Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Fall 2019
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/5/2019
Sporting black and white stripes for over a decade as a referee in the early days of the NHL, from 1920 to 1934, Bobby Hewitson later served as the first curator of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, with enshrinement occurring due to his service to the sport, in 1963. Originating from the incomparable autograph collection of E. Robert Hamlyn, we have a trio of typed letters signed by the important HOF builder. All 8 ¼” x 11” and ranging from 1958 to 1961, one letter from 1958 is executed on Canadian National Exhibition letterhead, with Hewitson mentioning the 400 autographed photos in Hamlyn’s collection. The other two letters are both on Hockey Hall of Fame letterhead, with one from 1959 mentioning the addresses of former players, while the second from 1961 references the attempt by Hamlyn to locate a Dan Bain signature. Hewitson would pass in 1969, shortly before his 77th birthday.
Each letter has been signed in blue ballpoint, with just fold lines along with light handling wear and toning to the letters themselves. There is also a pair of binder holes over the top section of each page, with no text affected.
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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