Description: Charles M. Conlon (1868-1945), Babe Ruth's home run batting eyes, from Conlon's Murderers' Row series, gelatin silver print, executed and printed in 1927, with Conlon's Evening Telegram stamp and handwriting on verso, originating from the files of Baseball Magazine and sold at Christie's, 1996, exhibited at The Bronx Museum of the ArtsCharles M. Conlon (1868-1945), Lou Gehrig's home run batting eyes, from Conlon's Murderers' Row series, gelatin silver print, executed and printed in 1927, with Conlon's Evening Telegram stamp and handwriting on verso, originating from the files of Baseball Magazine and sold at Christie's, 1996, exhibited at The Brooklyn Museum, Tampa Museum of Art, Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage, Allentown Art Museum, The Annenberg Space for Photography, and The Bronx Museum of the Arts These are arguably the most important baseball photographs in existence: iconic Ruth and Gehrig images by Conlon (the Ruth image was used for the back cover of McCabe's monograph), executed and printed in 1927, with impeccable provenance from the Christie's Baseball Magazine sale in September 1996 (lot 351). We know the latest possible printing date because Baseball Magazine reproduced these prints in September 1927; it is rare to know the printing date with such specificity. Furthermore, these are the only prints ever offered publicly--and it has been 26 years (these same prints were later sold at auction as part of the Dan Knoll Collection in 1998)--and I am unaware of any other examples (with any news photograph, of course, it is never possible to say that no others exist). While very tightly cropped prints by Underwood & Underwood of all of the Murderers' Row subjects are available, these are, in my opinion, copy prints, and their visual impact does not hold a candle to the full-face portraits. These prints will be hand-delivered to the buyer; further discussion and in-person inspection of the prints is recommended. Also, I will not consider selling the Ruth and Gehrig prints separately. The Ruth, by the way, is better than this image. It has been framed since I made this scan or took a picture of it with my iPhone (I can't recall which). I will take it out of the frame for a serious buyer. With another collector, I will be listing many of the most important vintage baseball photographs in existence. Taken together, this will constitute the most important offering of baseball photographs since the 1996 Christie's Baseball Magazine sale.
Price: 2250000 USD
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
End Time: 2024-11-16T22:50:04.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Sport: Baseball
Player: Babe Ruth
Year: 1927
Original/Reproduction: Original
Team: New York Yankees
Team-Baseball: New York Yankees
Vintage: Yes
