This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/22/2019
When company founder Enos Goudey and treasurer Harold DeLong decided to offer an incentive with the purchase of their bubble gum product in the midst of a tumultuous economic climate, they created the pinnacle of pre-war baseball card sets, the 1933 Goudey collection. Whereas similar pasteboards were previously offered with the purchase of tobacco or candy products, Goudey felt that the marriage of baseball and bubble gum seemed a natural fit, both enjoyed by young and old alike. After all, what better bond between father and son than having a chew while watching a ballgame? Over 80 years have passed since that 240-card collection went into production and many historians have proclaimed it to be not just the most important baseball card collection ever manufactured but a significant part of American history, helping promote a sense of consumer optimism in a depression-plagued nation. The featured uncut sheet from Goudey's Canadian affiliate, Worldwide Gum, is one of the most impressive pieces in the entire history of baseball cards and provides some background regarding the highly-prized #106 Nap Lajoie card, numbered as part of the 1933 Goudey series but not released until the following year. Nearly identical to the Goudey cards sold in the states, the World Wide Gum cards are generally distinguished by a slightly different reverse and carry a different number sequence. While the offered sheet is blank on the reverse, the trained eye can confirm that it is a World Wide Gum product by subtle differences in color pigmentation and card stock. Not many Goudey/World Wide Gum sheets are known to have survived, and other than an identical sheet with Goudey backs that sold at auction several years back, we've never seen another like this that carries three Babe Ruth cards. Printed on ten sheets of 24-cards each, a single print of each card would account for the 240-card run. Except, there was no card #106, Napoleon Lajoie. Goudey infamously left it out of the set to keep collectors chasing after a card that was impossible to find. Facing backlash from angry consumers, Goudey created a card #106 the following year but only distributed it by mail to customers who had complained in writing, explaining why it is so incredibly scarce. Of course, in the absence of a card #106, another card had to be double-printed to fill the spot on the sheet. The offered piece solves the mystery; it is the the full-body batting pose card of Ruth that was double-printed. Now let's get down to business; this amazing Canadian Goudey sheet contains card numbers #73 to 94, plus #55 Gehrig and, as mentioned earlier, a double-print of #80 Ruth (corresponding to the twenty-four cards numbered from #144 to #165 in the Goudey set). In addition to the "Triple Ruth" and Gehrig, other Hall of Famers featured are #74 Leo Durocher, 85 Jimmy Foxx, 89 Joe Sewell, and 90 Lloyd Waner. As impressive as the piece is, truly deserving to be on display in any museum if not the Baseball Hall of Fame, the amazingly well-preserved condition makes it even more fantastic. Free of any creases or other blemishes, the sheet looks almost as crisp as it did when it first rolled off the printing press, exhibiting no more than light wear around the perimeter and at the corners that gives it a NM overall appearance. The colors are amazing with the column furthest to the right housing a quartet of jewels; red Ruth, full-body Ruth, "Jimmy" Foxx and Lou Gehrig. Measuring 14 1/4 x 11 1/2 inches and housed in a removable mylar sleeve, the piece is protected from the elements while providing the optimum level of presentation, front and back. An extra plexiglass layer of protection is included, bring the dimensions of the complete display to 19 x 16 inches. Without question, this is one of the most astonishing pieces from the time period, representing the very best of the legendary Goudey Gum Company and its iconic 1933 baseball card series.