This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/2/2018
Starting his career as a photographer in 1927 with the Milwaukee Sentinel newspaper, Frank Stanfield worked in Milwaukee for over 40 years. During his award winning career, he worked for the Milwaukee Brewers / Borchert Field (AAA), Green Bay Packers at Milwaukee State Fair, and the early Milwaukee Braves at County Stadium. His work appeared on card sets, programs, and yearbooks. He won the 1961 Life Magazine “Best Sports Picture” for one of his Milwaukee Braves entries.
MEARS company president purchased a very rare, exclusive collection of Frank Stanfield’s personal 4”x6” oversized acetate negatives direct from the family estate. Using the same printing methods used for nearly a century, each print was painstakingly hand developed from Stanfield’s original negative. The results are simply amazing.
The color, contrast, and clarity are unrivaled amongst period images. Quite simply the finest image of the player ever produced! Anybody that has seen this print in person can only marvel at the clarity of the hand developed image. Taken in a controlled, studio setting, Buhl is seated and photographed from the chest up. His embroidered “M” Braves cap sits proudly atop his head. A close up of the uniform shows the zipper front, multi-color piping depicted in different shades due to the black and white process, “BRAVES” with tomahawk double tackle twill spread across Buhl’s chest, and the old style Boston Braves Indian with head dress on his right sleeve. The image is completed by a study of Buhl’s unibrow and piercing eyes. Besides Eddie Mathews, Bob Buhl was the toughest player on the team.
On April 30th, 2000, MEARS conducted a private autograph signing with Mr. Buhl. A very limited number of these prints were signed, personally witnessed by MEARS President Troy R. Kinunen.
“Bob Buhl, 2x A.S., W.S. Champs” is inscribed in near mint blue sharpie marker. Great care was taken during the signing; with new blue sharpie markers being rotated after just a few signatures were signed, insuring only the highest quality signatures appeared on this remarkable print.
To my knowledge, this is the only Bob Buhl oversized 16x20 photo ever signed, and the only image from the Frank Stanfield Collection. JSA hologram applied to lower right corner.