ROLLIE HEMSLEY Bra-Mac Color Photo BURKE 1938 Indians

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Photo is of Rollie Hemsley circa 1938, pictured in his Cleveland Indians uniform. Ralston Burdett Hemsley was born in Syracuse, OH. He played major league baseball from 1928 to 1947 as catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies, appeared in the 1932 World Series, and was selected 5 times as an All-Star. Hemsley was known for having a drinking problem, one which caused him to be kicked off four separate clubs. Hemsley would later attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to help himself sober up. He revealed his membership to the press in 1940, becoming the first AA member to break their anonymity on a national level. Hemsley breaking his anonymity was also one of the first developments to cause concern about personal anonymity in the organization. After retiring, Hemsley operated a real estate office in Langley Park, Maryland, was a coach for the Philadelphia Athletics (1954) and Washington Senators (1961–62) and managed in the minor leagues. He was selected Minor League Manager of the Year by The Sporting News in 1950 while serving as pilot of the Columbus Red Birds. Bra-Mac Bonus 12 This is an original vintage 4”x5” photograph, not a modern-day reprint. These "colorized" versions of Burke's black and white photos were produced by the Burke/Brace studio from hand-tinted 8"x10" prints. In many cases, labels were affixed for the lettering (recognize those from the old-style label-makers?) Brace himself selected the photos and researched the original colors. Once the hand-coloring process was completed, the whole photo was re-shot to produce these smaller, matte-finsh color photographs. Much rarer than their black and white or sepia-toned counterparts, these were called "Bra-Mac" photos (after George Brace and the colorist, Bill MacAlister), and were sold exclusively through hobby shops and the Burke/Brace studio in Chicago. The longest-running operation of all the great early photographers, George Burke and George Brace covered baseball in one form or another for the better part of the 20th Century. A case of mistaken identity made by the Chicago Cubs resulted in him becoming the official photographer for the Chicago Cubs. (George Burke was mistaken as Cubs former photographer Francis Burke.) To undertake his new "big league" endeavor and having little experience with the sport Burke sought the help of the baseball-knowledgeable George Brace. Ever-present at Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park, Chicagoan George Burke set out in 1929 to compile the most complete portfolio of player portraits - a feat made possible by the presence of both an American League team and a National League squad within the same city. As the official photographer for the Chicago Cubs, Burke quickly became renowned for his candid pre-game photos and thought-provoking portrait depictions. Over the course of several decades, the photos comprising this impressive archive - most of which were hand-developed from Burke's original negatives (only a small percentage are were taken by earlier photographers and re-produced by Burke in the 1930’s and 40’s as 2nd-generation photos) - were produced by the Burke/Brace studio in the 1930’s and 1940’s, and were obtained by a Chicago-area collector directly from the studio. The significantly extensive assortment of mainly first-generation photos has truly captured the essence of America's game as it existed during the early 20th Century. Each original masterpiece reveals a fresh portrayal of the bygone ballplayers, many of whom were obscure, short-term roster occupants whose likenesses were rarely preserved in photos. These well-preserved keepsakes exhibit occasional minor corner wear or instances of modest surface faults, which are undoubtedly the natural result of years of storage. Yet, these being the only nominal blemishes, these mostly different, black-and-white depictions (a low percentage of prints have been hand-tinted) generally average EX to EX/MT condition with some ex... read more

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