Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Winter 2020
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/26/2020
Best remembered for leading the Montreal Canadiens through their most successful period from behind the bench, winning eight Stanley Cups in just thirteen seasons, Toe Blake also won a trio of championships as a player, once with the Maroons, and twice with the Canadiens. Originating from the incomparable autograph collection of E. Robert Hamlyn, we have a handwritten letter signed by the 1939 Hart Trophy-winner, accompanied by an original Rice Studios photo of Toe in his Maroons jersey (8” x 9 ½”). At approx 8” x 10” and dated Feb 28, 1941, the single page letter has Blake apologizing for the late reply, with mention of a signed photo being sent to Hamlyn. The text and signature are flawless. Honoured with HOF enshrinement in 1966, Blake passed away in 1995, at the age of 82.
The letter remains in beautiful condition with just light handling wear, toning and fold lines, with a pair of punched holes over the top section for binder insertion along with a notation over the reverse stating that Hamlyn received this letter on March 10, 1941. The photo remains in very good condition and exhibits a few minor creases, with a stamp from Rice over the reverse along with a few pencil notations.
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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