Kramer vs. Rigg sBroadside Poster - Sports Antique of the Week Sept. 28th

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Sports Antique of the Week

Sept. 28th- Oct 4th 2014

THIS WEEKS FEATURE

c1948 - 27" wide X 21" tall

Antique street fair big fat zero...

...then I walked by a pool hall…

ANOTHER OF CARLTON'S "HOW IT ALL WENT DOWN" FEATURES

Petaluma CA. - Sunday Sept. 28th 2014

oday I went to the Petaluma Antique Street Fair and it was a total bust…barely even saw anything interesting much less to buy…In all the years I’ve been going to that show I’ve never found a thing…so today I figured I’d give it everything I had by getting there real early…got up at 4:30AM... got to the fair at 6:15AM…I envisioned finding a Spalding Trophy or something for all my early rise dedication…nada…still nothing….

So at 10 went to a local church service then got something to eat after and starting going thru the local stores…and they weren’t much better than the fair…the parking around the downtown was impacted so I parked a little up the street for the last store…So as I’m walking up the street I go by a large pool hall…I looked in and saw what appeared to be some pool related prints and décor…so I walked in and started looking around…Just as I walked in I saw the broadside above…I’m wild for broadsides and I know how rare they are…and this one was for a world championship…and was very striking…I walked all thru the huge cavernous pool hall but didn’t see anything else that got my attention…

I knew nothing about the pool hall and just assumed it wasn’t for sale…but I looked it over carefully anyway…the design had me…the way it was laid out…It had photos of Kramer and Riggs so that was a big plus…and it was stopping power yellow…with contrasting dark blue letters…and the way the venue was displayed on the side with the city Oakland, and date was unique…I’d never seen a poster laid out like that…Had some staining but I didn't care looked great to me...By the nature of how they were used...being hung up outdoors...it's natural for broadsides to have imperfections...

So in the back of the hall was a large show room with pool tables and pool furnishings of every sort for sale…and there was a guy sitting at a desk…real friendly guy says hi and everything…so we start talking about pool stuff and I asked if the decorations in the hall were for sale…He chuckles well…everything’s for sale…sort of like…they weren’t actively selling the decorations but they might...and he asks what I was interested in…How much for “that tennis poster” I said…he goes I don’t know I’ll call the owner he’s just up the street…I wait and can feel a nose bleed price coming…He hangs up and laughs…He doesn’t really want to sell it and gave me a figure $XXXXXX…more that I hoped to pay…but considering how rare it was, in actuality he wasn't too far off…But anyway I left…On the way out I studied it again and took some shots…I went out to my car and got on my lap top and looked up the match…from a cursory look it appeared the match was part of a series that played in various cities…since the same match was played in NYC in 1947…so I figured it was from 1947…

Later I ascertained there was no Saturday February 21st in 1947…but later learned there was in 1948…and later I learned a lot more about the series in a 2009 book about one of the participants Pancho Segura called “Little Pancho”: The Life of Tennis Legend Pancho Segura, by Caroline Seebohm…according to what I read the series went on for a few years I believe…

So…I went back in and looked it over again…I concluded that it was important and I liked it a lot…So I went back in the show room and told the guy to call the seller and offer $XXXXXX… it was serious money and I felt he would take it…took a while but he came back with $XXXXXX over my offer…I felt my offer was pretty strong but out of good will I upped a little…more third party phone negotiating and waiting…The desk man collected advertising so all the while we were having a good time talking antique signs as the afternoon wore on…Finally the desk man gets a text reply from the owner…. $XXXXXX…a little over my last offer…

I knew my offer was fair and I was getting tired…I was going to leave without it but the desk guy and I kept on talking signs for about 15-20 minutes…then in comes the big guy in person…Him and I had nowhere near the camaraderie as his employee…nothing hostile or anything but he seemed all business…We chatted a little but I was getting worn out…so I thanked him but said that was all I could do…and he reluctantly caved…He went out and unscrewed it from the wall…I paid him and walked out with it the new owner...I got the feeling some of the regulars had been curiously watching me and were a little taken back to see me walk out with it tucked under my arm…And that was my Sunday...

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Below are excerpts from the book Little Pancho by Caroline Seebohm. The book references the series of matches this poster promoted and provides a remarkable look behind the scenes.

click link above to buy "Little Pancho"

End of 'little Pancho" excerpts

click link above to buy "Little Pancho"

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