This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/4/2014
Without the benefit of internet service or even the widespread use of the newly invented telephone over a century ago, the only way to keep up with any long distance correspondence on the road was the time honored tradition of pen and paper. And if you were a ballplayer, you spent a lot of time writing letters to family and fans, so you needed an organized system to keep up. Presented is a pair of fantastic relics belonging to pitcher Ray Collins during his 1912 World Series championship season with the Boston Red Sox that provides a glimpse into life on the road for a professional ballplayer in the dead-ball era. The front and top of this thick wooden box open up to become a travel desk which features several drawers and filing compartments to house paper or various other items along with a stitched pen holder. A wooden plate that bears a likeness of Collins with the engraving "Ray Collins Red Sox" appears on the front with an inlaid "Ray Collins" crest on the top. Metal handles are screwed into the sides with a metal locking mechanism on the front (no key). Next is a shaving kit that fits neatly into a metal jar (Thornhill - London stamp on the bottom) which bears the engraving, "Presented to Ray Collins 1912 World Champions. " Inside the jar is a glass after-shave bottle with a screw on metal cap that reads, "Boston Red Sox Baseball Club 1912 World Champions. An interior metal section lifts out, presumably a container for mixing shaving soap with water, with a slide-in ring, likely made of whale-bone or ivory, that serves as a handle. Both pieces exhibit considerable use but are in remarkable condition for their age.