Addendum: Starting bid increased after locating Lou Gehrig's signature on the McCarthy piece.
This lot features four (4) multi-signed original (1-of-1) caricatures of noted sports personalities drawn and/or painted by the late Bettina Steinke, an artist who passed away in 1999 at the age of 86. After graduating from high school she enrolled in the Fawcett Art School in Newark, New Jersey and then in Cooper Union and the Phoenix Art School where she concentrated on portraiture. Her talent is reflected in the four portraits she developed of four Baseball Hall of Famers who were honored by the Circus Saints and Sinners Club (CSSC): longtime New York Yankees Manager Joe McCarthy; former MLB Commissioner Ford Frick; former MLB Executive and American League President Larry MacPhail; and player/manager Billy Southworth.
Each of the caricatures were illustrated on oversized (22” wide by 30” high) canvas boars that were later signed in pencil or pen by the featured CSSC honorees as well as the organization’s 100-plus other members present for the event. The ceremonies were often held at the Hotel Astor in New York City. Three of the four caricatures reflect the dates of the actual induction festivities: Oct. 13, 1937 (Joe McCarthy); May 11, 1938 (Ford Frick); Oct. 10, 1939 (Larry MacPhail); and 1942 (Billy Southworth). Both MacPhail (“Brooklyn Dodgers”) and Southworth (“St. Louis Cardinals World Champions 1942”) added inscriptions beneath their respective signatures.
As a huge bonus, the McCarthy piece is also signed by "Iron Horse"
Lou Gehrig as well as Babe Ruth's famed sports agent Christy Walsh,
each in 7-8/10 black ink located just below the Yankee skipper's large encircled black ink signature. These were all done just three days after the Yanks won the '37 World Series over their crosstown rival Giants. There could be several other notable signatures within each piece's boundaries of celebrities, politicians, business moguls, etc.
Full PSA/DNA LOA on McCarthy for Gehrig Sig. Other autographs pre-certified by PSA/DNA.
Notes: The Circus Saints & Sinners Club of America, Inc., is a national
charitable organization that raises money for local charities and has
fun doing it. The club is a non-sectarian, non-political association of
successful business and professional men with a four-fold purpose: to
perpetuate the cause of entertainment in the spirit of its earliest
form—the circus; promote good fellowship; contribute to worthy charities
and to have fun. The club’s origins date back to 1926 when a small
group of circus enthusiasts in New York City founded the Circus Fans
Association of America. In 1929, several of them resigned their
membership and formed the Circus Saints and Sinners Club of America.