Negro League Poster

[Bestdj777]

On the Crawfords Wikipedia page, it indicates that they moved from Pittsburgh in 1939 and folded in 1940, which would likely make this a 1934 poster.

[earlywynnfan]

I believe the Crawfords existed long after as a semi-pro team.

[eastonfalcon19]

Does anybody know how much this is worth?

[jerseygary]

Don't rely on wikipedia. The Crawfords existed as a top-draw Negro League team through 1936 when Satchel Paige took all the big stars to the Dominican Republic. They limped on through 1938 and sank to semi-pro status. In 1945 they staged a comeback with a few aging stars but were never a contending team again. So in-short, they were indeed around in '45.

[ramram]

1945. I highly doubt they had lights on a field in a small town in 1934 unless they were borrowing the KC Monarch's portable lights. Major leagues didn't have them until '35. Game started at 9:00 pm according to the broadside.

Rob M.

[ctownboy]

Is everyone positive this poster is authentic?

I am not very knowledgeable about posters so I have no clue. I do, however, know that scam artists list reprint/fake/fantasy pieces on eBay all of the time (either that or sell them at local flea markets or auctions). So, if a scam artist didn't know the field didn't have lights in 1934 then they wouldn't know that a 9 PM starting time would be out of the question.

David

[jerseygary]

Without handling it in real life, I can't say for sure. An original would show evidence of being produced on a letterpress, not by off-set lithography. You can see that up close and in life. But, as a graphic artist and typographer (I create period-correct props for movies and TV), the first mistake scam artists fall into is that they use computer fonts instead of type that would have been period correct. This poster uses the typefaces you would have found in the 30's and 40's. If it's a fantasy-fake, the person knew his typography. Plus, many of the fakes that are made have photo's of the key players and all the bells and whistles on it. This one is simple and not that attractive except to a collector, which for me makes it a little more believable.

I hope it's real for the buyer's sake, it's a real find.

[murphusa]

The auction house has a pretty good reputation.

The piece is also correct in the location of the field and the fact that teams from Pennsylvania went to Jersey to play.

The field was part of a Bread Company's grounds

[eastonfalcon19]

Thanks Jim for the information. Do you know exactly where the bread company was? The broadside was produced by The Day Printing Company which was also based in Phillipsburg NJ.