George J Mullin's Personal Scrapbooks

[cfhofer]

I recently acquired the personal scrapbooks (2 books) of George J Mullin, star pitcher for the Detroit Tigers from 1902-13. Looks like his wife put these scrapbooks together, since it chronicles his baseball career and death. The vast majority of the scrapbooks are period newspaper clippings (baseball), however there are a few pieces of ephemera.

I'm not really a baseball collector (prefer 19th century Ivy League football memorabilia) so this type of stuff is not within my wheelhouse. Thought I would post here for thoughts/suggestions on what to do with them (donate to library, baseball hall of fame, etc).

Thanks for your help.

[byrone]

Great history there, wonderful item.

More evidence too of Ty Cobb's positive persona with his personal telegram to the mourning family

[btcarfagno]

Certainly some neat items with a bit of value. If you donate to the HOF it will likely never see the light of day again. Perhaps you should look to send to an auction house? This way it can go to someone who truly appreciates it and is a fan of Mr Mullin or the Tigers of that era.

It likely will not garner a ton of money...the newspaper clippings have little value but the other pieces of ephemera you have shown do all have some value.

Whatever you decide to do, they are truly wonderful pieces.

Tom C

[Hot Springs Bathers]

The Baseball Hall of Fame would be the perfect place for the donation. If you send them to an auction house they will cut apart and sold an individual pieces and a wonderful piece of baseball history would be lost forever.

All items in HOF Library are available for viewing by request. It is a terrific piece of history.

[btcarfagno]

Originally Posted by Hot Springs Bathers

The Baseball Hall of Fame would be the perfect place for the donation. If you send them to an auction house they will cut apart and sold an individual pieces and a wonderful piece of baseball history would be lost forever.

All items in HOF Library are available for viewing by request. It is a terrific piece of history.

I don't really see anything in what was posted that would be worth breaking up the books for. $50 here...$75 there...I don't think that an auction house would do that for such little money. I think that the value is more so in the totality of the pieces and where they came from. Unless there is some other item in there that has great value...in which case I would amend my remarks. From what I see, however, I do not think that the fear of cutting the items up is warranted.

Tom C

[cfhofer]

Yea, besides 1 or 2 more letters (Robert Mattingly and a kid named 'Willie Lawton') the rest are newspaper clippings of Mullin.

I got to imagine the real value in these scrapbooks is in the provenance of actually belonging to Mullin.

A couple people asked me about Mullin autographs. I didn't see an autograph of Mullin, however there is a short note written by one of the newspaper clippings. Did he write this? Could also be written by his wife or daughter.

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by btcarfagno

I don't really see anything in what was posted that would be worth breaking up the books for. $50 here...$75 there...I don't think that an auction house would do that for such little money. I think that the value is more so in the totality of the pieces and where they came from. Unless there is some other item in there that has great value...in which case I would amend my remarks. From what I see, however, I do not think that the fear of cutting the items up is warranted.

Tom C

+1

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by cfhofer

Yea, besides 1 or 2 more letters (Robert Mattingly and a kid named 'Willie Lawton') the rest are newspaper clippings of Mullin.

I got to imagine the real value in these scrapbooks is in the provenance of actually belonging to Mullin.

A couple people asked me about Mullin autographs. I didn't see an autograph of Mullin, however there is a short note written by one of the newspaper clippings. Did he write this? Could also be written by his wife or daughter.

Mark,
The writing along side the clipping is undoubtedly George Mullin's wife, as it doesn't match exemplars of his writing that I have seen.

[FourStrikes]

perhaps a local Detroit hall of fame / Tigers historical society would have a greater appreciation for the item...scrapbooks in my experience have never brought great bank ($$$), but to the right person / historical institution - big OR small - they're a nice piece of history.

neat item either way, and best of luck whatever your decision - good luck.

[rhettyeakley]

Do not donate them to the Hall of Fame or anything. Auction house is probably the way to go, may not bring a ton of money but someone would love to own them and may actually look at them periodically unlike the HOF that will set them on a shelf and they will literally never see the light of day ever again.

I love museums as an institution and if you have something that will actually be put on display that is the route to go, but an item of this nature will never be on display and will sit on a shelf.

I can't help but think of all the work and time Jefferson Burdick dedicated to his collection, he donated them to a museum and they have never done anything with them other than a small rotating display they they seem to look down on having to put out there!

[Hot Springs Bathers]

If there is no big value, history trumps collecting every time. The research value here could and would be invaluable.

The Baseball Hall of Fame is in a class by itself for both displaying and providing the research materials for baseball historians. They are friendly and everything is accessible.

I certainly can't speak to Mr. Burdick's collection and what has or does happen in New York. The failings of the BBHOF at one time was to trust people in their research department. As we know not all collectors can be trusted. Actually that is a bad statement, those people stealing are not true collectors or researchers like most on this board. They were simply thieves. That is not what our hobby is about but as we all know sometimes the wrong people creep in.

I also believe people should do with their holdings what they choose, but to criticize the Hall of Fame is wrong, they do a wonderful job.

[Hot Springs Bathers]

Mark, Tom & Rhett please understand this is just my opinion, in no way is it an attack on your opinions.

[cfhofer]

Appreciate all the great advice and suggestions from the forum members. I will probably sell them to a passionate Detroit Tiger collector/fan, who can appreciate their historical significance, or donate to a local Detroit museum (Bentley Historical).

I noticed on the reverse of the Mrs. Ty Cobb business card a little note in reference to the birth of George Henry. Unfortunately, he passed away in infancy (1914). Can't tell if the handwriting is Ty Cobb's or not. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks again guys!

Mark

[tjb1952tjb]

I'm certainly no expert, but I looked at several exemplars of Ty Cobb's handwriting online (there are several handwritten letters....you can Google them). I don't think your example is Ty Cobb. The letter "g" is consistently different in the online examples, among other differences. But, again, I'm no expert............perhaps others with more knowledge will respond. I know there are several signature/handwriting experts on this board.