Lot 499: 1930s Van Oeyen Jimmie Foxx Original Photograph

Hired as the first-ever staff photographer for the Cleveland Press (on the merit of his impromptu coverage of President McKinley's assassination), Louis Van Oeyen went on the capture countless diamond images that have been forever admired by baseball enthusiasts and shutterbugs, alike. Here offered is a Van Oeyen original: a 7-1/4" x 9" black-and-white likeness of Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx. The telling likeness reveals Foxx in his Philadelphia A's road ensemble sometime between 1932 and 1936. Basking in the sunlight, Foxx's handsome face is partially protected by the bill of his cap - whose solid color dates the photo to the above-mentioned time frame. The item shows minimally EX/MT quality, with sharp edges and corners and an image area completely void of flaws. On the reverse, a "L. VAN OEYEN - PHOTOGRAPHER" stamping is accompanied by a penciled notation of "Jimmie Foxx - 1st Base - Phila Athletics - May /3/." (Note, while it might appear to be "31" year indicator, the details of Foxx's uniform negate that possibility.)