Summer Premium Card and Memorabilia Auction Closing August 7 & 9
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/8/2021
Encapsulated and assessed "Authentic" by PSA, one of just three examples validated across all levels by that company. Hall of Famer. Baseball photographer Max Stein's classic semigloss-finished creations are among the most revered of all early 20th Century postcards. The offered item features a mesmerizing image of Ty Cobb as he prepares to bunt (while wearing his usual, determined and confident expression). Cobb's white-collared uniform pinpoints this bunting image to either 1912 or 1913, near the center point of the Max Stein issue's 8- to 9-year span. The photo portrayal adorning the 3-1/2" x 5-1/2" card retains the largest degree of its original intensity, compromised only slightly by creasing. Erosion of paper material at the top edge is meaningfully apparent only on the reverse, which also exhibits boldly printed, unmarked postal use indicia. Stein's name and his Chicago base are identified in fine print on the front. Interestingly, the PC758 series also included "Statesmen," "Aeroplanes and Flyers," "Fighters" and "Dancing Girls"; Cobb's depiction is easily the most valuable ballplayer image in the production, eclipsing fellow icons Wagner, Mathewson and Thorpe. A fascinating paper heirloom, seldom offered in the modern hobby!