21. 1905 W601 Sporting Life Team Composite Complete Folio w/Ty Cobb’s Earliest Collectible (Pelty Estate)
Outstanding complete portfolio as issued in 1906 by Sporting Life mag- azine and containing the entire assortment of what we know today as W601 team composites. Each of the beautiful pieces measures approx- imately 13” x 14”, printed on glossy paper and containing portrait im- ages of the players of each major league team, American and National League team managers and executives, along with 7 individual minor league teams, for a total of 24 individual supplements. The pieces are presented in a handsome red portfolio, string-bound with its original twine. This piece was the property of former St. Louis Browns pitcher Barney Pelty, whose image is included on the Browns supplement. Of primary importance here is the inclusion of the 1905 Detroit Ti- gers team composite, which is the earliest-known collectible to picture Ty Cobb in a major league uniform. The identical composite image served as the cover of the November 25, 1905 issue of Sporting Life , a clear “rookie” image of Cobb. This highly-desirable scarcity is the key item in this collection. A similar piece in stronger condition sold for $8,400 all by itself in our Summer, 2022 Premier Auction. Overall condition is VG+ with some better, the majority of the wear to the supplements relating to edges and corners, along with some mild surface wrinkling and light toning. The cover has not fared as well,
preserving the pieces inside but sustaining significant surface and edge wear. The original string binding is in- tact, though we removed it temporarily to photograph some of the interior pages individually. An exceptional piece, containing the earli- est known collectible of Ty Cobb in a major league uni- form - a piece that realized nearly five figures by itself in our most recent auction - along with many of the game’s greatest-ever names. MINIMUM BID: $2,000
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