A rare and highly sought after portion of an elaborate advertising display piece used to promote the 1912 Hassan Triple Folder set has arrived on the auction block.
Ty Cobb is featured on the front of the thick cardboard sign, which is the headliner in the newly launched Love Of The Game Auctions sale. The last known time a Hassan Cobb advertising display was offered at auction was in 2006, when it netted $59,000.
The ad piece is one of hundreds of items in the LOTG auction, which runs through Saturday, November 30.
The Triple Folder display was a large, three-panel cardboard display featuring end panels depicting Cobb and Christy Mathewson, respectively, each flanking an illustration of the famed Charles Conlon photo of Ty Cobb sliding into third base. The three elaborately designed pieces were meant to be displayed together, the “Triple Fold” display recalling the unique design of the T202 Triple Folder cards themselves, while simultaneously advertising Hassan Cork-Tip Cigarettes.
Just one complete three-panel display is known to exist, and until the discovery of this example, two Mathewson end pieces and just one additional example of the Cobb end piece were known. Professional restoration has brought the Cobb being offered by LOTG back to much of its original appearance.
Measuring approximately 15″ x 35″, the heavy cardboard piece is more than a quarter-inch thick.
Also featured in the auction is a fresh-to-the-hobby multi-signed baseball with both Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson.
Authenticated by PSA/DNA, the baseball likely dates to Spring Training of 1925, when all but one of the baseball’s 14 signatories are confirmed to have been in the Tampa area on the same March weekend. Within a few weeks, Mathewson had returned to his home in Saranac, NY to nurse the illness to which he would ultimately succumb; it is likely one of the last baseballs he signed.
The auction also includes a host of game-worn items, including a full ensemble (jersey, glove, cap, cleats, and stirrups) worn by Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton. The jersey dates to 1981, and the rest of the ensemble is attributed by Carlton himself to his 300th Win in 1983 against the St. Louis Cardinals. The entire ensemble includes a 20-page LOA from noted uniform expert Dave Grob.
Other game-worn items in the auction include Mike Schmidt’s 1986 St. Patrick’s Day Philadelphia Phillies uniform, a 1958 Rocky Colavito Cleveland Indians home flannel jersey, a 1966 Dave McNally Baltimore Orioles home jersey, a 1980 Earl Weaver Baltimore Orioles home jersey, a 1954 Bobby Thomson Milwaukee Braves cap, a rare 1973-74 Gaylord Perry game-worn Cleveland Indians cap and a 2001 Cal Ripken, Jr. game-worn Baltimore Orioles cap.
Another featured item is a 1914 Cracker Jack #103 Joe Jackson. Consigned by a non-collecting family, the card has an interesting back story. It was originally found among a small box of items belonging to a young boy who passed away in the early 1920s. His family kept the belongings and passed them down over generations, until finally agreeing to sell the card, which is graded PSA 2.
The auction also includes a complete 1909 E95 American Caramel set. The cards are have a high grade appearance but carry a grade of AUTHENTIC due to having been cut from an uncut sheet. The 25 cards likely make up the finest E95 set in existence.
The auction also features a complete, high-grade 1969 Topps Super set ranked #8 on the PSA Set Registry. The winning bidder can upgrade their set even further by taking advantage of a separately offered example of the Mickey Mantle card, graded a perfect GEM MINT 10 by PSA. The card is one of just ten examples to have attained that grade, and this is the first example to have hit the auction block since 2008.
TY COBB ITEMS
In addition to the Hassan Triple Folder Advertising Display, the auction features a large assortment of other cards and memorabilia items related to Cobb. Included is a 1907 Detroit Tigers Imperial Cabinet Photo with a rookie Ty Cobb, a large-format example of the familiar team photo. A similar image is also found on lot #250, a 1907 Tigers real-photo team postcard, encapsulated by PSA.
Lot 29 includes a 1907 Tigers Team Photo Premium issued by noted baseball photographer Louis Van Oeyen, a very seldom-seen premium. For collectors looking for rookie-era collectibles that picture Cobb alone, the auction also features a mid-grade example of Cobb’s 1907 Dietsche Postcard “Batting” pose, as well as a 1907 H.M. Taylor Postcard.
Later-period Cobb cards include PSA-Graded T206 Green, Red, and “Bat On Shoulder” varieties, along with both high and midgrade examples of his T205 portrait. Elsewhere in the auction, Cobb is featured on E90-1, E103, T201, and B18 Blanket cards.
TED PATTERSON COLLECTION
The auction also marks the second installment of the sale of the Ted Patterson Collection. The noted Baltimore-area sportscaster assembled a world-class collection of memorabilia and cards, and this auction features a host of tough-to-find advertising display pieces. Noteworthy items include a rare 1950s Yoo-Hoo Cardboard Advertising Display featuring Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra (Lot #20) in its original cardboard frame.
The auction also features a complete set of 1928 Lucky Strike Trolley Car Signs that are being offered either as a full set (Lot #11), or as individual signs (lots 67-71). Collectors of tougher advertising displays will find three different 1927 Spalding Baseball Advertising signs featuring Sparky Adams, Frankie Frisch and Bucky Harris (lots #64-66), five different signs featuring different players endorsing Chesterfield Cigarettes (Lot #100-104), and two difficult cardboard advertising displays featuring Dizzy Dean endorsing Grape Nuts Cereal – including a rare photographic example (Lot #81). More advertising displays from the Patterson Collection are featured throughout the auction.
TOBACCIANA
Collectors of tobacco cards and related ephemera will see a wide variety of tobacco-related memorabilia, including advertising signs, empty and full packs, cartons, tins and shipping boxes. The auction features a spectacular El Principe De Gales Match Striker (Lot #39), a gorgeous Fatima Cigarettes collection that includes a seldom-seen Shelf Display (Lot #47), and a 1915 Joe Tinker Cigar Box with its rare glass humidor (Lot #49).
Tobacco brands featured in the auction include Chesterfield, El Principe De Gales, Fatima, Favorite, Granger, Hassan, Home Run, Honest Long Cut, Hugh Jennings, Lucky Strike, Piedmont, Pirate, Red Cross, Red Jacket, Sweet Caporal, Joe Tinker, Turkey Red, and 4 Bagger.
GOLF COLLECTION
For the first time, Love of the Game is offering an extensive golf card offering, including 43 lots ranging from 1900 to 1971, including a desirable 1932 US Caramel Bobby Jones graded EX 5 by PSA (Lot #672), and a gorgeous 1933 Goudey Sport Kings Jones graded VG-EX 4 by PSA (Lot #680).
FOOTBALL CARDS AND MEMORABILIA
The auction features a complete set of rare 1946 Cleveland Browns Sears cards, all graded by PSA (Lot #622). The set includes the true rookie of Hall of Fame quarterback Otto Graham.
In addition to a number of other high-grade, PSA-graded Hall of Fame rookie cards, the auction features 40 lots of vintage football memorabilia, from 19th Century college football scorecards and programs to early NFL and AAFC Championship programs.
COMPLETE SETS
In addition to the high-grade 1969 Topps Supers set, collectors there’s a newly graded 1929-30 Exhibit Four-On-One complete set (lot #480), a 1958 Hires Root Beer complete set with tabs (lot #575), and higher-grade 1960s and 1970s Topps baseball sets that include a 1962 Topps Master set, higher-grade 1963 and 1967 Topps sets, and a 1963 Topps set with 189 graded cards. According to LOTG, virtually all the complete 1960s sets were assembled by a meticulous collector who continuously upgraded his cards by purchasing large lots and choosing the best examples.
Keeping in line with Love of the Game auctions’ specialties, the sale features a large selection of 19th and early 20th Century cards and memorabilia, a host of seldom-seen or unique items, a grouping of tough postcards, and a number of seldom-seen vintage baseball photos.
Registration and auction bidding is open on the LOTG website.
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