Value of this Babe Ruth Wire Photo

[joed25]

Hi everyone, new member here. Someone I know has this wire photo of Ruth and he is looking to sell it. I mostly collect autographs and I know nothing about photos. Could someone help me out and tell me how much this is worth? He said its a photo of the first All Star Game and its from the 30's but the photo looks too white on the back to be that old. Thanks for the help.

[bobw]

As there is a zip code on the stamp, it couldn't be from the 1930s. zip codes started in 1963.

[GKreindler]

And, in case your friend wants to know for sure, the photo's actually from the second All-Star Game in 1934, the same one that saw Carl Hubbell fan Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin in succession.

Regardless of the type, it's a beautiful shot!!

Graig

[thecatspajamas]

Though I can't find an exact match for that stamping style, it does closely resemble those used in the 1970's to mid-1980's. As Bob mentioned, with the presence of the zip code, it couldn't be before late-1962.

Following the merger of United Press and International News in 1958, a LOT of earlier photographs were "re-released" to subscribers over the following 25 years. Many are of equal quality to their earlier counterparts as UPI still had the original negatives, but if you're hung up on the Type 1 designation, be very careful when picking up early photos with UPI stamping.

[joed25]

Thank you everyone for your help. Does anyone know the approx value? He wants $100, is that a good deal? Thank you.

[ibuysportsephemera]

This is a nice photo but IMO is not worth anything close to $100. There is no caption, date stamps, other press markings, etc. You can check on eBay and will eventually find more vintage photos of the Babe that are a fraction of that price. I collect wire and press photos and my preference is for stamps, captions, markings, etc....the more the better.

Jeff

[D. Bergin]

Probably more in the $30-50 range with that type of stamping.

[drc]

It's from the 1960s-70s. However, it is an official UPI news photo and only a handful were made. It's something from UPI's files and not a mass production for the public. So it's not a cheapo photo, just made years later. I'd say $30 would be a reasonable price if you liked it.

For reference, I had a UPI photo like this of Christy Mathewson that sold for $50, but Mathewson is a much, much tougher subject to find in photo form and it was a great shot. Ruth is popular but plentiful.

The later UPI photos like this often haver really sharp images, as UPI had the original negatives, but the paper tends to be unusually white-- as you noticed. Your eyes served you well.

For what it's worth, PSA/DNA would grade it.

Interestingly, if it was original and that is indeed the All-Star game, I would have valued it at higher than $100.

[Frozen in Time]

Originally Posted by drc

It's from the 1960s-70s. However, it is an official UPI news photo and only a handful were made. It's something from UPI's files and not a mass production for the public. So it's not a cheapo photo, just made years later. I'd say $30 would be a reasonable price if you liked it.

For reference, I had a UPI photo like this of Christy Mathewson that sold for $50, but Mathewson is a much, much tougher subject to find in photo form and it was a great shot. Ruth is popular but plentiful.

The later UPI photos like this often haver really sharp images, as UPI had the original negatives, but the paper tends to be unusually white-- as you noticed. Your eyes served you well.

For what it's worth, PSA/DNA would grade it.

Interestingly, if it was original and that is indeed the All-Star game, I would have valued it at higher than $100.

To perhaps narrow it down a little more, it appears to be yet another of the somewhat confusing variations of UPI stamping used between late 1962 and the early 1970's. If the whiteness of the back is because of RC paper could mean it is post 1966 or so.