Please note description edit from catalog in Red .

Offered is unarguably the largest and most dramatic Babe Ruth display ever created! This huge tri-fold three-panel hinged sign pays extraordinary visual tribute to the man who dominated his sport and his era. When Babe Ruth was delivered on a silver platter to the New York Yankees prior to the 1920 season, his already strong popularity became immense even outside the realm of baseball. He was the reigning home run king, and once in New York (the advertising capital of the world) people clamored for a piece of the Babe. The Babe was in demand to endorse products, attend events and sign autographs. ! It took the control and cunning of his new agent Christy Walsh to organize and make sure Ruth was paid for his work.

Despite the myriad of advertising and promotional items depicting the Babe’s image back during his prime, no advertising piece comes close to this offered item.

This majestic presentation created by Old Gold Cigarettes features the Bambino dead center in his pinstripes swinging his bat. The 38" x 52" mini-billboard certainly grabs your attention, which was the idea behind this point of purchase display piece. So you walk into a tobacco establishment and the Babe is staring at you imploring you to buy Old Gold cigarettes? Who is going to say NO to the Babe?

The brand “OLD GOLD” appears in foot high lettering above Ruth’s larger than life image. An inset, with its own rendering of a blindfolded Babe, shows the star rating the taste of a cigarette. "Old Gold's mildness and smoothness marked it 'right off the bat' as the best," Ruth is quoted, with his words printed directly above his large and unmistakable, facsimile signature. This could possibly have been one of the first market research studies ever performed! 

 No other display piece can rival this rare survivor in terms of importance. But its sheer size invites damage and destruction, and most of the few known examples have not weathered well. The offered showpiece, however, has been restored to a marvelous approximation of its former glory. The three panels – once separated – have been reattached with archival tape. Ensuing damage from long-ago contact with water – centering about the middle and right-side panels – has been professionally ameliorated by recoloring; it must be noted that the item’s primary design components hold generally original, vibrant quality on their own, without typical fading from exposure to light, and that color work was applied almost wholly to background fields. An all-original, 4" x 6" paper label (stating, "This display installed ---- / Property of P. Lorillard Co.," and confirming the advertisement's company-sanctioned, factory origin) remains firmly attached to the item's back. Impressive, essentially EX/MT character of presentation. This is an outstanding opportunity to obtain the grandest Ruth display of all, and one of the very best items of its kind ever created. Tremendous visual appeal!  IMAGE 12 AT BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE IS PIECE PRIOR TO RESTORATION.

An original, 4" x 6" paper label (stating, "This display installed ---- / Property of P. Lorillard Co.," and confirming the advertisement's company-sanctioned, factory origin) remains firmly attached to the item's back. There are routine and inconsequential edge faults and areas of discoloration on the piece's blank-backed reverse. This is mentioned strictly for the sake of accuracy, and in no way impacts the dramatic relic's tremendous aesthetic appeal. In addition, light areas of ruffling appear along the bottom, resulting from the artifact's intended establishment standing, and these light impressions are limited to only the bottom edge. The magnificent Ruth display piece is impressive in its stature, presentation and overall condition, grading at EX/MT. This is an outstanding opportunity to obtain the grandest Babe Ruth display of all, and one of the very best advertising pieces of its kind ever created. Tremendous visual appeal!

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