6. 1912 Oversized New York Giants Photo w/Christy Mathewson (HOF) - Fans Give Matty a Car! Spectacular photo dating to April 19, 1912, when Giants star pitcher Christy Mathewson was awarded a brand-new car by fans. At a ceremony prior to the home opener at the Polo Grounds, the New York Evening Mail (who collected donations from fans to make the purchase) presented the hometown hero with the automobile, a “Silent Knight” Columbia-Knight Roadster. Mathewson and his teammates are depicted here, along with the vehicle, in front of a capacity crowd of Giants fans. Framed to a finished size of 21” x 17.5”, the fram appears vintage, still intact but aided by some duct tape applied to the back of the frame, holding the assembly in place. A typewritten photo caption cut into the matte reads “TRUFFAULT-HARTFORD-EQUIPPED COLUMBIA SILENT KNIGHT BEING PRESENTED BY THE NEW YORK FANS TO CHRISTY MATHEWSON AT THE POLO GROUNDS.” Truffault-Hartford is a misspelling of Truffa ut-Hartford, the n ame of a company that
manufactured shock absorbers (eventually becoming the Hartford Shock Absorber Co). The caption leads us to believe that the photo was likely produced for the corporate headquarters of the Truffault- Hartford company, who, aside frommanufacturing the shocks in the car, appeared to have little to do with the game, the gift, or the fans. Still, they left us with an astonishingly attractive photo, the visual area of which measures over 15” x 11”, a crisp and clean depiction of the Giants in their pinstriped uniforms, heavy cotes on several players, the team mascot casually leaning against the front fender. Mathewson, who would go on to pitch the Giants to a 6-2 Opening Day victory, appears pleased with his new gift. The well-documented event has yielded several postcards and other mementos from the day, but this is the first original photo we have encountered from the event. While the frame itself exhibits areas of wear, and is held together on the reverse by the aforementioned tape, the photo appears strong, with no visible fading or damage. An exceptional piece, documenting Giant fans’ admiration for their pitching hero. MINIMUM BID: $1,000.00
www.LoveOfTheGameAuctions.com
11
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog