New pre-war Babe Ruth card discovery?
 

Hi all! I found this card at an antique store in Suffern, NY last weekend and didn't recognize the image so I bought it with low expectations. I posted it on a vintage card collectors Facebook group and to my surprise, nobody else had seen the image before either, let alone the card. PSA’s research department couldn’t find it and gave up searching pretty quick, and I’m still waiting to hear back from SGC so I figured I’d try here too. Here is a link to a google drive photo with images of the card.
https://drive.google.com/drive/mobil...=7&direction=d

The card is approximately 3.5x6.75” and printed on a thick cardboard stock. The image appears to be affixed to the stock rather than printed on it, and the printing pattern under a loupe shows vertical squiggly lines. Under a certain light, a spiderwebby shine pattern appears on the upper half of the picture, and no light shines through the card.

The Facebook group pointed out the black arm band in the photo, which was most likely worn to honor the passing of Ray Chapman at the end of the 1920 season. As for the city screen scene, my own research led me to his 1920 movie “Headin Home” that was shot in Haverstraw, NY (25 minutes away from Suffern) during August of 1920, the month that Ray Chapman died.
https://haverstrawlife.com/2008/03/2...be-comes-home/

My theory is that this card is either a photo taken by someone on the street during the filming sessions for the movie (shot was not in the film), or it was a promotional card for the movie. I know there have been some such cards found, but they are a lot smaller than this one and feature different images. However, this site suggests that “other premium items from the movie exist, including some larger photos of Ruth to help promote the film.”
https://prewarcards.com/2016/09/10/1...and-checklist/

Could this be one of those items? I would greatly appreciate any input and/or theories! Thanks!

I can't view the image therefore I have no opinion.

Sorry, just made it accessible to everyone I think

Here are pix of the "card"...

I love the image, snapshot-esque no doubt. I know some people don't like the smell test for legitimate checking but I would be curious, does this smell 100 years old?

As far as my knowledge and collecting of snapshots, there was no way to get your own pictures printed on or "affixed?" to cardboard. Never seen that or ever heard about it being possible, especially in 1920. That was strictly done by printers and for profit, not as keepsake candid photos. So I'd rule out this being a snapshot that a random person took.

From the scan it looks like a newer item, possibly from the 1980s on. Maybe others will know more.
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Very cool image no doubt. I've never seen that image. But I question the vintage based on the quality of the photo and the paper stock itself.

Agree. But it is a great image; one I have never seen before.

The vertical lines seem like a modern computer printer.

The bigger questions about where the image came from are much more interesting.