Extraordinary 1927 "Babe Comes Home" Movie Window Card Featuring Babe Ruth - Ex-Halper Collection

Sold For:

$72,000

Year:

1927

Auction:

2022 Fall

Lot #:

16

Category:

Post-1900 Baseball Memorabilia

Presented is one of the signature Babe Ruth pieces from Barry Halper’s collection and one of the rarest of all Ruth collectibles: the window card from the 1927 First National Pictures release of Babe Comes Home starring Babe Ruth. This extraordinary rarity is, to the best of our knowledge, the only example known! The art deco display features a striking illustration of Ruth in a swing-through pose set against a bright orange background. This is an amazing Ruth piece, and it's easy to see why it was a favorite of Barry's, especially because he always particularly enjoyed all items related to Ruth's career on the silver screen. Ruth’s image dominates the display, and theater-showing dates and times are stenciled across the top. The window card's exceptional graphics and vivid colors make this an exceptional baseball display piece. It is also highly coveted by movie-poster collectors. Barry’s Ruth collection was second to none, and he considered this piece one of the highlights of that extraordinary assemblage. Babe Comes Home was the second feature film to star the Yankees legendary slugger, and it was released in sound, so for the first time fans could hear the Babe speak on screen. The offered window card is one of the finest pieces of Ruth film memorabilia in existence and it is further enhanced by its long residence in the world’s largest and most famous private baseball collection. The window card (13.25 x 21.75 inches, visible dimensions) has undergone professional restoration in repair of a few tears. The restorative work was well executed, and the card has an overall Excellent appearance. Matted and framed to total dimensions of 22.5 x 31 inches. The original 1999 Sotheby's auction label remains affixed to the reverse of the frame. (Please note that miraculously our consignor was able to locate a vintage photograph capturing Ruth holding an example of this particular window card, which can be seen here.) The size/weight of this item requires that there will be an additional shipping charge for this lot. Opening Bid $25,000.