Historical Hockey and Sports Memorabilia Auction Winter 2023
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/1/2023
Highly prized and coveted amongst collectors and historians, the work of longtime Montreal Canadiens photographer, David Bier, spans nearly half a century in length and is considered to be some the best there is to offer from an era where he would capture images of some the greatest names to ever pull on the uniform of Les Canadiens de Montreal including Richard, Beliveau, Lach, Plante, Blake and others along with players and figures from other teams and sports. One of the first to take action shots during games and regarded for lifting photojournalism from the “dark ages”, Bier began working Habs games as a freelancer in the 1940s and would go on to become a Forum fixture for 45 years, capturing tens of thousands of black-and-white and colour stills of 20 Stanley Cup champion teams.
Proudly presented here, is this coveted collection of Bier negatives approximately totalling north of 2000 hailing between 1950 and 1990, with countless highlights captured and paired with a camera from his studio as well as his embosser stamp. Featuring both black-and-white and colour stills of various sizes, the previously mentioned highlights included players such as Richard, Beliveau, Plante, Geoffrion, Blake, Lach, Lafleur, Dryden, Roy and countless others as well as numerous Canadiens and All-Star teams’ images. Noteworthy events captured on film included in the collection include those of the Richard Riot, Maurice’s 500th goal, numerous Stanley Cup dressing room celebrations and subsequent parades, and many others. Other subjects captured include the Montreal Forum both inside and outside, the management personnel of the Canadiens and the seldomly seen Montreal Royals as well as Jackie Robinson at Spring Training in Vero Beach circa 1955. It appears as though majority of the negatives remain in excellent condition, exhibiting just some light handling and age wear. For the camera, the Cine-Kodak Special model piece with “Bier” stenciled on the side is housed in a large leather wrapped box with leather handles that displays extensive wear and has “David Bier Studios” over both sides. Coming with various accessories that are also housed in the case, a metal embosser stamp made by Roovers is also included, having been used to add the desired “David Bier” embossed name to the corner of the famed photographers’ images. An absolutely astounding collection of hall of fame proportions, don’t let the flash blind you and cause you to miss your chance on being our lucky winning bidder.
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