Two more t206 questions. As if there aren't enough already.

[sbfinley]

Sorting through my stash tonight and I got to thinking about some particulars of the set.

1.) Did any of the original lithographs from the set survive and/or do we know who any of the original artists were?

2.) Based upon the average number of HOF poses in the set, is it a fair assumption that one or more additional Wagner poses were mocked and illustrated, but never printed? Considering he was well into his prime, I would expect them to have planned multiple poses like Mathewson, Cobb, and Lajoie.

*I briefly searched the board for these topics and didn't come across any answers. If either question has been discussed before feel free just to provide a link.

[wolf441]

Good thoughts Steve,

I don't have the answer to either question, but I've always wondered about #2. We know about the Eddie Collins Batting Proof as well as the Olberman Southern League proofs, but you'd think that there would be additional proofs at one time (perhaps that have since been destroyed). It would be interesting to hear everyone's take on the variations that may have been on the drawing board as well as additional players that may have been planned for the set. My dream find would be a T206 Tris Speaker Portrait proof.

[bbcard1]

Not a lithograph, but I have this Shag photo from a composite of a photographer named Davis. The Ryan pose is also on there.

[Abravefan11]

Originally Posted by bbcard1

Not a lithograph, but I have this Shag photo from a composite of a photographer named Davis. The Ryan pose is also on there.

The Shaughnessy and Ryan portraits were taken by photographer James H. Kidd.

[Bridwell]

Great questions, Steven. After 40 years of collecting I haven't heard anyone answer either of them. They are certainly some of the mysteries of the T206 set.

The drawings/paintings seem to be copies of photographs, so as artwork perhaps they were thought of as non-original art and not marketable at the time. Perhaps they were originally traced from photos, then colored. Surprising that none seem to have survived. I wonder who the artist or artists were who did the work. They did a great job, obviously, for us to be discussing them 100 years later.

[sbfinley]

Yeah, it just baffles me that as popular as the set was even then that some sort of original templates do not remain. I was under the assumption that the lithos were original recreations of actual photos. Is it that the photos were the base and then colorized?