Historical Hockey and Sports Memorabilia Auction Spring 2022
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/31/2022
Known to modern hockey adherents as the namesake of the NHL trophy awarded to the player who leads the league in points at the end of the regular season, Art Ross was one of the most skilled players of the early-1900s, combining stalwart defensive abilities with aggressive physical play and an unmatched hockey IQ. Ross would lead the Kenora Thistles and Montreal Wanderers to Stanley Cup championships, and would famously serve as the first coach of the Boston Bruins, staying with the club in one capacity or another for over 30 years. Originating from the incomparable autograph collection of E. Robert Hamlyn, we have an extremely rare photo signed by the legendary hockey guru and 1949 HOF inductee. At 8” x 10”, the vintage black and white photo depicts a bust-length image of a dapper Ross with pipe in hand, with Ross intelligently signing over the white area of his dress shirt, with the small steel tip fountain pen signature standing out nicely. There are notations on the reverse from Hamlyn including typed biographical text for Ross along with the date the photo was most likely received by Hamlyn signed, with “Dec 11/50”. There is also a stamp from noted photographer Turofsky. The photo is “rolled”, with a few indentations visible along with a few small corner creases and a stain on the reverse. Ross passed away in 1964 at the age of 79. A JSA LOA will accompany.
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.
Numerous early Hall of Fame legends make up the one-of-a-kind gathering including signed photos from Dick Irvin, Steamer Maxwell, Frank Patrick, Clint Benedict, Alec Connell, Duke Keats, Frank Foyston, Moose Goheen and others, along with signed letters from Dickie Boon, Harry Hyland, Jack Marshall, Jack Ruttan, Joe Malone, George Hainsworth, Aurele Joliat, Cy Denneny and others. Impossible to duplicate, this is unequivocally the greatest autograph collection that we have handled in our 25 years of service to the collecting community.
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