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Lot # 521: 1913 Willie Ritchie Vaudeville Poster

Starting Bid: $200.00

Bids: 7 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "2019 Spring Classic",
which ran from 5/7/2019 10:00 AM to
6/7/2019 10:00 PM



Ritchie was World Lightweight Champion from 1912-1914, and was in the midst of that reign when poster was made in 1913. For the Empress Theater in Denver, Colorado, and shows that the advertised show was from Sullivan and Considine Varieties. Interestingly, the "Sullivan" stands for Big Tim Sullivan, of Tammany Hall fame in New York City, as well as New York City's "Sullivan Act," a gun control law named for Sullivan, and the "Considine" stands for John Considine, a pioneer of Vaudeville. The poster (framed 14.5x42") has been heavily restored (not very well). Ritchie was scheduled to be a part of an act, in the form of a skit set in a boxing locker room, and poster also advertises that Ritchie will "box some one to three Denver boys at every exhibition." The poster has a number of paper tears and discolorations, but it is over 100 years old and has cross-appeal to both boxing and Vaudeville fans.

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