Babe Ruth Photograph, ca. 1920
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GUEST:
I had a dear friend, and happened to be my neighbor. And he had been out in Hollywood in the late '40s and '50s, and he was taking photographs at the Brown Derby. And Babe walked in, and he lifted his camera to take a picture. And Babe told him, "Please, no." He respected him enough not to take the picture. And so, from that, a nice relationship started between the two of them. And every time Babe would come back into the Brown Derby, he would bring him a picture. And, one of the times he came in, he brought this picture and gave it to him.
APPRAISER:
And now, when you first obtained it, he gave you a letter for you and your husband about the photo.
GUEST:
Yes, he did.
APPRAISER:
And in that letter, he tells that that was Babe's favorite photograph.
APPRAISER:
This is a gelatin silver print of a very young Babe Ruth.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
In his 20s. Measures 14 by 11, and it's in excellent condition. This is the only known example of this image. How much did you pay for it?
GUEST:
Well, I always saw this in his house, and I said, "That's a wonderful picture." And I said, "If you ever decide to sell that, would you please give me a chance?" And he said, "I'll sell it to you for $50." Well, I was just, like, "You've got to be kidding!" So, I purchased it for $50.
APPRAISER:
Because of its scarcity, because it's the only known example of this image, at auction, we estimate it $5,000 to $7,000.
GUEST:
Wow. Wow. That's great.
Appraisal Details
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