Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Winter 2020
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/26/2020
The only player in history to have won the Stanley Cup as a player, coach, and general manager, Jack Adams spent a decade as one of the sport’s most prominent players, and representing his 36-year association with the Detroit Red Wings, the NHL’s award for most outstanding coach is named in his honour. Originating from the incomparable autograph collection of E. Robert Hamlyn, we have a rare photo signed by the nine-time Stanley Cup champion, accompanied by a signed typed letter. The glossy-stock 8” x 10” photo pictures the legendary hockey mind in a dapper suit jacket complete with bow tie, with a large white paint pen signature placed over the lower right, along with a personalization to Hamlyn and the date, “1961”. Receiving HOF enshrinement over half a century ago, Adams would pass at 73 years of age, in 1968.
The large signature displays well despite areas where the ink has dried up, with just light corner wear to the photo itself. We should note that we have handled other Adams’ signed photos in the past, with a similar thick white ink used, and despite the signature looking somewhat different from other exemplars we have seen, we feel the signature is genuine. The signed typed letter is also 8” x 10” and on Red Wings letterhead, with the Oct 21, 1960 correspondence mentioning the granted request for a pair of signed photos. Adams has added a large and flowing blue ballpoint signature, with no issues for the signature or letter itself other than light toning and some minor edge wear.
The E. Robert Hamlyn Hockey HOFers Signed Photo and Letter Collection
Beginning life as the passion of one youth growing up in Newfounland during the late-1930s, E. R. 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 honouring 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 Sylvio Mantha, George Hainsworth, King Clancy, Cecil "Babe" Dye, George "Buck" Boucher, Jack Ruttan, Barney Stanley, "Bullet" Joe Simpson and others, along with signed letters from Ernie "Moose" Johnson, Ernie Russell, George McNamara, Jack Marshall, Dickie Boon 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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