Auction Item Details
Lot 193
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Lot Number: 193
Description: Scarce and Important James Starks and Clarence Everett Tulsa Oilers photograph c.1927. Sepia tone 2 3/4"x4 1/2" candid image picturing Starks and Everett wearing "Oilers" uniforms which are consistent with the Tulsa Oilers posed in a stadium. Starks played for several Negro League teams while Everett only played in 1927 for the Memphis Red Sox and Kansas City Monarchs. Very significant African American baseball team artifact whose franchise played in the shadow of the Tulsa Race Massacre of the early 1920s. Back of the photo has both player's name written in ink and poignantly displays a Kodak photo printing address of "119 N. Greenwood". That specific address is one of great significance to the city of Tulsa and its history as it was a two story commercial building owned by O. W. Gurley. Gurley was once one of the wealthiest African American men of the era and a founder of the Greenwood district in Tulsa known as "Black Wall Street". The building housed a number of businesses which were all destroyed when it was burned to the ground during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Unique image with a tragically ironic Tulsa printing location that demonstrated the resilience of its African American community having rebuilt the Greenwood area almost immediately after the events of 1921. Includes letter of provenance from Phil Dixon: EXEstimated Price Range: ($1,000-$3,000)
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