19 1915 Boston Red Sox Magic Lantern Slide w/Babe Ruth Rookie Photo Over the past decade, the card that has become most highly coveted among even the most advanced collectors has been the 1915 Boston Red Sox Real Photo Postcard. The card depicts each of the members of the team, posing for the camera, an awesome array of firepower - from future Hall of Famers Tris Speaker and Harry Hooper to pitching stars Smoky Joe Wood and Carl Mays, the team seems poised for greatness. But it is the face of young Babe Ruth that is most important - the image pictures the young Boston pitcher in his first full season, making the postcard, in the eyes of many, his “rookie card” since it is the first card that depicts him as a major leaguer. The card prices have skyrocketed in recent years, making it impossible to obtain for all but the wealthiest of collectors. Following quickly on its heels, of course, are the multitude of other examples of that photo - the 1916 Stag Sweaters cabinet photo, for example, which has climbed well into the five-figure range, as has the Type 1 photo by George Grantham Bain from which the cabinet was derived. Neither photo, however, is a “rookie” photo of Ruth - it was taken in 1916, a full season after the photo on the coveted postcard. Presented here, however, is a new discovery: a magic lantern slide depicting the same team from 1915, taken within seconds
of the famous postcard photo! Advertising First National Bank, the American Press Association Slide clearly identifies the 1915 Red Sox (“favorites for the championship of the universe”), the youthful image of Ruth smiling in the back row. Magic lantern slides were widely used in the early 1900s, paired with special projectors, which gave people an early look at color images of people, locations, and other items of interest. With the advent of television, lantern slides went the way of the dodo which, coupled with their extreme fragile nature (they’re made of glass), makes them scarce today. This example is in outstanding condition, a recent discovery with no blemishes save for some slight snow on the image, likely the result of the manufacturing process. The image is clear (though in order to properly see it, one needs a scanner capable of scanning photographic slides - or simply to hold it up to light). This is the first example of this image we have ever encountered in this format; it is entirely likely that the slide version of this image is more r are th an even the postcard that is so highly desirable! Previously unknown to most, an incredible artifact picturing a young Babe Ruth, on the brink of becoming the world’s famous celebrity. MINIMUM BID: $1,500.00
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