Summer Slam Collectibles Aug'26
Lot 177:
Description
BID PER WHAT YOU SEE IN THE PHOTO, NOT THE AI GENERATED TITLES AND DESCRIPTIONS! This lot consists of a mid-20th-century personal scrapbook and ephemera album documenting the military service and personal life of Arthur R. Zimmer, primarily spanning the years 1956 to 1959. The scrapbook is housed in a black, spiral-bound album with a textured cover featuring an embossed camera and atom design alongside the word Photographs.
The sports memorabilia within the album includes an official 1957 New York Giants Official Program and Score Card, originally priced at fifteen cents, featuring a handwritten inscription in blue ink on the front cover reading Memorial Day – 1957. Additionally, the scrapbook contains an unauthenticated vintage baseball card resembling the T206 Honus Wagner card. The card depicts a portrait of a player in a dark collar against a yellow and orange background, with PITTSBURG printed vertically on the right and WAGNER, PITTSBURG printed at the bottom. This card is secured with clear adhesive tape directly to a black album page and is presented strictly in as-found, unauthenticated condition.
The military ephemera section documents Zimmer’s service in the United States Army, featuring a graduation program from the Army Information School at Fort Slocum, New York; official orders from the Army Missile Test Center at White Sands Proving Ground, New Mexico, and Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, dated 1957 and 1958; two embroidered military patches, including a Technician rank chevron and a multi-colored unit patch; black-and-white photographs of Zimmer in uniform, standing by a military helicopter, and posing at various bases; small adhered fragments under tape labeled in pencil as Pieces of a missile found at White Sands; and official military meal cards and an Armed Forces Liberty Pass dated September 13, 1957.
Other mid-century ephemera in the album includes personal items such as a 1957 wedding invitation and newspaper announcements for the Seeley-Weldon and Christian-Denmark families of Hamilton, New York; a yellow invoice from England Motor Company in Fort Smith, Arkansas, dated August 10, 1957, detailing the purchase of a 1956 Allstate Motorscooter for 135.00 dollars, accompanied by a black-and-white photograph of Zimmer on the scooter; an automobile permit for White Sands National Monument dated April 8, 1957; ticket stubs from the Norwich Drive-In Theatre in Norwich, New York, and horse racing tickets from Ruidoso Downs dated August 22, 1959; an Easter program from Park Methodist Church in Hamilton, New York, dated 1957; and various personal and family portrait photographs from the late 1950s.
Condition report:
The scrapbook cover shows edge wear, scuffs, and dust accumulation consistent with age. The internal black paper pages are intact but show typical corner wear and minor creasing. Most ephemera items are secured with clear adhesive tape which has yellowed, darkened, and become brittle, leaving residue on the pages and items. Newspaper clippings show expected browning and toning. The unauthenticated baseball card is in poor condition, featuring multiple heavy creases, rounded corners, surface wear, and discoloration, and is taped to the page. Some photographs and documents have minor creasing or adhesive stains.
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