Former Baltimore Orioles broadcaster Ted Patterson was a prolific collector, a hobby lifer who built a spectacular collection of cards, memorabilia, publications, and autographed items. One of the more intriguing is this piece, an absolutely massive 1928 advertisement featuring Hall of Famers Lloyd Waner and Tony Lazzeri.

The piece is incredibly rare, the center piece of an elaborate three-panel display that would have measured more than five feet across, mounted on heavy board.  This center panel measures 32" x 34", and, despite being beautiful, has a number of condition issues. Most notably, the piece has been removed from the heavy cardboard backing onto which it was originally produced, and carefully remounted on a linen backing. As a result, the piece that was originally intended to stand on its own is now something that would be better framed or remounted on a larger backing piece. The piece has also undergone significant professional restoration in the form of inpainting, particularly within the lettering but also elsewhere on the piece. The restoration has been carefully done, and retains much of the beauty that was intended when the piece was first created.

The original display piece is exceptionally rare and beautiful today. We have only encountered one complete piece in our research, in a private collection. We have not found any of the individual components of the piece. It is our speculation that Ted was slowly and carefully seeking to piece one together; at one point he had a world class collection of advertising display pieces but was patient in his acquisition, sometimes waiting years to acquire a piece or complete a set of advertising displays.  Ted owned all the Lucky Strike trolley signs (sold as a complete set in our Fall, 2019 auction), and once owned all the large format Lucky Strike banner signs (sold at auction many years ago). The three-panel display is far more rare and elusive, and sadly Ted was unable to complete the piece before his passing. 

Regardless, it is an incredibly rare and beautiful advertising display item, heavily restored and removed from its original cardboard backing and yet still beautiful, suitable for remounting in the creation of a gorgeous, large-format advertising display of an extremely rare and seldom-seen retail piece.