Lot # 805: 1936 R314 Goudey "Wide Pen" Premium Near-Complete Set (117/120) Plus Scarce Type 2 and Type 3 Cards

Issued in 1936 by Goudey Gum and catalogued R314 in the American Card Catalog, this large-format (3-1/4 x 5-1/2 inches) black-and-white set is printed on thin stock and is known to collectors as "Wide Pens" because of the thick printing used for the facsimile autographs. R314 Goudey premiums were not sold in packs like 1933 Goudey but were actually handed out from behind the counter at candy stores with purchases of Goudey gum. Presented is a rarely offered near-complete set of 117 different Type 1 premiums (out of 120 in the set) plus twenty duplicates, five R314 Type 2s, and three R314 Type 3s. Missing only Greenberg, Medwick, and L. Waner for completion. R314 premiums have received very little attention from collectors, in part due to the fact that they are larger than standard cards, were one of the last cards to have holders for encapsulation due to their size, and are blank-backed with no identification of the issuer. A case could be made that they represent one of the best values among all 1930s issues. Included in this collection are thirty-three Hall of Famers, highlighted by one of the earliest cards of Joe DiMaggio, dating from his rookie season. Condition is 35% Gd to Vg (including a few slightly better) and 65% Pr to Fr (including three trimmed and one with color added). Three cards have been professionally graded and encapsulated by SGC. The duplicates include a few of the scarcer R314 Type 2 (no "LITHO. IN U.S.A." line) and Type 3 (borderless) varieties, noted below. Keys: Two Averill (Vg, type 1 and Pr-Fr, Type 2), Cochrane (Pr), Combs (Vg+), two Cronin (Vg, type 1 and Pr, Type 3), Cuyler (Vg+), Dickey (ink writing on reverse, otherwise Vg), DiMaggio/McCarthy (Pr), Ferrell (Vg+), Ferrell Bros. (Pr), two Fox (Pr-Fr, Type 2 and Pr, Type 3), two Frisch (Fr and pencil on reverse, otherwise Gd), Gehringer (Vg+), Gomez (ink on reverse, otherwise Vg), Goslin (Pr), four Greenberg (two Pr and SGC POOR 10, Type 2 and SGC POOR 10, Type 3, both holders are scratched), two Harris (Pr and trimmed, otherwise Pr-Fr), Hartnett (Pr), Hoyt (SGC EX 60), Klein (trimmed, otherwise Pr), Lindstrom (marks on reverse, otherwise Gd+), Lombardi (Vg), Lopez (Pr), two Simmons (both Pr), Vaughan (Gd), and two P. Waner (Fr and Pr). In addition to the four listed in the key-card composite, the following sixteen duplicates are also included: Bartell/sliding, Camilli, Castleman/throwing, Harder, Hemsley, Lary, two McNair, R. Moore, Moriarty, Rowe, Sewell, Stone, Swift, Travis, and B. Whitehead. The high-quality photographs used to produce these premiums make them among the most striking and distinctive of all 1930s issues. Total: 145 cards.