Bidding is in progress for the Legendary August 24-25 Catalog Auction. Featuring 100s of Singles, Groups and Many Highly-Ranked PSA and SGC Registry Sets. With the sale of 32 Player Endorsed Store Model Gloves and 17 Vintage Store Model Gloves in our August 24-25 Catalog Auction Legendary Auctions kicks off the first large installment of The John Graham Collection.
“A baseball glove is a beginning and an ending: a boy’s first sure step towards manhood; a man’s final lingering hold on youth; it is a promise .. and a memory.” These poignant words, quoted by a well-known glove collector and authority, appear in his foreword to John Graham’s book, Baseball Gloves – Store Model Gloves from 1880’s to 1940’s – From the Collection of John Graham (2010). Player endorsed gloves carry all of the magic outlined in the referenced passage, plus an additional, powerful intangible: association with a particular, revered athlete. As well as reveling in dreams of baseball glory, young men tend to identify strongly with a specific hero. Boys from their respective generations would have idolized Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, or Mickey Mantle, and playing the game while wearing equipment bearing those players’ names was the height of a youthful ballplaying experience. Nostalgia, visual appeal, and scarcity are additional elements motivating the modern collector of these captivating leather artifacts.
One of the finest galleries of player endorsed store model gloves ever assembled was compiled by Texas collector John Graham. Focused on condition as well as completeness, his amazing “finds” were drawn together to form a museum-caliber trove of astonishing breadth. (His diligence in seeking out and acquiring the most exceptional items was gentlemanly in nature, but nevertheless unrelenting.) Consisting of the most comprehensively representative and highest-quality material imaginable – including a mind-boggling 85 of the 88 known pre-war glove models endorsed by Hall of Famers (plus Joe Jackson) – Graham’s collection served as the resource for simply incredible displays. (These are pictured in Graham’s book, which also serves as an invaluable, pictorial reference work in full color.)
Please Note: Winning bidders of one or more pieces from The John Graham Collection in this catalog will receive a complimentary copy of his book, Baseball Gloves – Store Model Gloves from 1880’s to 1940’s – From the Collection of John Graham.
