In the summer of 1961 Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris captivated the nation as they chased down Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs. The fever for "all things Maris and Mantle" reached the highest publication in the land as LIFE Magazine was set to run a cover story on the M&M Boys. They got famed photographer Philippe Halsman to go behind the lens and snap the now iconic cover as the two pose in uniform in front of a larger image of Ruth that provides the perfect backdrop. While the actual magazine is common to find, the image used to make it is far from it with only a handful of originals off Halsman's negative ever having surfaced in the hobby. We are fortunate here to bring a new example to the hobby, fresh out of a newspaper archive where it has been sitting for the last 55 years! A large and beautiful example that has deep tones and exceptional use of light which are the hallmarks of Halsman's work, this also carries the original paper caption on the back and a file stamp of August 20, 1961 as well. Photo has crisp and clean tones s well as perfect clarity (off the original negative for sure) while it does have some minimal handling wear from publication and news-room use, this is an exciting new offering which is sure to fill a major void in almost every collection!

Size: 8x10
Designation: Vintage 1
Condition: 4/5
Quality: 5/5
Overall Grade: 9/10