1916 World Series/Red Sox/Babe Ruth button sets world records at Hake's

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Thursday, March 28, 2024


1916 World Series/Red Sox/Babe Ruth button sets world records at Hake's
Only known Boston Red Sox 1916 World Championship button, unusually large 6in size, advertises ‘Alpen Brau – Detroit’s Champion Beer,’ features images of manager Bill Carrigan plus 24 teammates, including future Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Herb Pennock and Harry Hooper. Provenance: the late Dr. Paul Muchinsky. Sold for $62,980 – a world-record auction price for a button of any type, sports or otherwise.



YORK, PA.- It wasn’t the Fourth of July, but there were plenty of auction fireworks going off during Hake’s September 23-24 auction of pop culture memorabilia, which realized $2.1 million. As experts had predicted, the only known 1916 World Series Championship button – emblazoned with images of the winning Red Sox manager and players – soared to the top of prices realized and, in so doing, set not one, but two world auction records. With a winning bid of $62,980, the oversize button featuring three future Hall of Famers, including then-21-year-old pitching and batting phenom Babe Ruth, became the most expensive button of any genre ever sold at auction, not to mention the highest-priced baseball button.

“It was the most coveted piece in the late Dr. Paul Muchinsky’s incredible baseball button collection and was pictured on the back cover of his 2004 reference book ‘Baseball Pinback Buttons,’” said Alex Winter, president of Hake’s Auctions. “It was also pictured solo on the cover of our auction catalog, which reflects the high importance we placed on it.”

Another record-setter from the Muchinsky collection was a 1952 Mickey Mantle “Fan Club” real-photo button. This particular button was produced in very small numbers and made available only to club members by mail. Over the years, few have survived. An example from the famed Barry Halper Collection sold at Sotheby’s in 1999 for $12,650. Paul Muchinsky’s Mantle Fan Club button set a new world record auction at Hake’s, selling for $23,250 against a pre-sale estimate of $5,000-$10,000. Another high flier, a 1915 “Ty Cobb Right Field” button with advertising on verso for Schmelzer’s Sporting Goods of Kansas City, Mo., caught a winning bid of $17,276.

A rare button also led the very strong political section of Hake’s sale. Recently discovered and new to the hobby, a Cox/Roosevelt 1920 Democratic campaign “Eagle & Rays” 7/8-inch jugate button was described in Hake’s auction catalog as being on par with the Honus Wagner T206 tobacco baseball card or Action Comics #1, which features the first appearance of Superman. Of the six varieties of Cox/Roosevelt buttons produced, four are unique or have populations of fewer than three known examples. The button offered by Hake’s achieved an outstanding above-estimate price of $35,695.

The Force was with Star Wars collectibles yet again, as collectors bid aggressively on rare and exotic action figures. An encapsulated Boba Fett L-slot rocket-firing prototype action figure from Kenner’s 1979 Star Wars toy line was graded AFA 80+ NM. “What makes this figure so unusual is that it is one of very few pre-production prototypes Kenner intentionally assembled with no firing mechanism,” Alex Winter noted. With provenance from an ex-Kenner employee, the prototype came to auction with a notarized CIB LOA and letter of provenance from Star Wars expert Brian Rachfal. It sold within estimate for $62,239. Another excellent result was achieved by a Star Wars Luke Skywalker AFA 80 NM action figure with double-telescoping lightsaber. Encapsulated in a 12 Back-A blister card, it sold for $32,450 against an estimate of $10,000-$20,000. An unlicensed Uzay SB Products “Blue Stars” action figure – an all-blue 3¾-inch Turkish version of the iconic Star Wars character Hoth Snowtrooper – was AFA-graded 60 Q-VG (archival case) and accompanied by a notarized CIB COA. It garnered intense bidder interest and settled just below the high end of the $10,000-$20,000 estimate, at $19,212.




While on the subject of action figures, there was no ignoring the fact that GI Joe was on the winning side. A Cobra Commander action figure from Hasbro’s 1983 “GI Joe – A Real American Hero” toy line, AFA-graded and encapsulated in a Series 2/20 Back blister card, sold well above estimate for $7,670, hastening Winter to comment that “1980s Joes are definitely on the rise.”

In the world of animation art, it would be a challenge to find an earlier or more important artwork than the Winsor McCay (American, 1869-1934) drawing entered in Hake’s sale. McCay’s original production art for the 1914 cartoon titled Gertie the Dinosaur, depicting a lively Gertie and a lumbering woolly mammoth against a prehistoric mountain landscape, was executed in India ink on rice paper. It was only the second original Gertie artwork ever to be offered by Hake’s in 53 years of operation. It sold for $13,110.

From the modern era, Jim Starlin’s original pen-and-ink splash page art for the historic Bronze Age comic book Amazing Adventures, Vol. 2 #17, March 1973, was especially significant to collectors because it was created for an issue that features the origin story of “The Beast.” Artist-signed, the 11 5/8- by 17½-inch (overall) artwork was bid to $12,980.

The incredible demand for Golden Age comic books was evident in the sale of a Superman #1, Summer 1939, graded CGC Restored 6.0. This landmark issue contains the origin story of Superman and has a Superman pinup on its back cover. The issue presented by Hake’s knocked down $42,992, which Alex Winter called “a remarkable price for a restored comic book, and an indicator of where the market is likely headed for important early comics, even those in lesser condition.” CGC had noted of its restoration: “Color Touch, Pieces Added, Tear Seals, Cleaned, Reinforced.”

A Disney highlight came in the form of a first-version Ingersoll Art Deco-style Mickey Mouse wristwatch in its original box with the correct “1933 A Century of Progress Chicago” foil sticker affixed to it. In running order, it sold for $11,422, more than five times the high estimate.

“In addition to the world-record prices achieved throughout the sale, Hake’s rewrote its own house records for the number of bidders registered, the number of bids placed, and the sell-through rate, which was 95 percent,” Winter said. “What this tells us is that the market for high-quality vintage collectibles is very strong and growing faster than ever.”










Today's News

October 2, 2020

A museum puts its fakes on show

Frick plans two-year stay during mansion redo

Harvard Art Museums receive significant gift of German drawings and prints

Whitney Biennial postponed until 2022

The incredible whiteness of the museum fashion collection

Sotheby's to open new gallery in Palm Beach this November

Sotheby's Dear Keith Auction 100% sold, soars to $4.6M

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts acquires major work by Virginia Jaramillo

Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, Los Angeles opens "Restless Index" curated by Kelly Akashi and Cayetano Ferrer

The Evolution of Helen Rae now on view at Tierra Del Sol Gallery

A haven for wildlife and city dwellers opens

Museum of Contemporary Art Australia opens major exhibition by Australian artist Lindy Lee

Lost Roerich masterpiece leads MacDougall's Russian Art Auction

Heritage's Erté Art & Design Auction spotlights 80 years of artwork

MOCA Tucson announces the appointment of new Executive Director, Kate Green

Fontaine's Fine & Decorative Arts auction realizes $2.4 million

HOTA, Home of the Arts, unveils major earth installation Gaia

Nye & Company announces highlights included in the Estate Treasures auction

Doctors' coats turned into Covid-fighting art in Panama

1916 World Series/Red Sox/Babe Ruth button sets world records at Hake's

Pantomime dames hit London streets to urge virus funding

Exhibition highlights recent acquisition of works by Pennsylvania Impressionist Fern Coppedge

Albright-Knox hires Curatorial Fellow to focus on Marisol bequest

Lindsey Glen appointed new Director of House of Illustration

5 Things You Need To Know About Car Insurance If You Are A Student.

Great Moments Require Great Clicks: Choose The Best Photographer For Your Events




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful