Auction Item Details
Lot 1125
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Lot Number: 1125
Description: Grant "Home Run" Johnson cabinet photograph with possible self identification signature c.1895-1898. Early mounted 4"x6" image of the African American baseball pioneer posed in a studio setting. Mount is marked by Crozier studios in Findlay, Ohio (Johnson's home town), reverse has period ink notation of "Capt. and Shortstop" denoting his status with the Page Fence Giants team of the era. Next to that inscription is a period handwritten signature and address, "Grant U. Johnson 820 West St. Findlay, O." To date, there are no documented examples of a Grant Johnson autograph making signature comparison impossible. That said it is certainly very plausible that the offered photograph is in fact autographed by Johnson. Note the usage of the middle initial (appears to be "U") which is not even listed in multitudes of reference materials including period publications. Johnson was an educated man and was rumored to have attended college. Along with Bud Fowler he founded the Page Fence Giants team in 1894 and went on to become one of the greatest home run hitters in Negro League history during the deadball era. Mount has a small corner chip and a corner crease. Very rare period image which is very possibly autographed on the back by Johnson: EX
Estimated Price: ($2,000.00-$3,000.00)
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