This is a postcard featuring a collage inspired by Babe Ruth and the 1934 U.S. All Stars Tour of Japan, created during the Tour, which was hosted by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper. We have no idea whether such collage postcards were actually commercially made and available at the ballpark, or if this was a special "one-off" collage produced by the sender during the two game series played at Koshien. We do know that the text side makes it clear that the base postcard minus the collage part is an official, commercially made postcard.

The postmark reads "November 26, Showa 9 (1934), Nishinomiya", so it may have been created and mailed by someone right after attending the games held at Koshien Stadium on November 24 and 25, as Nishinomiya is only about two miles from Koshien.

The addressee, Nakayama Kokitsu, was a well-known enthusiast from Kyoto, recognized for collecting folk toys. The sender, "K.T.," judging by the handwriting, is almost certainly Koichiro Tanaka (known as "Kabundou"), an Osaka hobbyist who was close to Nakayama Kokitsu.

We have included an image of the promotional flyer for the games of 11/24 and 11/25. One can see that the Ruth image and the flags can also be seen on the postcard. The flyer is not a part of this lot.

So the question remains as to whether this is a previously unknown commercially made postcard from the Tour, or whether it is a piece of 1934 folk art.

Size: 3 5/8" x 5 5/8"

Condition: Ex