Robert Edward Auctions
P.O. Box 430, Chester, New Jersey 07930
908-888-2555
About Auction House
Robert Edward Auctions is the nation's premier auction house specializing in rare baseball cards and memorabilia, with significant experience and expertise in all major sport, non-sport, and Americana collectibles.Auction Previews & News
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Auction IndustryCharles Conlon’s iconic photograph of Ty Cobb stealing third base to be auctioned
Interested bidders may participate in the auction online. CHESTER, NJ.- Charles Conlon’s photograph of Ty Cobb sliding into third base is considered by many to be the most hallowed and coveted sports image. An original image of Conlon’s shot will be auctioned by Robert Edward Auctions. It is one of just two known original images. Bidding for the photo concludes December 6. Interested bidders may participate in the auction online. In every field of collectible there is one piece, a singular item that rises in stature above all others and becomes iconic. In art, it is the Mona Lisa; in baseball cards, the T206 Honus Wagner Card; and in musical instruments, a Stradivarius violin. Baseball photography, too, has its own paragon of visual perfection, and it is not surprising that it comes to us from the gifted lens of the man many consider to be the greatest practitioner of his craft: Charles Conlon. On July 23, 1910, at Hilltop Park, home of the New York Highlanders, Conlon shot what is universally regarded as the most visceral sports photograph ever taken. The image captures the pure fury that was Ty Cobb as he slides into third base on an attempted steal and makes Highlanders third baseman Jimmy Austin pay for his impudence in attempting to make the tag. The determination on Cobb's face, the dirt flying in all directions, and Austin's futile attempt to catch the throw from the catcher while trying to avoid serious injury from the steel shards emanating from Cobb's shoes combine to elicit an emotional response that is unmatched by any other baseball image. While this photo has been reproduced countless times in both books and periodicals, and second-generation copies are plentiful in the hobby, an original, first-generation example was, for many years, unheard of. In 2015, the first confirmed example surfaced, exciting collectors, researchers, and photography enthusiasts alike. Eventually transacted privately for $250,000, that example instantly became the gold standard of baseball photography, sitting alone atop the record books as the single most expensive sports photograph ever sold. The consignor of this photo acquired it at auction nearly three…
Auction IndustryRare 1868 Brooklyn Atlantics trade card to be auctioned
1868 The Atlantic Nine Peck & Snyder Advertising Trade Card. Starting Bid: $20,000.00. LOS ANGELES, CA.- A scarce Peck & Snyder trade card featuring the 1868 Brooklyn Atlantics will be auctioned at Robert Edward Auctions. Bidding ends April 19. Interested bidders may participate in the auction online. The Brooklyn Atlantics, established in 1855, were one of the most prominent and successful baseball clubs in New York during baseball's formative years. A charter member of the National Association of Base Ball Players in 1857, the Atlantics are best known today for their historic win over the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1870. That victory, by a score of 8-7 in extra innings, marked the first defeat for the Red Stockings in over two years. Ironically, the last team that had beaten the Red Stockings, on October 1, 1868, was also the Atlantics. Many of the Atlantic players responsible for that victory over the Red Stockings in 1870 are pictured here, including Pearce, Ferguson, Start, Zettlein, Chapman, and Smith. After the 1869 season, the Atlantics joined the ranks of professionalism, but they declined to join the National Association (baseball's first professional league) during its inaugural 1871 campaign. Instead, the Atlantics waited a year and joined the league in 1872. They remained a member of the National Association during the remainder of its brief existence, but were not invited to join the National League in 1876. Without a league affiliation, the Atlantics continued to play an independent schedule for a number of years before disbanding in the 1880s. The 1868 Brooklyn Atlantics trade card has long been recognized as one of the most significant and greatest rarities of all nineteenth-century team cards. It has always been an essentially impossible-to-obtain "dream card" for advanced collectors. One had never come to auction until Robert Edward Auctions presented an exciting find of CDVs and trade cards in the May 2012 auction, which included the first 1868 Brooklyn Atlantics trade card seen in the modern era. That example realized an amazing final price of $82,950. The formal studio photograph captures nine members of the Brooklyn Atlantics posing together in uniform.…
