1921 Babe Ruth - Treen Box Company Blotter

[Leon]

This blotter was laying around for several years and I just found it again. Just seeing if others have seen one or if anyone wants to guess at a value?

The back is blank and it is in overall EX'ish shape...Common size of 9" x 4"

I realize it's not too valuable but it's worth something..

ps.. A few searches turned this one up and 1 other I sold 10 yrs ago, but that is it.

[triwak]

Super cool!!

[swarmee]

Since no one's willing to posit a guess on a price, I'll go ahead with my extremely limited pre-war ephemera knowledge.

Pros: Mentions Babe Ruth, and there is a follow-through shot of a baseball swinging in the daydream.
Ultra-rare
Great condition (EX)

Cons: Doesn't really look like Babe Ruth.
Probably wasn't a licensed item.
Two-tone Color image (in red, which is not a Yankees color) is baseball player sitting on bench with a bat that looks more like a pencil.
Rarity doesn't always lead to hobby acceptance. Sometimes more of an item makes it more collectible.

Guesstimate: $500-1,000

If the image actually looked like Babe Ruth, showed an NYY logo, or was licensed (whatever made sense at the time), then I would say $3,000-5,000.

[JollyElm]

The angular layout anomaly is really effin' with my frickin' brain!!

I brought the pic into Photoshop to try to soothe my soul:
The outer black box is a true rectangle with no distortion.
The inner black box (encompassing the main text) is also a true rectangle and aligned with the larger one.

The four lines of Treen Box verbiage are aligned with the bottom black border (and hence the inner and outer black boxes).

So, the problem with the visual here is the 'straight' red lines are NOT horizontal and are actually on a downward slope...and so are the words "Good Wood Boxes."
And the two paragraphs of writing below them are aligned to those lines and NOT to the black box!!!

Woo hoo! Now I can rest easily tonight.

Sorry for the interruption. Please continue with the thread...

[Hankphenom]

What's with the pumpkin and dried cornstalks in August?

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

What's with the pumpkin and dried cornstalks in August?

Getting ready for Thanksgiving?



Thanks for the feedback too, guys...I was thinking about the same on value...

[Hankphenom]

A reference to the Black Sox scandal?

[swarmee]

Yes, definitely.

[jbsports33]

Outstanding example and interesting!

[Gary Dunaier]

Originally Posted by swarmee

Doesn't really look like Babe Ruth

Just a thought: maybe the guy on the bench isn't supposed to be Babe, he's just imagining Ruth packing a wicked wallop and thinking/hoping to do the same? (Granted, the guy in the thought balloon doesn't look much like Babe either, but still...)

[oldjudge]

Neat item, Leon. I'd guess $1250 as the value.

[Hankphenom]

It looks like the Babe--assuming that's supposed to be him--is putting those baseballs inside the bat, what's up with that? And is that an orange goatee on his face? Is that what the "wicked" is all about, are they implying some kind of chicanery or wizardry on his part? Very strange!

[Brian B@rry]

Although I am not burdened with any expertise whatsoever in vintage memorabilia, the previous estimates above seem low to me. It’s Babe Ruth!

And it’s an interesting piece too. Even without the Babe it’s a cool item. I assume it’s quite rare compared to say, a 1933 Goudey, and it would display well in a frame. I’m not a customer myself but I would have guessed at least a couple thousand.

[GeoPoto]

The timing of this strikes me as interesting coming essentially at the beginning of his time as a Yankee and as a full time slugger. Ruth's transition from pitcher to full time outfielder did not come about because his manager thought it was his best utilization. It came about because Ruth insisted on it and essentially refused to pitch. Here we have an early example, perhaps, of Ruth's prescience, as he profits from his image as the premiere batsman in baseball.

Sent from my motorola edge 5G UW (2021) using Tapatalk

[Michael B]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

A reference to the Black Sox scandal?

Wasn't the jury box also slang for the grandstands?

[Vintagedeputy]

Originally Posted by Gary Dunaier

Just a thought: maybe the guy on the bench isn't supposed to be Babe, he's just imagining Ruth packing a wicked wallop and thinking/hoping to do the same? (Granted, the guy in the thought balloon doesn't look much like Babe either, but still...)

That’s exactly what I came up with also. The thought balloon image is meant to be Ruth. The guy on the bench is a wishful dreamer.

[NiceDocter]

Not only is he slyly thinking of being like Babe Ruth….. this guy is juicing the bat to do so!!!!

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by NiceDocter

Not only is he slyly thinking of being like Babe Ruth….. this guy is juicing the bat to do so!!!!

Yeah, like a wizard or something, hence the goatee. Babe's in his dreams, not on the bench. I think we're getting there!

[JollyElm]

I dare say it very well could be George (always saying 'The Babe' gets boring) sitting there thinking of himself hitting a home run by using the piece of lumber (with the baseballs tucked inside?) provided by Treen. A wish fulfillment thing.

[NiceDocter]

A treen box apparently is a generic term used for any small ornate wooden box or other high quality wooden piece ( small sized, not furniture) ….. from the Old English “of a tree” …..