Lot # 667: 1931 W517 #20 Babe Ruth Portrait PSA NM 7

Graded NM 7 by PSA. The 1931 W517 set features two cards of Babe Ruth, and presented in this lot is card #20, which pictures him in a striking portrait pose. Ruth (and Mickey Cochrane) are the only players in the 54-card set to be honored with two cards. This is one of Ruth’s most unusual cards. The W517 set is much appreciated by collectors for being so different in dimension and design from most other cards featuring Ruth's likeness. It is also from an unusual era, as W517 is one of the very few card sets issued after the popular strip cards of the 1920s but just before the bubble-gum cards of the early 1930s. The popular W517 large-style strip card (3 x 4 inches) issue was originally sold in vertical strips of three, which were intended to be hand-cut by youngsters. Because of their method of issue, cards from this set are often found in somewhat rough condition (miscut, creases, back damage, etc.). This example is far nicer than usually found for this condition-sensitive issue. It is bright and clean, with a crisp image, strong corners, and centering toward the right. The blank back is clean. This is an extremely attractive high-grade example of this distinctive and classic Ruth card.