America’s Pastime: Rare Historic Baseball Ephemera and Photographs from the Eric C. Caren Collection to be Offered June 30
Lot 94 | Mickey Mantle’s First Cover: The Earliest Front-Page Newspaper Image of Mickey Mantle | Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000
This summer, Freeman’s is pleased to present How History Unfolds on Paper: Important Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part X on June 30, 2026, featuring material spanning more than three centuries of American history. This single-owner auction represents one of the most extensive documentations of American history in private hands. Included within the sale is a dedicated section devoted to baseball, bringing together newspapers, press photographs, trading cards, and other printed material that chronicles the game's development and enduring place in American culture.
Spanning the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this group documents many of the sport's defining figures and moments through the contemporary materials that first brought them to the public. From Mickey Mantle's first appearance on the front page of a local newspaper to a striking Type 1 press photograph of Lou Gehrig's hands at the height of his career, these items capture the personalities, achievements, and popular appeal that defined baseball's Golden Age and secured its place in American history.
“It is an honor not only to put together an auction from the over one million items in Mr. Caren’s collection, but also to be able to personally choose the material with him that illustrates American history shown through objects that were meant to be saved, but few survived,” said Darren Winston, Senior Vice President, Head of Department, Books & Manuscripts, Philadelphia.
The Freeman’s sale marks the tenth major auction of Mr. Caren’s extensive and carefully curated holdings. The previous nine sales have attracted international attention and strong institutional and private bidding.
Lot 89 | A Striking Type 1 Press Photograph of Lou Gehrig's Hands: "The Two Big Guns of the N.Y. Yanks" | Estimate $8,000 – 12,000
Auction Highlights:
Lot 97 | An Uncut Panel of 1926 W512 Strip Cards
Estimate: $2,000 – 3,000
This rare uncut sheet captures the energy and star power of the Roaring '20s, showcasing some of the era’s most iconic figures—led by none other than Babe Ruth. Unlike the more commonly found single hand-cut cards or five-card strips, this full uncut sheet is a seldom-seen gem. It also features baseball legends Rogers Hornsby and Frankie Frisch, silver screen icons Douglas Fairbanks and Lon Chaney, tennis great Bill Tilden, swimming champion Johnny Weismuller, and golf champion Walter Hagen—bringing together the biggest names in sports and entertainment from a golden age.
Lot 98 | A Very Early Report Mentioning Babe Ruth, then in the Minor Leagues Playing for the Baltimore Orioles
Estimate: $1,000 – 1,500
The Baltimore News, Baltimore, Sunday Evening, June 14, 1914. Vol. LXXXV, No. 41. With a very early report of Babe Ruth while in the Minor Leagues playing for the Baltimore Orioles: "The opening setto yesterday was a corker, and Babe Ruth was forced to give the best he had, for the Orioles offered him little to work on."
Lot 94 | Mickey Mantle's First Cover: The Earliest Front-Page Newspaper Image of Mickey Mantle, "Something Good from Joplin"
Estimate: $8,000 – 12,000
The Southwestern Joplin, Missouri, Friday, March 30, 1951. Vol. 17, No. 6. On the cusp of entering the majors to play for the New York Yankees, a young Mickey Mantle is profiled here in Joplin, Missouri's hometown newspaper. Featuring a front-page, above-the-fold, image of young Mick, the earliest front-page newspaper image of the baseball legend and Hall of Famer, followed by four columns dedicated to the rising star.
Lot 89 | A Striking Type 1 Press Photograph of Lou Gehrig's Hands: "The Two Big Guns of the N.Y. Yanks"
Estimate: $8,000 – 12,000
A fine and powerful Type 1 press photograph of baseball legend Lou Gehrig, focusing closely on the powerful hands that helped make him one of the most celebrated baseball players of all time. The image recalls the strong tonal contrasts and intimate compositions associated with the work of noted baseball photographer Charles Conlon (1868-1945), whose best-known image of Gehrig was a close-up photograph of his eyes.
How to Bid
How History Unfolds on Paper: Important Americana from the Eric C. Caren Collection, Part X will be offered at auction on June 30 at 10 AM ET in our Philadelphia saleroom.