Help with Mantle photo pack

[AustinMike]

Originally Posted by Brian

I've recently taken an interest in some of the more arcane Mantle cards/postcards/photo premiums. Some of them are pretty cool, IMO.

I picked up this photo. It's not in the best shape, but I like it. I've seen it variously described as a 1956 or 1960 NYY Action Pictures photo. I believe this is probably the 1956 Action Pictures photo.

Any thoughts or opinions?
Does anyone else collect some of the less popular Mantle photos and premiums that are more like photos than cards? If you care to share, that would be great!

Thanks, Brian

Hey Brian,

I love to collect the less popular Mantle photos and premiums. Unfortunately, they are becoming a little more popular driving up the prices.

In regards to your photo, it's hard to tell what year it is from. If the picture comes from a set, the best way to tell is by getting the whole set and determining the year of the set based on the players in the set. But, even this method is not foolproof. I have Yankee "Action Photos" sets, that I believe, are from 1956 and 1960 that include that general photo of Mantle. If you notice, the cropping of the photos is different. Look at the shadow of Mick's hands on his left shoulder. In the first photo, which I think is from 1956, the shadow does not touch the edge. In the second photo, which I think is from 1960, the shadow does touch the edge. I also have another similar photo that I do not believe comes from one of the sets. It has a glossy type surface and I think is an actual photograph. It is the third photo (sorry for the bad photo, it is framed). Notice the shadow of the hands is even farther from the edge than the first photo. I have no idea what year this is from. (PS - all of the photos are 8"-by-10")

Your photo has the shadow touching the edge even more than my "1960" photo. So it obviously is from a different printing than any of my three photos.