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, with many of the lesser known subjects seldom chosen. One of the rarest common players depicted on any N173 is Cincinnati’s catcher Jim Keenan, and it is his virtually unique Old Judge Cabinet that is presented here in a splendid SGC 30/2 holder. While we can never account for the number of non-graded artifacts residing in private collections, what we can tell you is that this is the SOLE John Doran cabinet RECORDED by any major grading company. As additional justification of its scarcity, the SCD catalogue currently EXCLUDES this offering from their player checklist!
This “1 of 1” museum worthy artifact portrays a stoic Keenan sepia-toned fielding image as he is about to catch a baseball that has almost made contact with his raised hands. Outstanding contrast and vivid clarity depict an almost “3-D” like quality as you can imagine the baseball about to be caught by Keenan’s bare hands. Originally, it appears this example exhibited light pink borders, but over 120 years of handling and wear have since contributed to the absolute fading of the perimeter borders that now portray a light sepia-toned color. Some moderate staining resides near the lower right border, running through the “Goodwin & Co., New York caption, with the remaining surface free of any obtrusive blemishes. The edging is straight, the corners exhibit only slight wear, no major creasing is evident and the “real photo” Keenan image is centered virtually “dead-on”. The white typography below Keenan’s cleats and besides his left knee clearly reads, respectively: “JM KEENAN-C-Cincinnati” and “Copyright 1888 Goodwin & Co. NY”. The reverse side does reflect vertical moisture marks approximately one inch from the left edge and close to the right edge that in no way negate the spectacular aesthetics of this virtual unique offering. In conclusion, with 19th century advanced collectors actively seeking the rarest possible cardboard relics in existence, based on the population report, this is one cabinet card that you should relentlessly pursue. No other pre-1900 issues are more popular than Old Judge cigarette cards in both their small (N172) and larger sized cabinet versions (N173), setting an unequivocal 19th century benchmark all other pre-1900 cards are measured against. Ironically, Keenan spent his entire Major League career as a catcher, and any advanced 19th century enthusiast should make every effort to “catch on” to his rarest cardboard artifact. You could NEVER second guess yourself for capturing this remarkable masterpiece that currently stands as the ONLY graded Keenan N173 cabinet card in the universe!
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