LOT #57639 |
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1909 Ty Cobb Stealing Third Original Photograph by Charles Conlon, PSA/DNA Type 1....
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Sold on Nov 18, 2022 for:
$204,000.00
Bid Source: Internet bidder
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Description
1909 Ty Cobb Stealing Third Original Photograph by Charles Conlon, PSA/DNA Type 1. We've all seen the image--it's unquestionably the most famous photograph of the legendary Ty Cobb that exists, and high on the short list of the most famous from the full history of our American pastime. In this single frame, we find the purest essence of the Hall of Fame's first inhabitant, the young Tiger literally gritting his teeth as he sends a plume of infield clay and New York Highlanders (Yankees) third baseman Jimmie Austin skyward. The pair is held in perfect focus as the background of the long-demolished Hilltop Park fades into a haze behind them.Only those well-versed in the history of photography could understand what an achievement an action shot of this quality from the first decade of the twentieth century is, as every aspect of focus and shutter speed and aperture was the duty of man, not machine. Certainly it's no coincidence that the man behind the camera in this instance was the great Charles Conlon, unquestionably the most skilled and celebrated baseball photographer of his age. Heritage famously auctioned his lifetime collection of baseball negatives in August 2016 for $1.8 million. This was the image we selected as the primary shot to market the collection of 7,452 negatives.
While the owner of that collection could produce an unlimited amount of modern prints from that negative today, only a scant few examples are known to exist from the period, and we're truly blessed by the opportunity to present one here. If you check the aforementioned Conlon Archive lot in our past auctions, you'll discover that this 8x10" image tightens the focus on the drama, as the negative from which it was pulled between 1909 and 1911 (to fulfill the "Type 1" designation assigned by PSA/DNA) offers a wider vista of the stands in the background and an umpire sprinting into position.
The singular rarity of this period print renders all condition concerns moot, but we must report chipping at the right edge and upper edges, all loss thankfully clear of the subjects and allowing for a matting and framing that would hide these areas while losing none of the action. A small tear along lower border is too minor to draw complaints. A typed label is affixed at lower left corner, almost certainly applied by Conlon himself.
The back of the photo bears Conlon's studio address stamp and his handwritten notations in pencil, some of which has been lost to the chipping. We'll remind bidders that our most recent sale of an elite Cobb photograph commanded $516,000 in August of this year, so we expect the big guns will be firing as the battle for ownership reaches its final stages on the evening of November 18th. Encapsulated by PSA/DNA, Type 1.
Auction Info
2022 November 17 - 19 Fall Sports Catalog Signature® Auction #50059 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
November, 2022
17th-19th
Thursday-Saturday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 23
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 1,573
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
20% of the successful bid per lot.
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