Historical Hockey and Sports Memorabilia Auction November 2024
Leading the NHL twice in scoring, Max Bentley saw over two decades of professional hockey, with his NHL time split mostly between Chicago and Toronto. The Hart Memorial Trophy winner in 1946, Bentley was a four-time All-Star and member of three Stanley Cup championship Leafs teams. Originating from the incomparable autograph collection of E. Robert Hamlyn, we have a photo signed by Bentley. The 8” x 10” black and white print pictures Max in his Black Hawks uniform, with his blue ink signature presenting wonderfully. The reverse has a stamp and handwritten notes from Hamlyn including that this photo was signed in 1947. Enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1966, Bentley left us in 1984.
Beginning life as the passion of one youth growing up in Newfoundland during the late-1930s, ER Hamlyn was bitten by the collecting bug as a teenager, and began to seek out the signatures of both contemporary and past hockey stars, with his efforts culminating in the world class collection of signed photos and letters that encompass his incomparable autograph collection, with many unique items and extremely rare signatures making up the vast collection.
Through effective letter writing, first to teams, and then when information was received, directly to the players themselves, Hamlyn would request the addressed parties sign a photo he himself would provide, with the overwhelming majority honoring the enthusiastic collector's wishes. And enamored with the uniforms of both the Montreal Maroons and New York Americans – despite never seeing these teams play in person, Hamlyn had the foresight to seek out the signatures of past retired stars from long forgotten and defunct franchises. The insightful collector also recorded information now invaluable to his collection, with most of the signed letters and photos having dates listed when they were received back signed.
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