Babe Ruth Photo from 1933 - Hawaii
 

I recently purchased this photo from a family friend who was related to the photographer. It is 5" x 7" B&W photograph of Babe Ruth. Written in fountain pen on the back: Photo by Fritz Kraft, 10-22-33. "He just hit a homer as I clicked the Kodak".

Fritz Kraft was a 'souvenir photo' photographer in Hawaii, and evidence of his work can be found all over the web. His works seemed to be very popular, especially with sailors (ie: WWII Topless Hula Girl Set). He also was sued by the Territory of Hawaii in 1935 in what appears to be an early 'papparazzi' type case that went to the Hawaiian Supreme Court. He "took certain photographs of a group including Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph B.Poindexter, governor of the Territory of Hawaii, while they were visiting the Shriners' Hospital for crippled children in Honolulu and sold the same for thirty-five cents a copy. Upon this information awarrant of arrest was issued and served on the defendant, who was duly brought before the magistrate to answer the charge made against him. " The charges were overturned/dropped by the Hawaii Supreme Court.

The date on the back of the photo corresponds with the 1933 exhibition baseball games in Hawaii with Babe Ruth. I was also able to find the following story:

From October 23, 1933
RUTH SMACKS HOMER
HONOLULU (T. H.). Oct. 23. -
(U.P.)—Babe Ruth hit the first ball pitched to him for a home run when the visiting major league players defeated the local Wanderers here yesterday, 5 to 1. Before the game started Ruth complained that the baseballs provided were "second grade." The contest drew a crowd of 11,000, the largest ever to attend a baseball game here.

So it is very possible this photograph captures that home run!

And now, here is the photo:

http://photos.sportscollectors.net/98487.jpghttp://photos.sportscollectors.net/98488.jpg

I am not a vintage photo collector...yet...this is my first one :) - I'm curious as to what anyone else on here thinks it may be worth.

Joel

great batting pose
 

I could only guess on the value but that is a really great looking photo. Congrats and thanks for sharing it. Love the provenance written on it too. That surely will add some value imo. Also, welcome to Net54baseball.com!!

Joel: That is a terrific photographic. Looks like you did your homework. I've got a drawerful of Fritz Kraft's Sailors' Pal photos as well as a few of the scenics he shot but I've never seen anything quite like your picture. It's really neat to see a comment in the photographer's own hand, too. I don't know what it's worth but I would pay silly money for it if that's where you're heading. If you are in Honolulu take it over to Mauna Kea Gallery on King and McCully and then multiply by three or four what they offer you for it.
Attached is a related photo scanned from Honolulu Stadium: Where Hawaii Played by Arthur Suehiro and also a peek at the lovely Esther Sumida from Kraft's, ahem, better known genre.
http://photos.imageevent.com/kawika_...ge/DMcD191.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/kawika_...ze/Sailor4.jpg

David - Thanks for the info!

What's interesting is to see the differences between the photo posted and what I posted. In mine he's not wearing a cap or a lei....

To add to this, I almost had the perfect companion to this photo. Assuming it was taken in 1933 in Hawaii, Ruth took this trip with his family despite being in serious negotiations with the Tigers owner Frank Navin. But missed a scheduled interview in late 1933 because he was in Hawaii (posing for my photo - lol). Navin took this as a snub by Ruth and hired Michel Cochrane instead. I recently came across a 1934 Tiger team ball with Babe Ruth on the sweetspot (obtained in the Yankees trip to Detroit in 1934) - almost a "what could have been" scenario ball with an interesting backstory - but the seller disappeared and isn't returning messages.

Joel