11/7/1959 WILT CHAMBERLAIN VS. BILL RUSSELL OPENING TIP GICLEE PHOTO FROM THEIR FIRST CAREER MATCHUP WITH THE ORIGINAL 1-OF-1 NEGATIVE FILM STRIP FROM HERB SCHARFMAN'S CAMERA (TypeZero COA)

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/3/2020

Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell never got to play against each other in college – Russell graduating from USF a year before Wilt started at Kansas – so the first time these two hardcourt legends squared off was November 7, 1959 at the Boston Garden when Wilt’s Philadelphia Warriors came to Beantown. This famous image of that game's opening tip captures the first milliseconds of what would be 94 meetings between them. Russell got the better of Wilt in their first matchup, holding “The Big Dipper” to 30 points (7.6 below his average as a rookie) on a horrendous 12-38 (31.6%) from the field. “The Stilt” did, however, grab 28 rebounds (his season average). Meanwhile, Bill had 22 points and 35 boards (yes, 35!), going a perfect 8-8 from the foul line and leading his Celtics to 115-106 victory.

It was the beginning of a rivalry in which Russell would ultimately have the last word – that is, if wins and losses is the determining factor. “Mr. 11 Rings” went 54-37 head-to-head against Chamberlain, despite the fact that Wilt doubled him up on points (29.9 to 14.2) and outrebounded Bill 28.2 to 22.9. The telling stat was Wilt’s field goal percentage. He could only muster 48.8% against The Minister of Defense, compared to his 54% career average.

The photographer who captured this iconic shot was Herb Scharfman, a longtime International News stringer who would later join Sports Illustrated and whose work there graced the cover 15 times. Other famous photos taken by Scharfman were Rocky Marciano’s famous knockout punch of Jersey Joe Walcott in 1952 and the moment when Roger Maris broke The Babe’s single-season home run record in 1961.

Each TypeZero Original is one of a kind and contains the original photographic film present in the camera when the image was created. Therefore, this film artifact was in the presence of the people and the event, which is captured on that transparency or negative. The 1-of-1 negative is accompanied by a digitally reproduced giclee print measuring approximately 8x11 inches [“created on Exhibition Fiver Paper using a MicroPiezo AMC print head with the latest UltraChrome HD eight-color pigment ink, lasting up to 100 years for color prints and 200 years for B&W prints”].

The original film negative and its blown-up print are beautifully matted and displayed within a 14” x 19” x 2” black frame. In addition, the transparent negative can be innovatively lit up (manually or with included remote control) using a battery-operated lighting mechanism located within the back of the frame, giving the historically significant photo the ultimate presentation and viewing experience.

Included is a TypeZero LOA which “conveys ownership of the physical original film transparency to the recipient strictly for display and personal use which include the right to resell or gift each TypeZero Original to other recipients. However, the original film transparency may not be digitized, reproduced, disseminated, published, transferred, or otherwise utilized in any other many expect as specifically set forth in this letter. The copyright and all associated rights in the transparency and accompanying photo are strictly and expressly reserved for the photographer or other holder of the copyright.”