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Incredible, how did you find that pic???
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Thanks, guys. The auction has definitely been fun, and the photo match was a thrill.
Gehrig used primarily Louisville Sluggers throughout his career, except for the period between 1929 and 1931, when he's on record as having used Batrite and Spalding bats. For the purposes of the print catalog, I wanted to find a photo of Gehrig with the kind of Batrite bat with the "bat wings" logo in the centerbrand. You'd think that would be easy, but I looked for a LONG time with no results - everything I found was either a LVS bat, or a bat of indeterminate manufacture.
On the LAST possible day before the catalog went to print, I found a photo of Gehrig with Babe Ruth and Bob Shawkey that was taken at Comiskey Park. It's hysterical, because in hindsight the photo was hiding in plain sight - it was part of the Chicago Daily News photo archive, hosted by the Chicago History Museum. Looking in Chicago was about the last place I would have thought to find a Yankee photo.
Anyway, Gehrig was sitting there, holding this bat, and the photo couldn't have been more perfect. The "bat wings" logo was obvious, and when I blew the photo up, I could tell it was the same model. I reached out to the Chicago History Museum and acquired the rights to use the photo, and they were so helpful - ultimately, they sent me a 1200 DPI scan of the negative, and when I blew THAT up, the similarities were pretty startling. I brought the bat back to John Taube last week for an examination and comparison to the picture, and he agreed.
Anyway, I love doing this kind of research and solving these puzzles, so it's been a great ride.
The bat will be in my booth at the National - anyone who would like to get their picture taken with it, please come by my booth (1069). I'll post your picture on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, and the person who gets the most "likes" will get a $500 credit to use in the summer auction.
You could, umm, bring your consignments by, too.
-Al