LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 Aug Marketplace Auction #87081  / 

91824

1916 Chicago White Sox Team Panoramic Photograph

Currency:USD Category:Sports - Cards & Fan Shop Start Price:750.00 USD Estimated At:3,000.00 - 4,500.00 USD
1916 Chicago White Sox Team Panoramic Photograph
<B>1916 Chicago White Sox Team Panoramic Photograph.</B></I> Without a doubt, one of the finest team photographs from the Dead Ball era ever to find its way to auction. This absolutely stunning photograph, measuring 8x26", pictures the entire 1916 squad kneeling in front of scores of postal workers in Chicago for a convention. The original, vintage mount is embossed with the details: "Delegates to the Fourteenth Annual Convention of the National Rural Letter Carriers Association enjoying the National game at the White Sox Baseball Park, Chicago, Ill., Wednesday, August Ninth, Nineteen Hundred and Sixteen." An image of Comiskey Park is at left, with the caption, "Home of the White Sox." At right is an image of the the famous Montgomery Ward department store, with identifying caption below. The mount brings the overall dimensions to 13x30", and the frame to 15x32". But, of course, it is the image itself that holds the greatest appeal, picturing twenty-four members of the powerful American League squad, including six of the notorious "Eight Men Out," who were banned from the game for their involvement in the throwing of the 1919 World Series. "Shoeless Joe" Jackson stares into the camera at far left, and as the camera pans right, it crosses paths with "crooked" pitchers Eddie Cicotte and Claude "Lefty" Williams, infielders Buck Weaver, Fred McMullin, and outfielder Oscar "Happy" Felsch. It's a rather rough-and-tumble lot, particularly in contrast to the men in crisp suits and ties and women in flowered sun hats that crowd the space behind them. The looks on their faces suggest that the day did not go well, and, in fact, it didn't. With the stands largely empty, it's evident that this photo was shot post-game, as the White Sox were still smarting from a three to one loss to the visiting Red Sox, perhaps having just fallen victim to a young pitcher named Ruth. We could understand that knowledgeable collectors might doubt our assertions if we were to claim that this piece is in Near Mint to Mint condition, but we will nonetheless make this statement unhesitatingly. Yes, it is hard to believe. Very few photographic artifacts from this era, especially those with any sort of "mounting," have traveled the decades without a substantial amount of wear, and this is especially true of larger items like this one. We can't quite believe it ourselves, but our eyes are not deceiving us. This piece appears just as it did when Joe and Eddie and Lefty and Happy and Buck were still innocent men.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Flat Material, Large (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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