Masterpieces and Uncommon Commons XXVIII
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on:
7/30/2010
No pre-war player’s collectibles are coveted more than the one’s representing the immortal Tyrus Raymond Cobb. Whether his cardboard relics, autographed items, or any Cobb related memento, enthusiasts scramble to seize any Cobb type collectible, and why not? The achievements of the immortal Ty Cobb easily place him as one of the finest players in our National Pastime’s glorious history, justified by his eternal place as one of baseball’s five 1936 Hall of Fame charter members. Throughout his incomparable 24 seasons, he led the American League a record 12 years in batting average including an incredible 9 consecutive years from 1907 thru 1915! He also happened to exceed the exalted .400 mark three times, with all of the above totaling to an unimaginable .367 lifetime average. For these reasons, the fiery batting star along with Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson has achieved iconic hobby status with most of his cards and related artifacts the prized possessions within any of the pre-WWI issues. One of the rarest Cobb keepsakes just happens to be the incredibly scarce 1912 “Helmar L1 Leather” presented here with this majestic offering seldom surfacing within the hobby!
The “L1 Leathers were issued in 1912 by the Helmar Tobacco Co. and are considered among the scarcest and valuable artifacts currently existing in the hobby. Horsehide shaped leathers measuring approximately 9-7/8” x 11-1/2” and portraying black sketched baseball images were issued as a premium with the company’s Turkish Trophies cigarette brand. The available players numbered 25, with the images EXACTLY the same as the poses utilized on the popular S81 silks also released that season. Both the L1 Leather and S81 silk images also resembled the distinguished Turkey Red (T3) cards, with 5 of their subjects omitted from the T3 set including: Grover Alexander, Rube Marquard, Marty O’Toole, Rube Benton and Russ Ford. To obtain these obscure collectibles, 50 Helmar coupons needed to be exchanges for a single “L1 Leather”. The actual complete checklist numbered 100 with the 75 additional subjects including actresses, generals, Indian chiefs, etc.).
The 25 baseball players include 16 Hall of Famers with Ty Cobb the uncontested prize of the group. True, the Mathewson subject may be considered rarer (we are also offering a Christy Mathewson L1 Leather in this auction), but like most vintage issues, the Ty Cobb subject achieves pinnacle popularity and value. The classic “Georgia Peach” batting stance image so widely recognized on his T3 Turkey Red depicts a typical faded look to its original black sketching. Many of the existing Helmar L1 Leathers portray similar faint player designs due to a myriad of the factory produced sketches originally lacking a boldly projected image. This concept, coupled with nearly a century of fading negatively impacts many of the L1 Leather central player sketches. Although this Cobb image also reflects soiling and surface wear and is somewhat faded, his iconic pose is still fully legible as the “Georgia Peach” gears himself for another pitch against an overmatched hurler. The standard wrinkles and/or slight cracking normally reflected on L1 Leathers are also evident, and a single pin hole is situated near the upper left border. The reverse side portrays only moderate soiling especially along the upper right edge (by the pin hole), with the aforementioned obverse side wrinkles also working their way to the back side. Additionally, the furthest upper left perimeter reveals some barely noticeable diminutive trimming to the original straight edge. Granted, this is certainly not the finest L1 Leather specimen circulating throughout the hobby, but it is unquestionably one of only a hand- full of existing L1 Cobb’s. Simply stated, we can’t remember when the last Cobb Leather was offered, justifying why the low end aesthetics of this magnificent rarity are far surpassed by its sheer existence. While it is only pure conjecture, it might be quite some time before another opportunity presents itself to purchase a “Georgia Peach” Helmar Leather rarity, with this unequivocal masterpiece one of the scarcest and valuable Cobb artifacts in existence!
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