Lot # 652: 1922 W575-1 Babe Ruth PSA POOR 1 (MK) - Diamond Confectionery Company Stamped Reverse!

Presented is a desirable example of Babe Ruth from the W575-1 strip-card series. The W575-1 set is very similar in nature to the American Caramel Company E121 issue, as both sets feature the same design and likenesses for many of the players included. One of several different cards of Ruth in the W575-1 set, this is one of the all-time classic Babe Ruth cards of the 1920s. Referred to on checklists as the Babe Ruth "L. F." variation, this popular card features Ruth in a throwing pose. While all 1920s Ruth cards are highly sought after by collectors, the offered example is particularly interesting and noteworthy for the presence of a stamped-ink reverse advertising the Diamond Confectionery Company of Wilmington, Delaware. Recently discovered by our consignor among his father's belongings, we are offering for the first time a total of five cards bearing this advertisement. We know that W575-1 cards were available to retailers to stamp and use as a promotional vehicle. One of the more notable examples of this is the Henry Johnson Confectioners company. (An example of Babe Ruth with the Henry Johnson stamped reverse appears elsewhere in this auction.) While not much is known about Diamond Confectionery Company, it does appear in business records from the period uncovered in the course of our research. The stamp on the reverse advertises a set of 150 prominent movie actors and actresses along with an accompanying album available in exchange for 15 cents. This differs from Henry Johnson stamps, which only include contact information for the company. The omission of "sports stars" from the description of the set is also interesting as it suggests there may have been multiple sets produced or that the company may have scrapped plans for the set altogether and considered a focus only on baseball players. We are also struck by the fact that the only players represented in this group of five cards are members of the New York Giants and New York Yankees, the two teams who appeared in the World Series in 1921 and were featured as part of the extremely rare Koester Bread set, another set paralleling the W575 and E121 issues. We can only hypothesize as to whether or not there is any connection between these two sets, whether Diamond Confectionery was considering a set and abandoned plans, or whether there is an alternate explanation for how these five cards came to bear this advertisement. Nonetheless, this is a particularly interesting sample card, graded and encapsulated POOR 1 (MK) by PSA due to scattered condition issues, that would be a worthy addition to any high-quality Babe Ruth or prewar-card collection.