Spring Premium Live and Catalog Auction 2018 Closing May 5
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/6/2018
This charismatic threesome includes: Irwin/Cincinnati, Vaughn/Cincinnati and Bierbauer/Pittsburg. The Whitehead & Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey, produced these early 1-1/4" celluloid baseball pins as premiums for the company's neighboring firm, the American Pepsin Co. The pins were distributed with that latter firm's "Cameo Pepsin Gum" product and some carried back-paper advertisements for the confection. (Others, like two of the pieces featured in this array, are equipped with the standard Whitehead & Hoag back-paper inserts.) These pins are seldom found in any condition, but the examples presented here boast clearly visible images with strong, legible captions. Presentation quality of all three pieces is very favorable, with the Vaughn specimen conceding scattered spots of age-toning; the same phenomenon is restricted to the periphery in the Irwin collectible. A remarkable 19th century group!