This album begins with several action photos of the famed National Baseball Tournament at Koshien Stadium, and features two pages of 10 rare photographs (5 autographed), of members of the Takarazuka Kyokai, a pre-Nippon League professional team. In all, the album includes 229 photos, 120 of which are autographed. Japanese Hall of Famers include: Amachi, Fujimoto, Mizuhara (2 examples), Nakajima, Ogawa, and Yamashita (2 examples) Also included are university-period autographed photos of Kumeiyasu Yajima, an original member of the Tokyo Giants who died in World War II, and Masaru Kataoka, a member of the Nihon Undo Kyokai (Shibaura Assn.), Japan's first pro team, which disbanded after the 1923 Tokyo earthquake, and reorganized as the Takarazuka Kyokai team.
Included with this lot is a loose album leaf, among which are signed photos of 1934 All Nippon Team members Nidegawa (HOF), Yajima and Kura and photos of the Tokio Senators, one of the original teams of the Nippon Professional Baseball League.
Teams represented include: Daimai (industrial/company team), Sundai Club, Kobe Daimond Club, Keio University, Doshisha University, Aichi Commercial School, Dairen Commercial School (Manchuria), Kagoshima Commercial School, Matsumoto Commercial School, Takamatsu Commercial School, Ichioka Middle School, Iwate Fukuoka Middle School, Kaiso Middle School, Koryo Middle School, Koyo Middle School, Toyonaka Middle School, Wakayama Middle School. The majority of photos measure 2 1/2" by 3 1/2" and 4" by 5 1/2" with a few larger photos. Signatures average 8/10. LOAs from PSA/DNA and JSA.
Estimate: $3,000-4,000