Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Winter 2017
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/8/2017
Extremely rare with only a few examples known, this copy of Babe Ruth’s Baseball Game was officially endorsed by the slugger and it features a cover variation that witnessed exceedingly short shelf life when first issued in 1936. The cover image featuring game action depicts players of an earlier vintage, complete with pillbox caps and dead-ball era refinement, a hint to the image’s former provenance. Two games produced earlier in the century by Victorian makers McLoughlin Bros both capitalized on the image, with Home Base Ball game produced in 1911 and Baseball and Checkers: Two Game Combination from circa-1918. Its no surprise that this past cover imagery was appropriated, as manufacturer Milton Bradley had purchased McLoughlin Bros along with their holdings in 1920. At roughly 19 ¼” x 10” x 2”, the instructions has been affixed to the interior lid with the contents appearing complete, with 86 cards to dictate game action, along with 8 wooden pegs divided evenly for two teams of four.
A number of condition issues are present, with heavy wear to the cover along edges, with three of the four corner flaps torn. The score card beneath the instructions has also been utilized, with additional pencil notations present. The interior game board remains fairly clean with some light creasing, with a breach to the surface on the underside along with the silhouette drawn in pencil of a large horse.
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