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Turn Of The Century Basketball Occupational Shaving Mug
This occupational shaving mug showing an early scene of the game of basketball is one of the rarest of all sports mugs: The only other known specimen we're aware of brought over $17,000 at auction a few years back. Occupational shaving mugs date back to the 1870s and enjoyed immense popularity until the 1920s. The mugs were kept at barbershops and at home and were seen as a status symbol, as they usually depicted the owner's profession. Barbers would also proudly display them in their shops, with more mugs meaning a larger clientele. The mugs were typically shipped in blank from France and Germany and then hand-painted in the United States, and this one seems to follow that pattern, as it is hand-painted. The scene shows basketball in its most nascent stages. The players are in unusual uniform, more reminiscent of a jockey than a basketball player, and are standing in front of large, free-falling nets in a gymnasium with one player holding a ball. This depiction is probably from a time before people even knew what the game was, in the immediate wake of James Naismith inventing the game at the Springfield YMCA. Adding to the allure of this piece is the name George Traphagen that appears above the basketball illustration, who is believed to be a part of the prominent Traphagen family. This is a truly one-of-a-kind offering.
Past Sports Card, Memorabilia, Non-Sports Card and Collecitble Auction Items
Other past auction items that may be of interest to you.
1978 NBA World Championship Ring
Bill Bradley Presidential Diploma Signed by Richard Nixon
1994 Shaquille O’Neal World Game Worn Jersey
1998 Chicago Bulls Three-Peat Team Signed Basketball
Circa 1997 Toronto Raptors Autographed Basketball with Carter & McGrady
1970’s Fred “Curly” Neal Harlem Globetrotters Game Worn Jersey
1996-97 Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls Game Worn Uniform with Bulls Letter
