Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Winter 2020
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/26/2020
A four-time NHL All-Star and three-time Lady Byng winner, Bobby Bauer skated for the Boston Bruins in parts of nine seasons, with he and teammates Milt Schmidt and Woody Dumart forever immortalized as the “Kraut Line”. Originating from the incomparable autograph collection of E. Robert Hamlyn, we have a letter handwritten and signed by the two-time Stanley Cup champion. A fold-over affair at approx 5 ¼” x 7 ¼” (folded) with text on all four pages, the Dec 12, 1941 correspondence mentions the recent attack on Pearl Harbor that occurred just five days prior, with the dark ink text and signature displaying beautifully. Enshrined in the HOF in 1996, Bauer would pass at the young age of 49, in 1964.
As mentioned, the text and signature remain in wonderful condition, with two horizontal fold lines along with a pair of punched holes over the top section for binder insertion. There is also a small tear along the base of the first page, with a pencil notation from Hamlyn over the lower right corner stating that he received this letter from Bauer, on Dec 19, 1941.
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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