Babe Ruth General Gum Sign/Display

[nolemmings]

I guess I’m getting tripped up on hobby lexicon, and what is meant by the term fantasy piece. I truly hope that the OP’s item is authentic, and I believe it so, although this is memorabilia and an area that I neither collect nor profess to know very well. If not authentic, though, I believe it more likely to be a reproduction or based upon something authentic than something contrived from thin air. What is the main view of those who oppose it being the real deal?

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

I guess I’m getting tripped up on hobby lexicon, and what is meant by the term fantasy piece. I truly hope that the OP’s item is authentic, and I believe it so, although this is memorabilia and an area that I neither collect nor profess to know very well. If not authentic, though, I believe it more likely to be a reproduction or based upon something authentic than something contrived from thin air. What is the main view of those who oppose it being the real deal?

Among the many mysteries surrounding this piece has to do with your very question: if it is some kind of repro, even a composite, where are the vintage items the fabricator based it on? As noted, there are known vintage elements in the details of the piece, but how could it be that the fabricator is the only one to have come across an original containing the graphics used in the replication? And if it was made up out of whole cloth--a true fantasy piece--a lot of design talent went into its creation, and how could the time, effort, and risk of exposure possibly be worth what one of these would bring on eBay? Although waiting for answers to my questions regarding the forensic analyses, I'm still leaning toward the latter of the unlikely scenarios outlined above, thinking that perhaps the creator envisioned a lot more than it actually sold for, maybe by a factor of ten or twenty, and that a result along those lines would have made the effort eminently worthwhile.

[drcy]

As the debate continues, I ordered one of the fineartamerica prints to examine in person.

It should be a few days or so before I get it, but I will report back.

[drcy]

One thing to know is that we don't know what the finesportsamerica final items look like, and what we are seeing on their website isn't the final product.

Meaning, much of their images on the site are of real items (original old movie posters, etc), and they print on demand from those images. Thus, many of those items, including perhaps the Ruth ad, may never have been ordered or produced.

An example is, the following link pictures an actual original vintage movie poster, and, when ordered, they print on demand that image onto products: coffee cup, bag, print. The actual 'Pride of the Yankees' coffee cup, phone case or print likely doesn't exist. Is the Pride of the Yankees coffee cup you order original? Obviously not, and, beyond that it's on a coffee cup, will be easily identified as a reprint. Is the poster pictured on their site original? Yes.

Thus, the actual, finished products you order are not shown on the site. They have speculative images of what the Lou Gehrig poster or Gum ad imposed on a generic handbag or print or phone case would resemble, but that's it.

Lou Gehrig movie poster

And, as has already been demonstrated, the eBay ad did not come from this site or from the image they have, as they are graphically different.

But, as I said, I will get one and report.

I'd also be happy to then examine the eBay bought one.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by drcy

I'd also be happy to then examine the eBay bought one.

I'd love to see that happen, and would consider your verdict upon examination as good as we will ever get. One more question I'm not sure has been addressed: was there an attempt to track down the source of the eBay example? Was the seller contacted for the start of that process, and what was the result?

[Hankphenom]

Would someone please provide a link to the FineartAmerica print?

[oldeboo]

It was said in the other thread that this item came from a collection that included some old baseball related letters. Shown below are a couple of samples that the seller had listed that were probably from that collection.

Here is the link to the available prints:

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/...tion-road.html