Lot # 12: Rare 1934 Tour of Japan Photo Signed By Babe Ruth Lou Gehrig & Jimmie Foxx - One of Three Known Examples! (JSA)

Category: Featured Items

Starting Bid: $4,000.00

Bids: 16 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed


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Item was in Auction "Spring, 2018 Auction",
which ran from 3/8/2018 6:00 AM to
3/25/2018 8:26 AM



Simply incredible photo taken during the 1934 Tour of Japan and signed by all three legendary subjects - Babe Ruth Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx. With more than 1 700 lifetime home runs among them the three players depicted remain three of the game's most legendary names even today their 1934 trip to Japan remaining one of the most widely-collected individual events in the hobby. Signed photos of these three players are extraordinarily rare. This particular photo is even more so - just three examples are known each commanding spectacular prices at public auction. Though the photographer remains unknown the three known examples seem to have all originated with Japanese families. The first example sold at public auction for $130 000 in 2016. A second example trimmed at the borders and with Gehrig's name signed upside-down sold for $56 000 at auction in 2014 and has been listed in several auctions since each time failing to meet the reserve. This is the third example consigned from the collection of a dedicated collector of Japanese baseball items. Measuring approximately 6" x 8" the photo depicts the players who at the time were the only American League players to have hit more than 40 home runs in a single season three celebrities who were transforming the game. The photo exhibits considerable wear with light soiling and cracking to the emulsion along with some slight tearing. While the signatures of Gehrig and Foxx are fairly pristine Ruth's last name exhibits some fading though remains clearly legible and unsmudged. Tour umpire John Quinn's signature also appears at the top left of the photo. A remarkable photo of three of the 1934 tour's legitimate superstars signed by each. An incredible and valuable rarity one of just three specimens known to the hobby very unlikely to be seen again but offered here with no reserve. Full LOA from James Spence Authentication.

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