LOU GEHRIG BASEBALL HALL OF FAME PLAQUE

New Jersey’s leading estate-auction specialist, Sterling Associates, made headlines with its January 11th sale of Alexander Hamilton’s personally engraved powder horn. On March 23rd, the Bergen County, N.J., company will shine a spotlight on another great American hero, baseball legend Lou Gehrig. The star lot of their auction is a bronze bas-relief plaque adornment in the likeness of Gehrig that was designed and cast by artisan George Seaman and colleagues at the Steinmeier Bronze Tablet Co., in 1939, the year of Gehrig’s retirement.

As stated in a letter of provenance from Seaman’s son that accompanies the lot, the sculptural work is a contemporaneous casting of the one affixed to Gehrig’s plaque at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

“The Steinmeier foundry in New York City produced the Lou Gehrig bronze for the actual Hall of Fame plaque. The example we are auctioning was made at the same time a s a gift for Seaman’s son, who was a big Lou Gehrig fan. To the best of our knowledge, this was the only additional casting,” said Sterling Associates’ owner, Stephen D’Atri.

Baseball’s legendary “Iron Horse” was the first Major League Baseball player to have his uniform number (“4”) retired. He played 17 seasons with the New York Yankees, starting in 1923, and voluntarily ended his career after being diagnosed with ALS, later known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. His lifetime batting average was a remarkable .340. “Gehrig’s career achievements and professionalism made him one of baseball’s immortals. To this day, he is idolized by Yankee fans,” D’Atri said.

The bronze sculptural depiction of a smiling Gehrig in a tableau adorned by two baseball bats and a laurel branch, measures 7 inches high by 12 inches wide. It is mounted on a wood plaque. The conservative auction estimate is $3,000-$5,000.

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Bronze Lou Gehrig "Baseball Hall of Fame" casting, fine jewelry headline Sterling Associates' March 23 sale (http://artdaily.com/news/85738/Bronze-Lou-Gehrig--Baseball-Hall- of-Fame--casting--fine-jewelry-headline-Sterling-Associates--March- 23-sale#.VuWWnOIrLrc)

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