1923 Willard's Chocolate V137 Benny Gould Boxing C

Updated September 18, 2026

This auction ended on October 4, 2026. See upcoming auctions from Oakwood Auctions.

Lot number	325
Estimate	10.00 - 25.00 USD
Auction	October Art & Collectibles- 2-DAY Auction
Date	October 4, 2026 at 11:00 PM EDT
Auction house	Oakwood Auctions
Location	Stouffville

An important and evocative survivor from the golden age of early Canadian boxing cards, this lot features an original 1923 Willard's Chocolate V137 Benny Gould Prizefighters card, depicting Canadian featherweight boxer Benny "Kid Gold" Gould in a classic full-length fighting stance with gloves raised. Issued in Canada by Willard's Chocolate as part of its celebrated V137 Prizefighters series, the card belongs to one of the distinctive Canadian confectionery boxing issues of the 1920s. Its unusually narrow vertical format, monochromatic burgundy-sepia portrait and bold BENNY GOULD identification panel are characteristic of the series and immediately place it among the visually recognizable pre-war Canadian sports cards of the period. Gould was an active professional fighter during the highly competitive post-First World War boxing era and competed extensively under both the names Benny Gould and Kid Gold. His career reached a notable high point in 1923, the same year represented by this card issue, when he defeated Curly Wilshur in Toronto to capture the Canadian featherweight championship. The chronological connection between Gould's championship season and the issuance of this Willard's card gives the piece particular historical resonance for collectors of Canadian boxing memorabilia. The 1923 Willard's Chocolate V137 Prizefighters set is sought after by advanced boxing-card specialists for its combination of Canadian origin, early confectionery distribution, distinctive photographic presentation and roster of significant contemporary and historic fighters. The series includes such major names as Jack Dempsey, Benny Leonard, Georges Carpentier, John L. Sullivan, James J. Corbett, Bob Fitzsimmons, Pancho Villa and Jimmy Wilde, placing Gould within an important panorama of early 20th-century prizefighting. Institutional representation further underscores the collectible significance of this issue. An example of the Benny Gould V137 card is preserved within the renowned Jefferson R. Burdick Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the world's most significant institutional holdings of historic trading cards and commercial printed ephemera. For sophisticated collectors, this provides an important point of reference for the historical and material significance of the series beyond the conventional sports-card market. The present example retains a clear and recognizable image of Gould, with the fighter portrait, border and name panel remaining legible despite extensive period wear. The card possesses the appealing, untouched character often associated with early confectionery cards that circulated as inexpensive promotional objects rather than as collectibles intended for preservation. The obverse exhibits substantial age and handling wear, including overall toning, multiple horizontal creases and wrinkles, rounded and softened corners, edge wear, surface rubbing and scattered soiling. Several crea

1923 Willard's Chocolate V137 Benny Gould Boxing C

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