Dating and Identification for 1934 Tour of Japan postcard with Ruth

[glchen]

I won this postcard from a recent Hunt auction here: Link, and just received it. The lot description was as follows:

"1934 Babe Ruth Tour of Japan postcard (shown with note Tempura Chef) (VG-EX) Period postcard has black and white photo of Ruth with Heigeno Tempei (and another unidentified man) on front and has written English sentiment on back and has been postally cancelled. Scattered wear to edge and some creasing. Seldom offered with this being the first we have sold: VG-EX"

Obviously, the postcard is not VGEX, but I knew that from the auction scan. However, the scan only showed the front of the postcard, and not the back. Since the description stated that the postcard was postally cancelled, I assumed that meant it was cancelled in 1934 since that was how Hunt dated the postcard. I've included the front and back scans on this post. As you can see from the back scan, it looks like the postmark date is Oct 31, 1938, and not 1934.

Has anyone seen this postcard before, and it is truly a 1934 postcard as Hunt claimed and not 1938? If it is a 1938 postcard, I am considering requesting a return. However, the description states that it is a "Period postcard." In the general opinion of others, would that give Hunt the leeway that they still accurately dated the postcard since it is within that rough period? Thanks!

[prestigecollectibles]

Your postcard was from the 1934 U.S. All-Star welcome party. I was the underbidder for this card.

I had one in my auction in 2006.
http://www.prestigecollectiblesaucti...etauctionid=59

The postcard below featuring Gehrig and Grove is from the same event.

[pencil1974]

Well let SGC know what they are, I had bought one and sent them a scan of it in and they said they would not grade it as they had never seen it. So I returned it which was nice of the guy but sucked at the same time.

[glchen]

Thanks, really appreciate the feedback!

[Misha]

My grandfather trained at the restaurant owned by the bearded chef seen here, Hige no Tempei ヒゲの天平, before opening his own tempura restaurants. My mom said somewhere in an old family album she saw a photo of my grandfather with Babe Ruth, perhaps from this same garden party. This was at the residence of Okuma Shigenobu, a Prime Minister of Japan, and the founder of Waseda University among other notable things.

Gotta find that photo album, but it's in another relative's possession.......

[pencil1974]

Very cool Michelle!

[MacDice]

Always been fascinated by the 1934 Tour. Over the years, I have sat down numerous times with one of Earl Averill's son and had him share me stories of the trip that his dad told him. Amazed how hard it is to find game images of the event, would love to get some pictures of Earl in action to share with the family.

[glchen]

I wanted to give an update on this. After this thread, I contacted SGC and asked how they would holder this card. They had excellent customer service as usual and said that they would have to examine the card in hand first, of course, but they would likely encapsulate the card as a c1930s issue. Of course, there was absolutely no commitment on their part since the card had to be officially submitted first and go through proper research before they made their final decision.

I then contacted Hunt and requested a return of the postcard. Customer service at Hunt was very professional and courteous. Even though it took a couple of weeks for the return to be approved, it was approved, and I sent the postcard back. It did take another month or so after Hunt received the return before they sent the refund, but customer service again was very professional and very courteous even though I was calling in probably once a week asking if the refund was sent out yet. In addition, I did not receive the refund check in the mail after a week and a half after they said they sent it out. I called Hunt, and they immediately sent out another refund, which I did receive. Overall, although I did have to wait a little bit, I was very pleased with the overall return experience with Hunt and felt that I was treated very well.

[Bicem]

Why did you return it? Did I miss something?

[glchen]

Originally Posted by Bicem

Why did you return it? Did I miss something?

Card was listed as a 1934 card with no back scan. However it was postmarked 1938 which is after Ruth's playing days.