10. Ultra-Rare 1934 Dizzy and Daffy Dean Union Leader Tobacco Advertising Display The 1934 baseball season was one of the greatest ever played, and the pitching performances of St. Louis Cardinals brothers Dizzy and “Daffy” Dean were a big part of the reason why. While the pair’s 49 combined wins is a statistic that is easy to digest, it was the Cardinals’ stretch run that saw the Dean brothers lift the entire team onto their backs and carry them to a Championship. In order to finishe one game ahead of the New York Giants in the National League, the Cardinals won 18 of their last 23 games. In the team’s last 29 games, a Dean brother pitched in 19, starting 14, winning 11 with two saves. Paul Dean pitched two extra inning complete games, and they combined for 11 complete games in September alone. In a doubleheader against Brooklyn, Dizzy pitched a one- hit shutout in the first game, and Paul followed up with a no-hitter in the second, prompting Dizzy’s famous quote “If I’d a-known you was gonna throw a no-hitter, I’d a-throwed one, too!” A Dean brother went on to win all four World Series games, each brother responsible for two. Their performances in 1934 are among the greatest in baseball history. The Dean brothers’ popularity swelled throughout the season, and endorsements piled up. Among them was this - an enormous full-color cardboard display featuring the Dean Brothers’ endorsement of Lorillard’s Union Leader tobacco. Its popularity and desirability among collectors of sports advertising displays is almost without parallel; it remains one of the most highly sought-after displays in the entire hobby. It is also an extreme rarity; no more than three or four different examples have sold publicly in recent memory. This example originates from the collection of Ted Patterson, where it has resided for at least a decade.
Given the extreme rarity of the piece, the restoration is not only acceptable, but welcome. The piece does exhibit wear consistent with its age and its intended use; the colored paper of the image overlaps the cardboard backing around the edges, resulting in some minor but extensive chipping and tearing. The easel is missing from the cardboard backing, and the backing itself does exhibit some wear, chipping and minor creasing. Though many of the remaining condition flaws could be addressed or improved with additional restoration, the piece does display extraordinarily well as-is. One of the finest advertising display items in the entire hobby, featuring two of the era’s most popular players. MINIMUM BID: $2,000.00
The piece is enormous, measuring 30” across at its widest, by 42” in height. The outward appearance is strong, as it appears colorful and clean, and rich in detail. Closer investigation yields areas of significant professional restoration, including extensive inpainting of the Lorillard eagle logo at the top center, along with the lettering at the top. The red border and white lettering at the bottom edge of the piece have also undergone restoration, and it appears that some heavy creasing at the bottom-right of the piece have been flattened. The restoration is cosmetic in nature, but also an effective way of stabilizing wear that might otherwise threaten to destroy the piece.
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