John Held, Jr.: Football Scarves

A silk scarf design by the great jazz-age illustrator John Held, Jr., depicts a football center giving a thumbs up just before the play. Executed in Held's signature style from the 1920's, it is apparently one of a series of scarves depicting uniformed football players on and off the gridiron. The rare item showed up on AbeBooks in July and was quickly sold. Atypically, this design omits Jr. from the artist's signature. There are some overall condition issues, but then consider that the scarf could very well be a century old.

John Held, Jr.
AbeBooks listing accessed July 4, 2024

https://www.abebooks.com/John-Held-Jr-Scarf-Football-Player/31921866513/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&ref_=pe_aep_AEP_wants_buyer-wants&cm_ite=readmore#&gid=1&pid=1

Sold! Okay, so it's not a book.

There were other football scarves in the series. At least one of them covered the action off the field:

John Held, Jr.

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/10883638_printed-china-silk-scarf

And just like that the action is back on the field. Here's another player, perhaps a running back:

John Held, Jr.

https://www.juliensauctions.com/en/lots/94282/john-held-jr-hand-painted-silk-scarf

Note:  Perhaps someone can add to what I have posted here about these football scarves with designs by John Held, Jr. To wit, how many of them were issued, and when? What was the original sale price? Were they advertised? It was only about a century ago. Somebody should remember something. 

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