Lot Essay
Although scarcity is quite often over estimated within the hobby, the offered signature card assuredly exceeds any descriptive indicators of same. The 1925 Exhibit Supply Company issued a series of 128 cards, one of which depicted the young star first baseman for the New York Yankees, Lou Gehrig. Interestingly, the image used for Gehrig's rookie issue was taken in 1923 shortly after he was called up to the team for part of the season. The rarity of the Gehrig rookie card is well documented, with less then 75 total having been graded by major grading companies. Autographed copies of this rookie issue are nearly impossible to obtain. We were only able to document two examples inclusive of the offered card at the highest graded. Gehrig has signed the front of the card in black fountain pen which based on size and formation can be dated around the period of issue. Signature is very clean with fine display qualities and rates 9 out of 10. The postcard itself is extremely fine for its issue with fairly sharp corners and very minimal edge wear. Blank back features some period black fountain pen notations made in the period regarding Gehrig's statistics and a note that states "Saw him play". The true scarcity and significance of the offered card are difficult to quantify. Perhaps a proper context would be to consider the value which would be assigned to an autographed 1916 M116 Babe Ruth rookie card. Or a Joe Jackson signed 1909 E90-1 Joe Jackson rookie card. Again, while difficult to offer perspective, there is no debate as to the extraordinary rarity of this notable collecting and investment opportunity. Encapsulated BY PSA/DNA (9 MT) and includes full LOA from JSA: Card: VG-EX (With note to ink notations on back), Signature: MT