I wanted take a moment to share a little something from my Jackie Robinson collection. Here is a 1950 Pocket Television Theatre flip book featuring Jackie Robinson showing fans "How to Hit."
Please note that in the first part I show the movie in flip form then follow up with a much slower pic by pic view. Under each photo is a written description of how best to square up and swing at a pitch.
UPDATE: I neglected to tell you about rarity and value. These flip books are fairly scarce. You'll probably see them 2 or 3 times a year at auction. Due to their uniqueness and oddball nature they are hardly sought after, but do command a couple of hundred or more (on a good day) at auction. I can't speak to the rarity of the Gene Autry or Howdy Doody flip books (since I've never searched them out), but the "How to Hit" version appears to be the more common of the Jackie Robinson flip books- although I've never verified that with other more knowledgeable collectors. A difference in scarcity would makes sense, of course, since most young fans would have been more interested in Jackie's hitting than bunting skills. In fact, I can't quite recall the last time I've seen the "How to Bunt" Jackie Robinson flip book.
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That's an awesome little item. How rare are they?
ReplyDeleteThese flip books are fairly scarce. You maybe see 2 or 3 a year pop up on various auctions. I can't speak about the other flip books for Gene Autry and Howdy Doody, but it is much more common to see the "How to Hit" version than the "How to Bunt." In fact, i can't recall the last time I've seen the "How to Bunt" version. You might expect them to sell for a couple of hundred or more at auction.
ReplyDeleteHey, have you actually seen a How to Bunt version? I have looked for one for years and have never seen or heard of one. I kind of think they were never made.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good question. Since I posted this last year I'm now inclined to state that I haven't seen one in 10+ years, if at all.
DeleteFurthermore, in the back of my mind, I can't help but think the same thing you are saying. Maybe they don't exist and my memory of seeing one years ago might just be my imagination. I do know that my big catalog (that is 10 years old) indicates it as existing- so there's that.