(2) 1909-1911 Baseball Tobacco & Caramel Card Collages with (210) Cards including (2) Cobb & Wagner

• Sold For: $15,275
• Year: 1909
• Auction: 2012 January
• Lot #: 1
• Auction Category: Prewar Baseball - Early 1900s Cards

A simply breathtaking pair of 1909-11 baseball tobacco and caramel card collages featuring (210) cards with (36) Hall of Famers including (2) Cobb, Johnson, Mathewson and Wagner. A minimum of (7) ACC designations comprise these antique cardboard sheets which have been expertly mounted to sturdier 28x22 backings. While there exist ample photographic evidence of turn-of-the-century baseball card displays from the earliest hobbyists, to encounter a gallery that has withstood the century in such a remarkable state or preservation is nearly unheard of. It is obvious that the original owner cherished their cardboard treasures as they were symmetrically arranged across the canvas and then carefully adhered to the surface. One sheet displays a whopping (123) cards while the other portrays (87) examples with Hall of Famers and types almost evenly dispersed throughout. While the advertising backs cannot be determined, there is no second guessing the quality of the obverses! Roughly half of the cards are crease-free and the mostly pint-sized relics have retained incredible eye appeal and pinpoint registration. There are about 5-10% showing minimal water damage/trimming, primarily those on the outer perimeter of the sheets. The overall color schemes are eye-catching, attractive and sure to please the advanced tobacco/caramel card enthusiast. This exceptional New York area find is an instant standard of collecting excellence with an assortment of Types and early Cooperstown inductees that is almost unheard of! Key subjects include 1909-11 E90-1 American Caramel: (4 confirmed cards); 1909-11 E92 Croft’s/Dockman/Nadja: (12 confirmed cards) with Hall of Famers: (2 cards) with Bender (presents GD), Jennings (presents FR); 1909-11 E90-1 American Caramel or Croft’s/Dockman/Nadja: (6 cards, all shared images between designations) with Hall of Famers: (2 cards) with E. Collins (presents VG), Wagner (Batting, presents GD); 1909 E95 Philadelphia Caramel: Cicotte (presents GD); 1909-11 E254 Colgan’s Chips: (12 cards) with Hall of Famers: (2 cards) with Baker (presents EX-MT), Kell(e)y (presents FR); 1909-11 T206 White Borders: (166 cards) with Hall of Famers: (29 cards) with Baker, Bender (Throwing, No Trees), Bresnahan (Portrait), Bresnahan (with Bat), Chance (Batting), Cobb (Bat Off Shoulder, presents FR), Cobb (Red Portrait, presents GD, despite color fading), J. Collins (presents VG), Crawford (with Bat), Duffy, (2) Evers (Chicago on Shirt), Jennings (Both Hands Showing), W. Johnson (Hands at Chest, presents VG-EX), W. Johnson (Portrait, presents EX), Lajoie (Throwing, presents GD), Lajoie (with Bat, presents GD), Marquard (Portrait, presents VG), (2) Mathewson (Dark Cap, one presents GD, one has trimmed edge), McGinnity, (2) McGraw (Glove at Hip), Tinker (Bat Off Shoulder), Tinker (Bat On Shoulder), Walsh, Wheat, Willis (with Bat), C. Young (No Glove Shows, presents GD); Southern Leaguers: (2 cards, both present FR) with Orth, Seitz; Commons/Stars: (135 cards) with Chase (Blue Portrait), H. Davis (No Initial), Gandil, Kleinow (Boston); 1910 E104-3 Nadja Caramels: (3 cards) with D. Jones (presents GD), T. Jones (presents PR), Moriarty (presents FR); 1910-11 T3 Turkey Red Cabinets: (6 cards, presents GD) with Hall of Famer: #40 Willis (presents FR); Commons/Stars: (5 cards) with #11 Dahlen, #28 McIntyre (Brooklyn), #37 Sallee, #43 Out At Third and #49 A Close Play At Second. The overall surfaces have an approximate condition breakdown as follows: 25% (VG to EX), 35% (GD), 20% (FR) and 20% (PR). These assessments are based on the obverses only and do not consider the unknown conditions of the reverses and may not be representative of the overall technical grades. More on our website. 1909-11 E90-1 American Caramel: (4 confirmed cards) with Commons: (4 cards) with Blankenship, Camnitz, Gibson (Front View), F. Mitchell; 1909-11 E92 Croft’s/Dockman/Nadja: (12 confirmed cards) with Hall of Famers: (2 cards) with Bender, Jennings; Commons/Stars: (10 cards) with Casey, Chase, H. Davis, Devlin, Dooin, Kleinow, Magee, D. Miller (Batting), Schaefer, Zimmerman; 1909-11 E90-1 American Caramel or Croft’s/Dockman/Nadja: (6 cards, all shared images between designations) with Hall of Famers: (2 cards) with E. Collins, Wagner (Batting); Commons: (4 cards) with Dougherty, Gibson (Back View), Lobert, McLean; 1909 E95 Philadelphia Caramel: Cicotte; 1909-11 E254 Colgan’s Chips: (12 cards) with Hall of Famers: (2 cards) with Baker, Kell(e)y; Commons: (10 cards) with Dunn, Hally, Han, Hartsel, Howard, Manser (Jersey City), Mattern, Meyer, Robinson, Taylor; 1909-11 T206 White Borders: (166 cards) with Hall of Famers: (29 cards) with Baker, Bender (Throwing, No Trees), Bresnahan (Portrait), Bresnahan (with Bat), Chance (Batting), Cobb (Bat Off Shoulder), Cobb (Red Portrait), J. Collins, Crawford (with Bat), Duffy, (2) Evers (Chicago on Shirt), Jennings (Both Hands Showing), W. Johnson (Hands at Chest), W. Johnson (Portrait), Lajoie (Throwing), Lajoie (with Bat), Marquard (Portrait), (2) Mathewson (Dark Cap, one with trimmed edge), McGinnity, (2) McGraw (Glove at Hip), Tinker (Bat Off Shoulder), Tinker (Bat On Shoulder), Walsh, Wheat, Willis (with Bat), C. Young (No Glove Shows); Southern Leaguers: (2 cards) with Orth, Seitz; Commons/Stars: (135 cards) with (2) Abbaticchio (Brown Sleeves), Adkins, Ames (Hands Above Head), Atz, Ball (Cleveland), Bergen (Catching), Bescher (Hands in Air), Bliss, Bradley (with Bat), Brashear, Burch (Batting), Campbell, Camnitz (Hands above Head), Carrigan, Chase (Blue Portrait), J. Clarke, Congalton, Conroy (with Bat), Crandall (Portrait, with Cap), H. Davis (No Initial), Devore, Donlin (Seated), Donovan (Throwing), Doolan (Batting), Doolan (Fielding), Doolin, Downey (Batting), Downs, Doyle (New York, Portrait), Dubuc, Easterly, Elberfeld (Washington, Fielding), Ford, (2) Frill, Gandil, Geyer, Goode, Grimshaw, Hartsel, Hemphill, (2) Herzog (Boston), B. Hinchman, Hoblitzell, Howell (Hands at Waist), Howell (Portrait), (2) Hummel, Karger, Killian (Pitching), Kisinger, Kleinow (Boston), Kleinow (New York), Konetchy (Glove Near Ground), Krause (Pitching), Lake (St. Louis, No Ball in Hand), Latham, Leifield (Batting), Lennox, Livingston, Lord, Lundgren (Kansas City), Maddox, Manning (Pitching), H. McIntyre (Bkln. And Chicago Nat’l), (2) M. McIntyre (Portrait), McLean, McQuillan (Ball in Hand), McQuillan (with Bat), Merkle (Throwing), Miller, M. Mitchell, Mullen, Mullin (with Bat), Murphy (Batting), Murray (Batting), (2) Murray (Portrait), Myers (Fielding), (2) Needham, Nicholls (Batting), Oakes, (2) Oldring (Batting), O’Leary (Hands on Knees), O’Neil, Overall (Hands at Waist), (2) Payne, Pelty (Throwing), Perring, Pfeffer, Phillippe, Pickering, Quinn, Reulbach (No Glove Showing), Rhoades (Right Arm Extended), Rhodes, Rucker (Throwing), Schaefer (Washington), Schafly, Schmidt (Portrait), (2) Schulte (Back View), Seymour (Portrait), Seymour (Throwing), Shannon, Sharpe, Sheckard (Glove Showing), H. Shaw, Smith (Chicago, White Cap), H. Smith, Steinfeldt (with Bat), Stephens, Stone, Stovall (Portrait), Strang, Street (Catching), Summers, (2) L. Tannehill (with Initial), Taylor, Thielman, Titus, He. Wagner (Bat On Right Shoulder), Warhop, Wilhelm (with Bat), Willetts, Wiltse (Pitching), I. Young; 1910 E104-3 Nadja Caramels: (3 cards) with D. Jones, T. Jones, Moriarty; 1910-11 T3 Turkey Red Cabinets: (6 cards) with Hall of Famer: #40 Willis; Commons/Stars: (5 cards) with #11 Dahlen, #28 McIntyre (Brooklyn), #37 Sallee, #43 Out At Third, #49 A Close Play At Second; We would like to direct you to two threads that have been posted on the Network54 board regarding these collages. Note: you must be a member of the Net54 board to view the images, but you can read the postings. Thread #1 Thread #2We have been allowed to show the two photographs that display one of these collages on display at the WIL radio studio in St. Louis in 1945. These original photographs DO NOT come with the lot, however if the winning bidder would like to purchase the original photos, that can be arranged following the auction.