointed out the beuty of pinback collecting when mentioning the codification of cards. I say THANK GOODNESS any book on pins will be incomplete. It would be a sad day (for me) when a complete Standard Catalog could be produced. Embrace the incompleteness Paul and sleep well knowing you have something to do when you retire.

I would also recommend taking advantage of your fellow collectors. THIS, would be the greatest opportunity for growth. I believe collectors would welcome the opportunity to contribute images, insights, and even tech help. Home scanners produce amazing images today, and the need for photography would be minimal. Scanned images are extremely easy to manipulate and use.

YOU CAN DO IT PAUL!!! :D

Can we stop talking about the damned Pinbacks? I was the under-bidder on the Connie Mack, and really wanted that thing. Good thing for Paul that I stopped at $2,100, as I had my eye on a couple of things closing on Day 2. Otherwise, I would have driven him lots higher!

Seriously- many congrats to Paul and Al on the landmark Pin acquisitions. These pins truly belonged with the hardcore "pin guys" and not just a general collector like me. I'm glad they found their proper homes, and I'll just have to make a harder run in Legendary (part 2).

Regardless, this was a great auction and we can only hope that the memorabilia in REA is equal to it!

pin
 

Mark,
Never Assume that I won anything in the legendary auction!;)
Remember the old Odd Couple episode when Felix said "never ASSUME it will make an ASS out of U and Me!:D:D

GREAT early Gehrig portrait! Congrats!

Al:

Not only do I remember that Odd Couple episode... I watched it live, the night it first aired. Felix was at the chalkboard when he said it... a classic! Of course it's since been re-run hundreds of times.

That said... there's a difference between making an ass of one's self and Falling off the Turnip Truck. I'm pretty confident that you didn't let that auction slide by without jumping on something! Too much good stuff in there ;)

Attachment 58979

I completely concur with both Phil and Ben, Paul. Congrats on such a tremendous pick-up. Wish it were mine! :D

Best, Jimmy

legendary
 

Mark,
+1:D;)

http://www.legendaryauctions.com/Lot...27275a_lg.jpeg
No pictures but this.

Great photo. The auction says it looks like a Conlon, but it also has similar characteristics to some Paul Thompson Ruth photos:

http://www.legendaryauctions.com/Lot...47527a_lg.jpeg

http://www.legendaryauctions.com/Lot...63948a_lg.jpeg

nice pick ups!

if the winner of lot #1598 (1900s-1960s Regular and Post-Season Tickets Grab-Bag Collection (28)) could contact me, there is one stub in that group that i am interested in. please send PM, thanks!

Probably overpaid, but in the long run this is one of the best shots of Ruth in Boston ever.