This is it, folks! The crown jewel of our family collection. This is an original authenticated 8″x 10″ gelatin silver photograph of Babe Ruth and Dazzy Vance, at an exhibition game in Dexter Park. My great grandfather Max Rosner acquired the ballpark in 1922, and this photo probably dates shortly thereafter. Photos of the Babe are hard to come by, as his is arguably the most sought-after signature in all of humanity. And signed photos with Dazzy Vance are simply elusive; only a handful are known, and there may be fewer than four or five in existence. Given the importance of this photo, I had it certified in January by James Spence Authentication, LLC, and this sale includes the associated C. The Bushwicks of Dexter Park. The historic Bushwicks baseball team played at Dexter Park in Woodhaven at the Queens-Brooklyn border. My greatgrandfather, Max Rosner, bought the team and ballpark in 1922. He was a businessman who had immigrated with his parents from Hungary and owned a cigar factory. His son Herman, my grandfather, had been trained as a lawyer but could not get a job during the depression so subsequently earned an electrical engineering degree, and used it to design night lighting in baseball. You’ll hear different fields claiming credit for night lighting, but Dexter Park was the first permanent fixture and Herman is referenced in the Baseball Hall of fame for his contributions. Baseball ruled the weekends for many years, from the 1880s through the 1950’s, and Dexter Park also hosted football, stock car racing, and other events. Babe Ruth, Dazzy Vance, and other greats were hired for exhibition games. We have illustrated news cartoons of Uncle Max handing cash to the Judge on Monday morning, as it was a weekly ritual for him to get hauled into court for violating Sunday Blue Laws. Various teams unified by their neighborhoods, regions, and employment would play against one another. The Negros their terminology at the time, not mine! Would play the Cubans; the House of David (AKA Hasids) pitched against Sanitation; and all of them, against the Bushwicks in their home ball park. Dexter Park is no longer there, the site became housing in 1955, ending an era still remembered by old-timers. Lane high school, where dad was #2 in his class (and a few years older than another famous graduate, one John Gotti) still stands nearby. Grandpa always said the death of local baseball was television and integration. Not that he thought was a bad thing to allow players of all backgrounds into the major leagues-Max, along with his partner Nat Strong, were instrumental in supporting the formation and growth the the Negro Leagues-but there was a certain excitement in watching factions of differing backgrounds battle each other on the field; and it was a lot more healthful for them to get out their aggressions this way than they would later with the knives and guns that emerged in post-war America. My father, Bennett, bat boy, passed away in November. He was rediscovered by someone on a supermarket line from the Queens Historical Society sometime in the late eighties/early nineties; they had been searching for the heir to all the photos and memorabilia from Dexter Park to do a museum show. So when dad looked in the attic and basement, he was amazed at the number of photos and news clippings we had squirreled away (not to mention signed balls and gloves). The Historical Society framed and conserved the photos, original gelatin silver prints that command a respectable price in the collectibles market. Local buffs are working on naming a street after Max Rosner! I didn’t grow up knowing much of this, Dad was a physician and I don’t recall him ever taking me to a sporting event; he taught me how to water-ski and got me through Chemistry. So with nearly enough college-bound great grandchildren to form a baseball team of our own, we shall put some of these treasures up for sale in the coming weeks. If you have any questions. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Photographic Images\Photographs”. The seller is “elegantseller4u” and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped to United States.
- Unit of Sale: Single Piece
- Antique: Yes
- Autograph Format: Hard Signed
- Signed By: Babe Ruth & Dazzy Vance
- Size: 8 x 10 in
- Signed: Yes
- Image Color: Black & White
- Material: Paper
- Framing: Framed
- Original/Licensed Reprint: Original
- Subject: Figures & Portraits
- Vintage: Yes
- Listed By: listing for a cleint
- Type: Photograph
- Year of Production: 1935
- Original/Reprint: Original Print
- Number of Photographs: 1
- Theme: Sports
- Features: One of a Kind (OOAK)
- Time Period Manufactured: Pre-1850
- Production Technique: Gelatin-Silver Print
- Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
- Finish: Glossy