Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Fall 2019
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/5/2019
The last NHL goaltender to captain his team, Bill Durnan spent his entire Hall of Fame career with Montreal, winning a pair of Stanley Cup championships along with an amazing six Vezina trophies from 1944 to 1950. Originating from the incomparable autograph collection of E. Robert Hamlyn, we have a letter handwritten and signed by the star netminder. At approx 7 ¼” x 8 ½” and dated July 12, 1944, Durnan mentions that he would be willing to meet Hamlyn if he ever visits. Signed during his Stanley Cup and Vezina Trophy-winning rookie season, the text and signature have been scripted in blue ink, with no issues for either, with the autograph displaying perfectly. Enshrined in 1964, Durnan would pass away at the young age of 56, in 1972.
As mentioned, the text and signature remain in impeccable condition, with just a pair of horizontal fold lines and toning to note to the letter itself. There is also a pair of binder holes over the top section, with no text affected, with a notation over the reverse that states Hamlyn received this letter on July 18, 1944.
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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