Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Fall 2018
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/6/2018
This incredible 80-year old autograph book (3 ½” x 5”) features the original signatures of Howie Morenz, Aurele Joliat and George Hainsworth among the 18 members of the Montreal Canadiens that signed on the final night of the 1928-29 NHL regular season. The autographs of Herb Gardiner and Sylvio Mantha make a total of five Hall-of-Famers included among the signatures that cover two facing pages (no signatures are present on either page’s reverse). These sensational fountain pen signatures follow one after another, beginning with a rare example of co-owner Louis A. Letourneau's rarely seen penmanship and followed in order by legendary coach Cecil Hart, Morenz, Mondou, Joliat, Gardiner, S. Mantha, Burke, Leduc, Lepine, Patterson, Hainsworth, G. Mantha, Gagne, trainer Ed Dufour, assistant trainer Jim McKenna and team doctor J.A. Corrigan.
"The Canadian Hockey Team" is noted in pencil at the bottom of the second page, with the date "March 16th, 1929" written beneath it in black fountain pen ink. The Canadiens beat the New York Americans 4-1 at the Montreal Forum that evening to close out the regular season with an NHL-best 59 points and a 22-7-15 record during the 44-game schedule. The inside of the cover has "J. Hope (Forbes) Hardie, 14-3-29" written in blue ink. A few other significant signatures appear on the pages that follow these historic Canadiens autographs. Canadian sprinter Jimmy Ball, who signed one month later, won silver and bronze medals in the 1928 Olympics and added another bronze in Los Angeles in 1932. Silent movie star Vilma Banky, who acted opposite Rudolph Valentino in "The Eagle" and "The Son of the Sheik", has added 1929 to her original autograph. The notation "Hollywood actress" is written in pencil beneath the Hungarian beauty's flowing fountain pen signature. The Canadiens signatures all display especially well and remain bold with no issues, with the “J” of “Joliat” over the “G” of “Gardiner” the only major infringement to mention. The book itself exhibits light to moderate wear, with some minor damage to the spine.
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