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Circa 1910 Ty Cobb Original Studio Cabinet Photograph by Carl Horner, PSA/DNA Type 1 -- Cobb's Personal Example!...
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Sold on Aug 23, 2025 for:
$390,400.00
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Description
Consigned by grandson Herschel Cobb!
Circa 1910 Ty Cobb Original Studio Cabinet Photograph by Carl
Horner, PSA/DNA Type 1 -- Cobb's Personal Example!UPDATE: Small adjustment made to history of Horner's studio partnership with Jordan.
As the era's most noteworthy and celebrated baseball photographer, Carl Horner bears the lion's share of responsibility for the manner in which we see the early game in our mind's eye. His simple yet expertly rendered studio portraits of the men populating the Dead Ball game served as the template for much of the tobacco and candy card issues of the day, most notably the image of Honus Wagner that appears upon the most coveted and valuable trading card in the collecting hobby.
This is arguably the second most famous photograph from Horner's world famous oeuvre, an image which, like the aforementioned Wagner, will garner instant recognition from early trading card collectors. The shot is utilized for both the red and green background portrait shots of the fabled T206 set, as well as the W600 (which debuted in October 1907) and M116 Sporting Life issues, the E103 Williams Caramel, and the 1908-09 Rose Company postcards. Certainly this list is not comprehensive.
While any original example of this legendary photograph is a treasure of the sports memorabilia collecting hobby, this specimen must be considered the finest of them all as Ty Cobb's personal example. An included handwritten letter from grandson Herschel Cobb reads:
"Mr. Horner gave this photograph of my grandfather, Ty Cobb, to my grandmother shortly after they were married in 1908. As a youngster, I visited my grandmother nearly every summer; this photo rested on the mantel of her bedroom fireplace. Ty Cobb passed in 1961. The following year, I visited my grandmother, and during one of our talks she took the photo down from its resting place and told me it was one of her favorite photos of Ty. She then handed me the photo, saying, 'Hersch, I know how much your grandfather meant to you and how much he loved you. Here, please take this. It's for you.'"
The early "Horner - Jordan Co." imprint at lower right of the cabinet mount validates Mrs. Cobb's recollection, as Horner would form a partnership with Jordan around 1910. The photo itself measures 5.5x4", with the mount completing the dimensions at just over 7x5". Condition is marvelous considering the advanced age, with minimal paper loss at the corners of the mount and a few scattered small spots of toning (one near the top of the image itself) the only faults to report. Verso bears a small handwritten notation at upper edge. It's an absolutely spectacular specimen by every metric of evaluation, unquestionably one of the most important baseball photographs every made available at auction. LOA from PSA/DNA, Type 1.
Auction Info
2025 August 23 - 24 Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction #50079 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
August, 2025
23rd-24th
Saturday-Sunday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 23
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
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