Babe Ruth-signed Photographs
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GUEST:
Well, these were given to us from my father. This is my Great-Uncle Herb, Aunt Gert, and they had a restaurant in Greenwood Lake, New York.
APPRAISER:
Right.
GUEST:
And Babe Ruth was my uncle and aunt's friend. And over the years, they got this accumulation of pictures which hung in the back of the bar in the restaurant.
APPRAISER:
These all hung in the Hilltop Restaurant?
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
Wow, how many years did Gertie and Herby own the restaurant?
GUEST:
Possibly from maybe the late '30s to the early '60s.
APPRAISER:
He had a huge grand circle of friends, just like your aunt and uncle, Gertie and Herby. And he sought out those friends as well as sick children. He was big-hearted, he was generous, he was a wonderful person, as you can see in these photos. The photo with Gertie and Herby, the photo with your father, and this one, which I love, which is Babe with... this is your father in knickers, right? The last year he wore knickers.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And your uncle.
GUEST:
If I can remember correctly, he took that picture to school with him and he created somewhat of a small riot. And he was told not to come back with that picture anymore.
APPRAISER:
When we look at photos, we look to see three different things. If you look at this photo, which I love, "To my pals Gertrude and Herbert from Babe Ruth." This is a very large photo. This is probably 14 by 11. And that's a big size. That's going to have a lot more value than, say, a two-by-three photo. And with someone like larger than life like Babe Ruth, you wouldn't expect anything else. The second thing we look at is authenticity and provenance because Babe Ruth signed a lot and there are lots of legitimate signatures, but unfortunately, there are also some signatures that are not authentic over the years. His wife signed for him at different times, his secretary, clubhouse boys. The next thing we look at is how unusual they are. I've seen... this is a very famous photo of Babe Ruth as a three-year-old. But I've never seen a Babe Ruth as a three-year-old photo inscribed, and what an inscription this is. "What a nice little boy at age three, but now wow, to my pals, Herby and Gertie, Babe Ruth." And then here's a photo at 24. And then the mystery photo, which you told me no one knows-- "to my little girlfriend Joan, from Babe Ruth"-- who that could possibly be. To preserve them, you keep them in Mylar containers, away from the light just as you told me. Value-wise, I think that they would sell for between $25,000 and $30,000 for the group.
GUEST:
(chuckling)
APPRAISER:
So what would Herby and Gertie say about this?
GUEST:
"Sell 'em!" (laughing)
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