Just a couple of ballplayers sitting around enjoying a libation after a hard day on the diamond. It was a low-key marketing pitch from Guinness Brewery some 129 years ago but it’s also a very significant piece of sports marketing history; one that’s expected to bring a six-figure price in Heritage Auctions’ February Platinum Night sale. The 24x18” poster pictures 19th … [Read more...]
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3-D Art Meets Sports at the National
If I hear the term “3-D” before anything, I get skeptical. 3-D movies can he hard to watch and 3-D TV never really took hold the way that many thought it would. After meeting “accidental artist” Steven Walden at the 2018 National, I'm “all in” in his 3-D art. Born and raised in Arkansas, but now living in St. Louis, Walden had one of the most colorful booths at this year's … [Read more...]
Original 1953 Topps Artwork at Auction
Original paintings used to create six cards in the 1953 Topps Baseball set are being offered by Goldin Auctions. The unique paintings, measuring just 3 1/4" x 4 3/4" each, feature Minnie Minoso (who became card #56, Bobo Newsom (#15), Hal Jeffcoat (#29), Willard Nixon (#30), Danny O’Connell (#107) and Johnny Lindell (#230). The 1953 set is renowned for its design, … [Read more...]
Helmar Card of the Week: Joe Tinker, 1914 Chicago Chi-Feds
Beginning today, we team up with Helmar Brewing Company, makers of some of the hobby's most iconic art cards, for a "Card of the Week". We'll feature one of the original, unique creations--and the story behind it. Helmar's incredible art work is designed to echo a time when collecting wasn’t about condition, but about the essence of the player, his team, the era that the card … [Read more...]
Ramblings: Catching Up With Artist Monty Sheldon
One of our occasional writing streams in Rich's Ramblings is to get a little more in-depth with various people in the hobby. We write about store owners, hobby personalities and for the first time, one of the artists who create the cards. I first heard of Monty Sheldon nearly two decades ago now when Mark Macrae, a leading hobby dealer, was carrying some beautiful artwork … [Read more...]
Andy Warhol, Vintage Baseball Cards Part of New Exhibit
Baseball, baseball cards andPete Rose are getting some love in a new art exhibit. From Campbell soup cans, to Elvis and Marilyn Monroe, Pop Art icon Andy Warhol took the subjects of his art well beyond "15 minutes of fame." The new Cincinnati Art Museum exhibition, Up at Bat: Warhol and Baseball, brings Warhol’s three known paintings of baseball players, each of whom rose to … [Read more...]
Baseball Glove Art at Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
A new exhibit at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City explores the cultural and historical connections between the Negro Leagues and Latin American baseball with special baseball art to help tell the story. Besides rare memorabilia and never-before displayed photos from museum archives, "Negro Leagues Beisbol", which opened last month, features unique paintings … [Read more...]
Golden Boys: Baseball Portraits 1946-1960
Collectors know Andy Jurinko, the artist who celebrated the golden age of baseball with his portraits of some of the game's all-time greats. The post-World War II era was a time that welcomed such legendary stars as Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, and Henry Aaron into the national consciousness, a fifteen year stretch marked by Robinson’s breaking of … [Read more...]
Great Koufax Card! Let Me Get My Scissors
Cutting up 1980s and 90s baseball cards to create something you can hang on your wall? Why not? They're worth a penny apiece if you're a shrewd businessman. Cut up vintage cards worth quite a bit more than that? It's all in the name of art for LaVern Brock. The 43-year-old from San Diego has been creating his own unique brand of baseball art for most of the last ten … [Read more...]
How to Turn 996 Common Baseball Cards Into a Honus Wagner
Like any good card collector, Tim Carroll knows how to trade. He's been in the hobby since 1987, about the time thousands of new collectors were being born every day and the card companies cranked up the presses to meet the demand. The sports card shops and card shows were stuffed with boxes and sets of products produced with much fanfare but are now more often than not, … [Read more...]
