Lou Gehrig Ken-Wel Brand Glove Advertisement

[T206Collector]

Can anybody help me with what this is and whether it is worth anything? I got it "American Pickers" style at one of those crazy semi-antique yard/house sales that we sometimes drive by in upstate New York on 4th of July Weekend. It was with a whole mess of other clippings and photos from the 1930s and 1940s. It didn't cost me a whole lot, so I imagine it is basically not worth a whole lot. But any information about what it is would be appreciated.

I had to "double scan and crop" it to make it onto my scanner (excuse the bad crop line in the middle of it), since it is pretty large -- maybe 12" x 18" or thereabouts -- paper thin, with a little hole at the top as if it were meant to be hung by a nail in a store years ago. Looks like it may have once been pasted or shellacked onto a piece of cardboard years ago, and shows evidence of tape on the back to fix what looks like was a small tear.

Again, any information at all would be appreciated. Thanks!

[mjkm90]

100% fantasy piece that have been around for years. There has never been an original example of this piece. You often see them with eyelets for hanging.

[william_9]

I don't think it's a fantasy piece. By that I mean that the repros are based on an original vintage Ken-Wel sign. However, for the last ten years or so, there has always been at least one repro on ebay at all times.

I have one of the repro signs and it's printed on paper that is mounted to heavy chipboard with an eyelet at the top for hanging. I have no idea whether the original would be a counter display with an easel back or a hanging display with an eyelet.

[perezfan]

I'm always amazed at the prices realized for this piece (fantasy, repro, or otherwise). Used to be that there were about a dozen on ebay at any given time. I have seen them sell as high as the $90 range, and have also seen a slew of them fail to make an opening bid of $9.99.

The interesting thing is that the price realized is usually in direct contrast to the condition. The beat-up/torn/creased/faded ones often go for $40 - $50, while the perfect ones go for almost nothing. I guess collectors want to convince themselves they're getting something old (regardless of how many are out there...)