Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Fall 2019
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/5/2019
Hockey’s most storied and decorated team, the Montreal Canadiens have won 23 of the 100 Stanley Cup championships played since the formation of the NHL in 1917, with 15 sweater numbers retired by the legendary club. Originating from the incomparable autograph collection of E. Robert Hamlyn, we have a collection of 15 signed Canadiens photos, with each an honoured member of the HOF. With the majority in the 8” x 10” range give or take, each photo is black and white, with examples present for deceased Hall members Beliveau, Bouchard, Moore, Lach, Geoffrion, Johnson, Olmstead, Reardon, O’Connor, Cournoyer, Laperriere, Savard, Pollock and the Richard brothers. The majority of the signatures have been executed in blue ink, with a few examples personalized to Hamlyn.
The Rocket signature exhibits small areas of loss, with this due to a weak pen, while the remaining signatures all display nicely, with light to moderate wear to each photo which includes the odd wrinkle or crease, with the Rocket, Bouchard and Lach photos all showing heavier wear. Each photo also has typed text over the reverse, with many having notations stating when the photos were received back signed.
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 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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