Sotheby’s offered a set of 26 (plus the 2 DiMaggio variations) R326 Goudey Flip Movies booklets in its April 1994 auction, with an expected price of $3.5k—$4k; an aggressive ask since Tom Reid found a bunch of these in the late 80s, though this was the nicest copy.
They described the lot as a circa 1937 (today some folks say 1938, others 1937-1938) complete set of 26 plus the 2 “extremely rare” variations of Joe Dimaggio picturing brother Vince. They mentioned that Goudey mistakenly used Vince’s picture instead of Joe’s but quickly corrected it so few are seen around the hobby today.
Each cover has a portrait and is either blue, black, or green. In the set, each player is represented twice in two parts. They also directly mentioned Tom Reid’s Find of thumb movies several years previously, but this was the finest set known to exist, mostly in mint condition.
I mentioned that the $3,500-$4,000 price range looked aggressive because Robert Edward Auctions re-sold what I think is the exact same set of Goudey flip movies in 2017 for just $1,560.
Here’s REA’s complete set description:
Issued in 1937-1938 by Goudey Gum, and catalogued R326 in the ACC, this unusual set is printed as small booklets (2 x 3 inches) and was designed to be viewed as a flip book with each player featured in action either batting, throwing, or fielding. There are thirteen different players each produced in two booklets (part 1 and 2) to capture the whole in-action scene. The front cover of each booklet features a portrait image of the specific player and a brief biography of the player on the back cover. Offered is an exceptional high-grade and rarely offered complete 26-booklet set, plus two error variations (two Joe DiMaggio booklets picture an image of his brother Vince by mistake), for a total of twenty-eight booklets. This is the first complete set of this unusual issue that we have ever offered! Goudey selected the greatest stars of the day for inclusion in this unusual set. Rarely does a set have such a high concentration of major stars. More than half the players featured are members of the Hall of Fame (two booklets of each): Luke Appling, Joe DiMaggio, Bob Feller, Jimmy Foxx, Joe Medwick, Mel Ott, and Paul Waner. This is a tremendous set of R326 Goudey “Big League Baseball Movies,” clean and crisp across the board, and it should be stressed that all have an Excellent or better appearance. Most examples graded less than Ex have been downgraded due to very technical concerns, such as a very light crease or tiny tear. It is remarkable that the set has survived in such extraordinary condition. As made, five of the booklets do not have a staple binding it together. This is by far the finest set that we have ever seen, and it most likely originated from Tom Reid’s famous find of thumb movies back in the late 1980s. For years, this has been one of the most overlooked of all 1930s gum issues because grading companies simply did not have holders for this set, but that has very recently changed with the introduction of holders by Beckett that now allow for professional grading and encapsulation of this issue. This is an outstanding complete set (plus two variations) of this rare and condition-sensitive issue. Total: 28 booklets. Reserve $300. Estimate $1,000++.
The set’s price has crept up as the hobby has boomed over the past few years; I’ve seen one move for more than $3k in 2023. Also, I think if PSA or SGC started slabbing these, the set’s price would skyrocket. And, just because I used to have an unopened archive here on the site, here’s an R326 wrapper that Heritage sold for $90 in 2017.
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