Babe Ruth Auction To Benefit Babe Ruth Foundation Closing February 18
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/18/2017
The Keystone View Company, at one time the world's largest stereograph company, masterfully captured this full-length portrait from Ruth's swan song. The low-angle shot (6 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches) boasts wonderful compositional balance and the perfect combo of a crystal-clear foreground with a soft-focus background. Babe remains larger than life in his new threads. Keystone's paper caption reads, "THE MIGHTY BABE TOSSES A FEW - Wearing a first baseman’s mitt, Babe Ruth is shown recently at Tampa, Fla., as he warmed up by throwing the ball around with other players just before preseason game between the Boston Braves, his new team, and Cincinnati Reds."
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.