12 ½” Munsing Union Suit Baseball Player Die cut Signs – Out of Halper Collection

[CarltonHendricks]

Above is sort of a milestone acquisition for me….In the April 1987 Smithsonian magazine Barry Halper’s collection was featured…That was right around the time I was just getting going with sports antiques…Back then I would pour over the photos of his collection often…On the right side of the panoramic shot of Halper’s room you can see the Munsing baseball die cuts prominently displayed…





The Munsing pieces were sold in the Halper auction in 1999…I never made it to that earth shattering event, it was out of my league for the big dogs…I think the total everything sold for was like $23 million… Now let’s flash forward 25 years to May 2013…





http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-SET-4-1...ht_5295wt_1255
I spotted these diecuts on eBay last month….It seemed a little odd they would end up on eBay…But the listing had good clear photos of the Sotheby’s tags still attached to the back identifying them as from the Halper auction. I ended up winning them and received them this last week. I was very nervous they would arrive safely but thank the Lord they got to me fine…the seller did a good job protecting them…Once I get time I wan’t to work them into my collection so they show well…I’m into displaying die cut signs standing up the way they were originally intended, not framed like many collectors do....But for the time being I put them in some plastic sleeves. Net54 member Rhys Yeakley was kind enough to look up what they sold for in the Halper auction….$2,300.00…..I wonder what they would have been priced at if I saw them at the National...





The glove is missing on the fielder but I should be able to have it restored…I’m happy to have the same ones pictured in the Smithsonian article…To me they’re kind of iconic to his collection…I found another batter Munsing sign that is part of the set…sold in REA for $464.00 in 2006…In the description was a very interesting comment I was pleased to find…”Several of these rare signs were included in Barry Halper's famed collection and were prominently displayed in his prize showcase. It never ceased to amaze him that among the endless treasures of the Halper Collection, no one ever seemed to forget the Munsing advertising signs.”