BOHEMIA, N.Y. – There is still treasure waiting out there to be found.
A rare, 1889 baseball card advertising poster with an estimated auction value of over $100,000 has been discovered at an estate sale in upstate New York, and will be auctioned in May by the sports auction house Lelands.
The poster advertises “The Goodwin Round Album,” a nine-page premium album of full-color round baseball card portraits of the leading players of the day. It was available by mail order by sending in coupons packaged with Goodwin Tobacco.
This poster, which is unrestored and in very good condition, is a one of a kind piece, as the two others known are both a different format. One of the two was also heavily restored. The other was once in the collection of super-collector Barry Halper. It was one of only two pieces that hung in his office.
The artwork features such future Hall of Fame players as Cap Anson, Mike “King” Kelly, Charles Comiskey, Mickey Welch, Tim Keefe, Roger Connor, John Ward and “Orator Jim” O’Rourke and Charles Comiskey
The poster states “Presented Upon Return of 75 of our Certificates to the Smokers.” The design is a magnificent example of Victorian baseball advertising beginning to emerge as an art form in and of itself.
The poster was discovered by a family combing through an estate sale near Albany, N.Y., in March. Two other dealers had been through the estate but had either missed the poster or failed to recognize its value. This family recognized that a 19th-century baseball item might have auction value, discovering it on a dresser, rolled up and placed atop some books.
“It looked old, and it seemed out of place among all the items being sold that day,” said a spokesperson for the purchaser, whose name is not being identified.
The poster will be entered in Lelands’ spring catalog auction with a $45,000 reserve.
“We always get excited about finds like this,” said Josh Evans, founder and chairman of Lelands. “There are still great finds out there waiting to be discovered. The American antiques and collectibles field is still a great treasure hunt!”
