Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Winter 2020
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/26/2020
Representing the famous Montreal Hockey Club in 1904-05, Ernie Russell would serve the crosstown Montreal Wanderers for over a decade during the first and second decade of the twentieth century, with four Stanley Cup championships won in just five years. Originating from the incomparable autograph collection of E. Robert Hamlyn, we have an extremely rare typed letter signed by the early star. At approx 8 ½” x 11” and on Canadian Car and Foundry Company letterhead, the Jan 19, 1954 letter references an “old veterans” charity game, with mention of Jack Marshall collecting the signatures of all the participants for Hamlyn. Signed in blue ballpoint, the faultless autograph is absolutely stunning. Enshrined in the HOF in 1965, Russell passed in 1963 at the age of 79. THIS IS THE FIRST ERNIE RUSSELL SIGNATURE WE HAVE EVER SEEN.
The letter remains in beautiful condition with just light handling wear, with a very small edge tear visible along with a pair of punched holes over the top section for binder insertion.
The E. Robert Hamlyn Hockey HOFers Signed Photo and Letter Collection
Beginning life as the passion of one youth growing up in Newfounland during the late-1930s, E. R. Hamlyn was bitten by the collecting bug as a teenager, and began to seek out the signatures of both contemporary and past hockey stars, with his efforts culminating in the world class collection of signed photos and letters that encompass his incomparable autograph collection, with many unique items and extremely rare signatures making up the vast collection.
Through effective letter writing, first to teams, and then when information was received, directly to the players themselves, Hamlyn would request the addressed parties sign a photo he himself would provide, with the overwhelming majority honouring the enthusiastic collector’s wishes. And enamored with the uniforms of both the Montreal Maroons and New York Americans – despite never seeing these teams play in person, Hamlyn had the foresight to seek out the signatures of past retired stars from long forgotten and defunct franchises. The insightful collector also recorded information now invaluable to his collection, with most of the signed letters and photos having dates listed when they were received back signed.
Numerous early Hall of Fame legends make up the one-of-a-kind gathering including signed photos from Sylvio Mantha, George Hainsworth, King Clancy, Cecil "Babe" Dye, George "Buck" Boucher, Jack Ruttan, Barney Stanley, "Bullet" Joe Simpson and others, along with signed letters from Ernie "Moose" Johnson, Ernie Russell, George McNamara, Jack Marshall, Dickie Boon and others. Impossible to duplicate, this is unequivocally the greatest autograph collection that we have handled in our 25 years of service to the collecting community.
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