Want to see what a sporting goods store run by Honus Wagner and Pie Traynor looked like? Want to see what the crowd looked like at the 1912 World Series and stare into the face of a fan on Opening Day at Forbes Field in 1909? You can do all of that—and more—through a collection of postcards and panoramic photos that is part of this weekend’s Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory Auction.
The annual event conducted by Hunt Auctions is underway online but finishes with a live finale on Saturday.
The decades-old postcards and long, horizontal photos were curated by a private east coast collector over the course of many years. More than 60 lots are being offered Saturday with more to come in future s
ales. The postcard portion of the collection numbers in the thousands. Many of the items have been authenticated by SGC.
There are several fascinating images in the auction, many featuring famous names from a century ago. A 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates “Pennant Winners” postcard, encapsulated by SGC, includes portraits of team members, including Wagner,whose photo is the Carl Horner image found on his famous T206 tobacco card. 
There’s a 1909-1916 Max Stein postcard of Wagner in action, also slabbed as ‘Authentic’.
A set of two postcards from the 1920s or 30s shows the front window, store signage and inside of Pittsburgh sporting goods store owned by Wagner and his former teammate, Pie Traynor.
A curious bleacher crowd stares at the photographer in the 1909 Opening Day panoramic postcard from a new state-of-the-art stadium in Pennsylvania. Printed at the bottom is “Dedication of Forbes Field, Pittsburgh vs Chicago, June 30, 1909.”
Two more postcards showcase images from the 1906 Cubs-Giants World Series at West Side Park in Chicago, including a bear walking off the field.
Two panoramic postcard
s, with a fold in the center, were taken during the 1908 Cubs-Giants pennant race, including one that shows the crowd at the famous pennant-deciding game following “Merkle’s Boner”.
Christy Mathewson is featured in an ad for Adler Gloves on the back of a 1912 Red Sox-Giants World Series panoramic postcard that shows the crowd at the Polo Grounds. Mathewson is also the subject of a dated postcard from 1913 entitled “Our Matty” and showing the pitcher in his famous windup and on an advertising postcard with Hughie Jennings for “International Correspondence Schools.”
The items are part of the annual auction in Louisville that features over 400 historic baseball items. A public preview and appraisal fair opens Thursday at 9 AM the Slugger Museum.
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