MEARS August Auction Now Live – Auction Report Initiates Coverage On MEARS

Collectors can now view over 1,700+ lots which are offered for sale for the MEARS August 20th – 28th, 2010 sales event at www.mearsonlineauctions.com or register at https://www.mearsonlineauctions.com/adduser.aspx. Highlighted items of memorabilia include: 1978 Robin Yount Milwaukee Brewers game worn jersey given as a gift to the present of his fan club, 1940 Joe Stydahar World Championship Trophy Pocket Watch, 1927-28 Jackie Tavener Earliest Known Chainstitched Detroit Tigers Spalding Game Worn Cap, 1963 Chicago Bears Championship Game Presentation Game Used football, and Over 700+ The Sporting News archives featuring Type 1 photos and original production art. For photo enthusiast, The Sporting News Archives represent the largest accumulation of original photography ever assembled or offered for public sale. Founded in 1886, the original newspaper sold for 5 cents. For over the next 100 years, the magazine covered all major sports, with baseball being its most popular sport.

Our August auction features both original Type 1 photos along with production art. Before the day of Photoshop, newspapers took original photos and created “mock ups”. Conlon’s, Bain’s, and other famous photographers had there work cut up, painted, and pasted to story board, which was then photographed for inclusion in the paper. Due to the unique nature of the editor’s request, each label listed in the MEARS Auction as “Production Art” is a one of a kind piece created for a specific use.

In order to insure the provenance of each item, an official The Sporting News hologram is found on the reverse of every item. Regarding the original photos, the staff of MEARS spent countless hours researching each photograph as it was prepared for sale. In order to help date the photo, based on our research we provided a basic dating with each lot description. The accepted definition is:

Designated as a Type 1 photo, this image was developed directly from the original photographers negative within approximately two years of the depicted person/event. Photographers included in the collection include Charles Conlon, George Burke, George Brace, William C. Greene, Alex P. Silverberg, and George Dorrill. Some are identified; many are not but were provided by these world class photographers. Unlike the more common wire photos which are more readily available, these selected images were often hand developed by the photographer and sent to the Sporting News magazine. Therefore, the result is an actual first generation Type 1 photographers print -again, not be confused with the more commonly found wire photo image. The largest and most comprehensive major collection to enter the market of exclusive Type 1 Photo Prints to date.

News service photos are also included, and in those instances, are identified as such by their respective stampings. Acme Wire Photo, Associated Press, International News, and United Press have provided images to the archives. Reverse images are included for identification purposes. As part of the production process for the newspaper, images may show production notes, photographer’s stamps, date codes, and other markings associated with the production of the Sporting News newspaper. In all cases, each selected image is of superior quality, subject matter, clarity, contrast and condition. Each image was archived by the Sporting News and includes the official Sporting News hologram, assuring its origin and provenance. Additional MEARS LOA included with each lot.