The Beech-Nut tobacco brand is best known in hobby circles due to their 1934 advertising display featuring Dizzy and Paul Dean, produced as a result of the Cardinals' monumental pennant-winning season. The Beech-Nut advertising display is a colorful, large-format, easel-backed cardboard piece that is one of the most desirable of all advertising pieces in the hobby.

It was several years ago that a friend and consignor reached out with a photo of this piece. Aware of our love of large-format baseball pieces, he knew we would fall head over heels for this one, and he was correct. The heavy cardboard piece is unbelievably impactful, featuring an unknown ballplayer dipping into a pouch of Beech-Nut, surrounded by a deep blue circular die-cut claiming Beech-Nut to be "...the big league chew," further elaborating that "Quality made it famous!" Marked by the bold coloring of 1920s advertising (the "big league chew" tagline can be found on advertising as early as 1926 and perhaps earlier), but with typography clearly drawing from art deco influences, the piece seems to bridge eras.

The condition is wonderful - despite light but visible wear at the edges and some light but notable surface abrasions, particularly in the blue area, the entire piece is bold and colorful, entirely intact with no visible evidence of restoration. Advertising display pieces from this era are often found with restoration, and when none is present, the condition is virtually always poor. Not the case here, as the entire item is incredibly well-preserved. Since our consignor is the person who had the piece framed, we know that its original easel back remains intact and actually appears to have never been used.

It is typically not our practice to comment on framing jobs, but in this case, the professionally arranged presentation is wonderful. With a custom-cut backing, the round, blue text area is set against tan fabric, with the tan fabric set against a charcoal gray fabric base. The thick wood frame adds additional size, the piece measuring 38" x 50", an impressive, majestic advertising piece, the only one of this design we have ever encountered. 


Please note that the size and weight of this piece will necessitate a significant added packing and shipping cost.

Size: large