Vintage or Repro?

[Centerfield]

Came across this laughable Ken Wel calendar from 1921 featuring the Gehrig zipperback mitt. The seller says in bold text… THIS IS NOT A REPRO!! How, then, can Gehrig endorse a product a full two years prior to his first game in the majors? Ken Wel must have seen him hit some bombs at Columbia and signed him early!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Lou-Gehrig- ... dZViewItem

On to another topic, Rawlings Mantle hang tags. There have been a few of these MM hangers pop up on eBay over the past year or so. It seems that there are more tags available on the open market than actual MM model gloves! I’ve chalked them up to being reproductions, but was wondering what the board thought? They generally sell for $50-$80, which in my opinion is way too much for a repro and extremely inexpensive if actually vintage.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... :IT&ih=024

Interestingly, all of the prior MM hang tag listings originated from Ohio (this one is from Indiana). Years ago, there where replica Stall & Dean Cobb counter displays ( cover of the Vintage Baseball Glove Price Guide – No. 8 ) being peddled out of Ohio. More than one vintage glove collector got burned on those. Wonder if the same “artist” is now pushing these Mantle tags?

[Studboy]

I just saw that one also. I saw a quite a few of the calenders not so long ago. It would be more believable if Ken-Wel was making Gehrig gloves in 1921 or if he was even in the bigs. Those Mantle hang tags look great but they keep showing up 1 or 2 a week. I'd like even a repro that looks like that but not a repo for $50-100.

[quaz95]

the seller of this calender is a member of the forum.

john

[Studboy]

Great! Please take my coments not to offend but to inform.

[Centerfield]

the seller of this calender is a member of the forum.

john

Well, if that's the case, he must spend most of his time in the "modern" section of the forum.

[vintagebrett]

The calendars have been discussed here before - I think the year on them keeps changing but they haven't quite figured out that the zipperbacks weren't endorsed until a lot later. I believe these items are called "fantasy pieces" - items that never really existed but are made to look vintage.

As for the hang tags, I would lean towards them not being authentic. Centerfield, you should know best since you have handled quite a few Mantles in the box- do you have any that came with a hang tag?

As for the Stall and Dean Cobb Display, at one of the shows I used to go to in IL, there would be a guy that would set up once a year with one plus a bunch of other "high-end" display pieces. When I asked where he got them, I was always told they came from a barn. This always reassured me that I was making the right choice in walking away.

[Centerfield]

Sorry Brett, didn't know it was discussed in the past.

As for Mantle hang tags, the few I've seen were of the same design of the box the glove came in. That's not to say the tag in question wasn't taken from an original tag, but my experience, and gut, suggests that it was fabricated.

Additionally, companies use items such as this to advertise and don't like to waste money. Vintage hangers I've seen and dealt with almost always have graphics and/or writing covering the entire tag (front and back). This Mantle tag is empty in the middle of the fold. In my mind, Rawlings would have utilized this space to try and entice buyers to spend more money. On the other side of the issue, if someone were to fabricate this piece, it is more cost effective to print on one side, fold it over and weather the blank area, which is what appears to to have been done.

It is a neat item, just wish it were conclusively deemed original.

[vintagebrett]

I agree about the tag - as I was driving today I was thinking there is no way Rawlings would leave all that empty space. Like you, the tags I've seen had writing/advertising/graphics on all sides.