1917 Ty Cobb letter advise

[w7imel]

I think so too but like anything this expensive it makes me nervous. Just the fact its this old and I dont have to be the one to frame and stuff makes it good. And the fact gutieriez athenticated it gives me a little comfort in what I bought

[David Atkatz]

You might very well want to have it re-framed. Right now you have no idea whether archival-safe materials were used--acid free mat, proper adhesives, UV-protective glass, etc. If it were mine, and I wanted the letter framed, I would have it re-done properly.

[khw]

Originally Posted by w7imel

I think so too but like anything this expensive it makes me nervous. Just the fact its this old and I dont have to be the one to frame and stuff makes it good. And the fact gutieriez athenticated it gives me a little comfort in what I bought

ok here is another one , in my opinion i have seen way too many bad signatures authenticated by Guiterrez , again somebody that if you are in the business you look at the autograph , not to get back on the tpa trail but not one i put as much stock in but again my opinion , but this cobb is real imo

[Duluth Eskimo]

Reframing is the only way to go. First, it is very hard to evaluate an item under glass. With a high quality item like this, do you best to ensure that you have the real thing and then frame it in high quality materials so you can enjoy it for generations. Let us know how it works out. Jason

[Klrdds]

I saw this item listed and considered buying it but after some thought I decided to pass. This is a beautiful piece and rare without a doubt.
I passed for a few reasons .
1. The price seemed too good to be true for an item this rare. In looking on EBay where this item was listed I saw several other Cobb items priced higher than this; especially notes and some letters and even some checks. Also this same seller has a TLS from 1928 listed for $15,000 that comes with the envelope and a 1910 card and on Cobb's letterhead. Why such a low price for something this rare and stunning? Certainly the lack of Cobb' s letterhead would not make this much difference.
2. In referencing Cobb letters sold at auction I could not find any this cheap comparably. Some checks and a few notes, but no letters.
3. Mike Gutierrez ,it is true has had some authentication problems, but who hasn't; but on his COA there is no reference made to this item other than in general terms, and no photo reference on his COA also of this piece. I could also get no help in determining if this is the piece he authenticated and issued the certificate for.
Additionally the COA states 1917, but again I see no reference made in the letter to 1917, so I am curious as to how he dated the letter to 1917. It would be great if the original auction listing were included with the item for comparison or even the mailing envelope , at least .I know that there are samples of Cobb's handwriting thru the years available but how could this sample be dated specific to 1917 and the COA issued as such.
These were some of my thoughts on this item and why I didn't buy it, and I try to use the same logic with all rare purchases I consider making.
I would definitely remove this item and get it looked at by somebody knowledgable, even possibly reaching Mike to see if he has old catalogs available for comparison, and then if it is good get it reframed in a better frame with good archival glass.
I did not mean to ramble......I truly hope this item is as great as it seems and the buyer got one tremendous deal, because it is in my opinion a treasure if real.
I hope the buyer will let us know what he does with it.

[w7imel]

I agree its real as well, something like this would be IMO waaaay to much work to forge. Not saying it couldnt be done but who has that kind of time....? haha

[steve B]

Originally Posted by w7imel

I agree its real as well, something like this would be IMO waaaay to much work to forge. Not saying it couldnt be done but who has that kind of time....? haha

The Cobb letter I saw back in the mid 80's was amazing. And knowing more now about both Cobb and Stump, probably entirely fake.

Cobb letterhead, green ink, first page a nice letter about an autograph request, second page the nasty racist version Stump seems to have created.

For years it was on the list of collectibles I regretted not buying. Having learned that the Cobb we "know" probably was a fabrication by a person who made unsupportable claims if not outright fakes has made me move it into the "probably glad I didn't buy that" category.

I don't know enough to comment on the current letter, but would recommend as others have getting it reframed with the proper materials if it can't be figured out that the current ones are archival.

Steve B