Masterpieces and Uncommon Commons XXV
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on:
2/12/2010
In 1887, a large New York tobacco firm named Goodwin & Company baseball player cards to promote their Old Judge and Gypsy Queen cigarette brands. Actual player sepia toned photos were pasted on stiff “Blank Back” cardboard, not only as a sales incentive, but to protect the cigarettes via the stiff cardboard stock that was used. Beginning in 1988, tobacco users could send in 25 boxes or Old Judge slips included in the cigarette packs to receive a sepia toned photograph affixed to a 4 ¼” x 6 ½” mount. These ultra-popular cabinet cards are categorized as N173’s and are very desirable to advanced 19th century collectors. While 26 of the 27 Old Judge Hall of Famers exist (there is no known Comiskey cabinet), most of the extremely scarce cabinets belong to non Hall of Famers. This scenario is a result of the tobacco smoking community having their choice of cabinet cards to choose from, obviously selecting the greatest players of the day from the most popular cities (New York, Boston, Chicago, etc.), with many of the lesser known subjects seldom chosen. Justifying this notion is the population report for Chicago right fielder Jimmy Ryan with this rare SGC “Authentic” offering one of only two Ryan N173 Cabinets listed on the combined population reports for all of the major grading companies. Furthermore, this ultra-obscure cabinet also includes the much scarcer black mount (vs. the more common yellow and pink borders), raising the desirability for this cabinet to a stratospheric level!
Had he been alive today, Jimmy Ryan could certainly stake a claim at injustice for not being elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame. He was one of the 19th century’s greatest power hitters, walloping 118 home runs (only 18 shy of Roger Connor’s 19th century record), knocking in almost 1,100 runs and achieving a stellar .306 lifetime average. A strong left handed thrower, when he wasn’t playing right field, he managed to pitch a few innings, winning 6 games in his career. Of his total 18 seasons, 16 were played in Chicago, one of which for the Pirates of the 1890 Player’s League. This popular Chicago player’s legacy will forever live on via this rarely seen Cooperstown worthy “black border” cabinet portraying an absolutely classic throwing pose of this by-gone era star. Ryan’s breathtaking sepia-toned photograph depicts superb contrast and registration, well centered between the rare black borders. The four corner tips exhibit only moderate even wear, and no major creases are evident. The white typography directly below his cleats clearly reads: “RYAN – RF. CHICAGO” and near the lower left border “Copyright 1887 Goodwin & Co.”. The sepia “OLD JUDGE CIGARETTES “Goodwin & Co., New York.” typography situated on the lower black border, likewise, has retained a majority of its original print, reflecting only mild soiling among its letters. The “Authentic” grade is attributed to an approximate one inch area of tape removal that clearly stands out against the solid black mount. While the surface paper loss justifies the technical assessment, the obverse side visual appeal is more consistent with a mid-grade example with Ryan’s astounding etching the headliner of this rarely encountered artifact. No superior 19th century collection could possibly be considered whole without one of these seldom surfacing “black border” N173 cabinets that, unquestionably, represents one of the most obscure and elegant cardboard remnants from our National Pastime’s origin!
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