1912 World Series poster, can you solve the mystery?

[T206Jim]

Here is 1912 World Series piece I have that is somewhat of a mystery to me. Can you help identify it? Here are the clues. It is on vintage solid 14" x 18" posterboard, as can be seen on the snapshot where the corners are peeling, with a not quite glossy yet not paper finish. It bears a 1912 copyright as can be seen under Joe Wood's photo. It portrays the stars and managers of the two World Series teams from 1912. The back, barely visible through the glued onWWI newspaper articles, is of the same finish and appears to have an ad back as can be seen by the order form for "pants" and the flower like print that can be seen where the newspaper is peeling away. It may be a 1912 World Series advertising poster. There must be an expert on here, does anyone have any clue on this mystery?

[bgar3]

This is a possible clue only, but it strongly resembles a page from a period men's clothing sample book, some of which featured baseball players or had baseball themes. I have not seen this particular one before, but it is very similar in composition and size to others I have seen. I would be very surprised it it was a stand alone advertising poster. Although it does have the 1912 World Series players etc, it really is not advertising anything on its own, and is probably a page from something else. I would have liked to have had this in my 1912 collection many moons ago.

[T206Jim]

That is a tremendous clue, and one I suspect that is dead on. The strip on the left visible in the snapshot is not a repair of any tear or weakness in the board, rather it appears to be consistent with an adhesive to attach the page into a larger book. The WWI photos are over the binding, not under it, which lends credence to the fact the strip on the left is original to the piece. Also the "pants" order form visible on the back almost ensures that this was once part of a men's clothing book at one time. What do you know about these type of sample books? Thanks for your help, you have shed light on the mystery, Net 54 is indeed a treasure trove of information.

Jim

[GehrigFan]

Yes, bgar3 is spot on. I have seen several of these clothing sample pages come through Heritage, with baseball photos on the opposite side. They are quite unusual - my guess is that they simply were using a popular men's sport to entice men to flip through the pages of their new clothing lines. Some of them are specifically showing players who endorsed clothing lines, like Christy Mathewson or Ty Cobb, but others like yours it is doubtful that all those World Series players had a line of clothing. They don't sell for a huge amount usually, but as most of them seem to be unique examples, they can still get a few hundred or even $1000+ in some instances. Nice piece!

Mark

[T206Jim]

Thanks Mark, your confirmation is definitive. What similar type pieces have you seen and how would I locate them on the Heritage site?

[HRBAKER]

I agree, moat likely from a large book of fabric "swatches" for men's suiting.