Hunt's Live Auction Slated for March 6-7
Not to be lost in the shadow of The Philly Show is Hunt’s live auction, slated for March 6-7 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in King of Prussia, Pa. The 1,164-lot auction is highlighted by numerous private collections.
Hunt expects the growing interest in Negro League material will fuel demand for the private collection of J. Leonard Mitchell, an outfielder with the Negro Leagues in the 1920s.
“This is a pretty special group. You just don’t find intact archives, if you will, like this,” Hunt said. “Given the rarity of that material in its original form, there’s just not that much of it surviving anywhere, let alone finding an intact group that has never been available to the public is pretty exciting.”
Primarily comprised of rare photography and advertising ephemera depicting early African-American teams, the collection is expected to sell in the range of $35,000-$50,000.
Hunt will also present the collection of the late Jack Kuttin, who built a 30-year collection of more than 1,000 items, including more than 100 game-used modern and vintage jerseys. The Kuttin Collection contains several standouts, including a jersey Gil Hodges wore as manager of the New York Mets in 1969 ($15,000-$20,000 estimate) to jerseys of Chipper Jones and Gary Carter.
The auction will also feature the following personal collections from former players and lifelong fans:
Fred Haney: More than 20 lots are on offer from the personal collection of former MLB player and manager Fred Haney. The collection includes an unusual folk art bench made of 20 baseball bats and 11 baseballs.
Turn-of-the-Century Collection of Frank and Peggy Steele: The Steeles were pioneers in the field of collecting baseball objects of art and memorabilia, highlighted by a unique assemblage of items including autographed pieces and one-of-a-kind baseball ephemera. Aside from their personal collection, the formation of Perez-Steele Galleries led to the creation of the most revered modern era “card” issue in the form of the Perez-Steele Hall of Fame postcards, also in the auction.
19th-Century Collection of Jack and Eddie Boyle: A group of more than 30 19th and early 20th-century baseball items from the personal collection of Jack and Eddie Boyle are featured, made up of a significant array of 19th century baseball artifacts including a trove of correspondence and scarce and important autographed pieces.
Brooklyn Dodger Van Lingle Mungo’s Authentic Collection: Items from the personal collection include more than 25 lots of autographed items, correspondence, original photographs and other ephemera from his career.
Additional highlights in the sale include:
- Babe Ruth single-signed baseball ($15,000-$20,000 estimate)
- 1969 Gil Hodges New York Mets professional model road jersey ($15,000-$20,000)
- Fine Joseph “Henri” Richard Montreal Canadiens professional model hockey sweater jersey circa 1960s ($10,000-$15,000)
- Chester Pollard “Play Football” coin-operated arcade game circa 1920s ($7,500-$10,000)
- Jackie Robinson single-signed baseball ($7,000-$10,000)
- 1890 New York Giants Player’s League team cabinet photograph ($5,000-$7,500)
- President Barack Obama single-signed baseball ($2,500-$3,500)
- Part Two of the 1948 Leaf Football find
For a complete listing of items in the auction, visit www.huntauctions.com. For more information, call (610) 524-0822.
