Spring Premium Live and Catalog Auction Ending May 20(1-70) and June 3
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/4/2017
Unlike its fellow adjacent Thorne photos, this one is unposed and comes from an actual mighty cut during batting practice. Babe clearly gave it all he had here, torquing himself completely in the process. The rough dirt surface, patchy grass and low horizon help capture the spirit of training camp in St. Pete. Thorne's handwritten caption on the reverse reads, "Babe Ruth misses a hot one!" Dimensions are 8 x 10 inches.
Provenance: This lot originates from the "Babe Ruth Farewell Album" that was prepared by the Yankees franchise upon Ruth's death and gifted to his widow Claire, then eventually acquired by Barry Halper and presented in Sotheby's 1999 Halper Auction. The 80-page scrapbook featured photos, news clippings and various well-wishing letters from fellow ballplayers. Each photo reverse exhibits related mounting remnants/wear that in some cases shows through to the front side. This photograph has been classified as Type I by PSA/DNA.
Please note: Due to their routine newsroom usage for publication purposes, all news-service photos generally bear varying degrees of handling wear (creasing, crazing, chipping, etc.) and editorial marks (outlining, cropping, highlighting, background masking, etc.). Goldin Auctions will be donating 5% of the winning bid price of this lot and all lots in this auction to the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum.