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Vintage cards, signatures from 1800s, early 1900s highlight REA auction
Vintage sports cards and memorabilia are still in high demand, and Robert Edward Auctions has some of the oldest items to hit the market in its January Encore Auction, including a signed receipt from 1842 and a tobacco card from 1888.
The auction, which includes 3,700 items covering more than 180 years of sports history, runs through Jan. 21.
“REA had its best year in our 30-year history in 2023, and we’re starting off the New Year with one of our strongest Encore Auctions to date,” REA President Brian Dwyer said. “This auction has an extremely wide selection, including one of the strongest lineups of signed items we’ve ever had in any auction, as well as many of the hobby’s most iconic cards in a variety of different grades for collectors of all types.”
The auction features an 1842 receipt signed by Hall of Fame baseball executive Alexander Cartwright, who helped run the New York Knickerbockers and develop the early origins of the game.
The Cartwright receipt is one of more than 250 items signed by some of the game’s most iconic players, including Lou Gehrig, Walter Johnson, and Honus Wagner.
The oldest card up for bid is an 1888 N403 Yum Yum Tobacco John Clarkson Throwing card. Graded PSA EX 5, it is the only PSA-graded example of the card featuring the 19th Century Hall of Famer pitcher and outfielder.
Other top vintage items in the auction include:
• 1883 Harry Wright-signed personal scorecard graded PSA/DNA MINT 9. The scorecard is from a June 22, 1883, game between Philadelphia and Wright’s Providence Grays, which he managed. The card is scored in both pencil and blue ink, with Wright’s signature at the base of the scorer’s box.
• A 1938 Lou Gehrig-signed postcard graded PSA/DNA GEM MINT 10. Postmarked April 26, 1938, the card was sent from Philadelphia and inscribed “Best Wishes/Lou Gehrig” on the front in blue ink.
• 1924 Walter Johnson-signed album page graded PSA/DNA GEM MINT 10. The 1924 album page is signed “Very Truly Yours/Walter Johnson” in black ink.
• 1939 Honus Wagner-signed Baseball Centennial First-Day Cover graded PSA/DNA GEM MINT 10. The envelope bears a “June 12, 1939, Cooperstown N.Y.” postmark and a three-cent Baseball Centennial stamp with a design paying homage to Wagner and including a photo of him and a short bio.
• A Babe Ruth cut signature graded PSA/DNA GEM MINT 10. Ruth signed an unlined sheet of paper in black pencil.
• Checks signed by some of baseball’s most legendary players, including Jackie Robinson (1948), Ty Cobb (1949) and Roberto Clemente (1970).
Top vintage cards include:
• A 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle card graded SGC FAIR 1.5.
• A 1914 E145 Cracker Jack #37 Grover Alexander rookie card graded SGC VG 3.
• A 1910-1911 M116 Sporting Life Honus Wagner Pastel Background card graded PSA Authentic.
• A trio of 1954 Topps #128 Hank Aaron rookie cards, two of them with mid-grades and one with a PSA/DNA GEM MINT 10 autograph.
• A 1957 Topps Football #138 Johnny Unitas rookie card graded BVG NM-MT 8.
• Hundreds of T206 cards including a Ty Cobb Portrait Red Background (PSA EX-MT 6); Frank Chance Portrait Yellow Background (PSA NM 7); Ty Cobb Bat Off Shoulder (PSA VG-EX 4) with an El Principe De Gales back; Cy Young Bare Hand Show (SGC POOR 1) with a Sovereign 150 back; a range of Red Hindu and Black Lenox cards representing the only examples graded at their respective levels; and nine T206 cards featuring the rare Carolina Brights backs.
The top modern cards include:
• A 1986 Topps Football #374 Steve Young rookie card graded SGC GEM MINT 10, one of only three examples with an SGC GEM MINT 10 grade.
• A pair of early Michael Jordan cards: a 1984 Star Gold Medalist card (BGS 8); and a 1985 Star card (MINT 9).
