Opening Day Auction Closing May 9th
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/10/2015
Jack Dempsey was the Babe Ruth of the boxing world. The charismatic Dempsey held the heavyweight championship from 1919 to 1926 and for the next 5 decades remained an extremely popular public figure. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Dempsey was successful outside of the ring through business and real estate ventures. His famous bar and restaurant in Manhattan that bore his name was one of New York's most exclusive nightspots, attracting athletes and celebrities as Dempsey held court. This document describes a property in Salt Lake City Dempsey willingly forfeits to the State of New York to be sold for taxes. Typewritten on onionskin, it measures 8" x 13" and bears the embossed seal of the State of New York in the lower left corner. This piece is extraordinary as the boxer has signed the page twice, once with his birth name of "William Harrison Dempsey" and then below adds: "Better known as Jack Dempsey". The signatures are in bright blue ballpoint, perfectly preserved in a legal archive for over 40 years. The bottom left corner of the page has a diagonal crease and a smaller crease near the edge, none of which is near the two signatures. Letter of Authenticity X02564 from PSA/DNA.