An original Honus Wagner photograph, which was used to create his legendary T206 card, sold for $117,500 at Hunt Auctions on Tuesday.
The photo, which had a pre-auction estimate of $100,000-$300,000, is known as a cabinet card, featuring an image of Wagner taken by famed baseball photographer Carl Horner around 1902.
Only a handful of examples exist, with this particular photo sitting unknown for more than 100 years in the archives of The Cleveland Plain Dealer until its 2013 discovery. In 2019, the photo was sold at Lelands for $65,007.60.
At the time of its return to the hobby in 2013, the cabinet photo was unmounted and exhibited a few production markings. The portrait was re-mounted and removed of its markings in an expert process which included a small amount of “inpainting.”
Due to its re-mounting, the photo is not technically considered a Type 1 photo, though the few other examples of the original photo are often described as such.
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The sale came as part of Hunt's annual auction in collaboration with Major League Baseball in the lead-up to the 2024 All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas.
Other standout items from the auction included:
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Lou Gehrig's 1933 All-Star pendant sold for $305,500. The 14k gold pendant is a rare Gehrig item because the Iron Horse melted down a lot of his trophies and memorabilia.
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A "Tri-Mountain Base Ball Club" baseball player ambrotype photograph, depicting one of the earliest known images of a baseball player, which sold for $102,812.
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An autographed album page signed by early 20th century pitcher Vic Willis, which sold for $52,875 against a high estimate of $12,500.
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The baseball used to record the 1982 World Series-clinching out in Game 7, signed by Cardinals closer Bruce Sutter, which sold for $48,175.
Will Stern is a reporter and edito for cllct.