Tobacco Era Part 2
1) 1886 Lone Jack N370
2) 1886 Old Judge New York Giants N167
3) 1886 Allen & Ginter N28
4) 1886 Buchner Gold Coin N284
5) 1887 Four Base Hits
6) 1887 Gypsy Queen
7) 1887 Kalamazoo Bats N690
8) 1887 Kalamazoo Bats Team Cards N690-1
9) 1887 Kalamazoo Bats Cabinets N690
10) 1887-90 Old Judge N172
1) 1886 Lone Jack N370
1886 N370 Lone Jack Charles Comiskey.
type: tobacco insert; mounted photograph
availability: scarce
popularity: average/above average
Amongst the rarest 19th century cards is this issue distributed by the Lone Jack Cigarette Co. of Lynchburg Virginia. The set contains thirteen players from the St. Louis Browns. The pictures are enlarged versions used in the N172 Old Judge issue. In general, this issue suffers from poor light/dark contrast in the picture, and cards with strong contrast demand a premium. These cards, especially of a star like Comiskey above, come up for sale or auction infrequently and one should expect to pay book price or more.
2) 1886 Old Judge New York Giants N167
type: tobacco insert; color lithograph
availability: scarce
popularity: average
These obscure cards pre-date the well-known 1887 Old Judge N172 issue, also made by Goodwin & Co. Despite the limited number of cards, the Giants were loaded with talent including Buck Ewing and Monte Ward.
3) 1886 Allen & Ginter N28
John Clarkson (front and back)
type: tobacco insert; lithograph
availability: available
popularity: popular
These extremely attractive cards are one of the most popular 19th century issues. There are 50 cards en total with 10 baseball players. The baseball players includes numerous stars with Anson, Kelly and Comiskey. The entire sets includes Buffalo Bill Cody and boxer John L. Sullivan. As the cards proved to popular with the public, Allen & Ginter issued similar cards (N29 and N43) in the following years. The lithography was well-done throughout the print run, meaning that bright, crisp and colorful pictures are not difficult to find even when other wear exists. An associated lithographed premium album is difficult to find and quite expensive (see Baseball Albums) .
Notice that most of the N28 cards here have back damage as they were glued into albums. This condition is common with Pre-WWII cards as collectors albums were popular.
It is not difficult to find an N28. The popularity keeps the prices high, but the availability means the collector can wait for a good deal.
1886 Allen & Ginter N28 Charles Comiskey (left) and Mike 'King' Kelley.
1886 Allen & Ginter N28 Timothy Keefe (left) and Jack Glassock (right).
1886 Allen & Ginter N28 Joseph Mulvey.
Assortment of N28s. including Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill Cody and Jack Dempsy
N28 Proof. This perhaps unique card is a 'printer's proof' used to test for correct color, alignment and other elements before final printing. It is on a thin paper and has crosses which were guides for the printer. Also, notice there is no writing. Proofs are extremely scarce. As interest widely varies, a proof's scarcity is not necessarily reflected in the price. This one sold for $470.
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Not N28s. These are not cards but images cut from a vintage Allen & Ginter poster. Unlike the real cards, these are on thinner paper and do note 'Allen & Ginter' below the name. Cards can be removed similarly from some of the premium Albums (see Baseball Albums). The Albums were often made out of a cardboard stock but are blank backed. Presumably most of these 'cards' were removed many years ago. Today, albums and posters are expensive and it would be dumb to cut them up.
4) 1886 Buchner Gold Coin N284
1887 N284 Buchner Gold Coin Schomberg .
type: tobacco insert; lithograph
availability: average
popularity: below average
As a relic of the 19th Century and as this set contains many stars, these cards will retain some popularity. They are, however, a step behind most other standard issues both in quality and popularity. These cards suffer from rather crude art and in many cases anonymous images are used. For example, the image for the Charley Comiskey card is not Comiskey. These are amongst the cheapest of the major issues. Despite paling in comparison to Allen & Ginter and other key issues, the Buchner Gold Coins can prove to be a worthwhile and affordable addition to any collection and can be found at a reasonable price.
. The complete Buchner set also contains policemen, jockeys and actors. There are 143 baseball cards including many pose variations. Most of the key stars are represented
1887 N284 Buchner Gold Coin (lot of 3 common players).
1887 Buchner Gold Coin N284 Mike King Kelly: Many consider the colorful Kelley to be the greatest player (and partier) of his time.
1887 Buchner Gold Coin N284 back of card (1 3/4" x 3")
1887 Buchner Gold Coin N284 Buck Ewing (1 3/4" x 3") There are two N284 Ewing cards: the above and another where he looks as if ready to clap. Ewing was possibly the best all around player of his day. A solid hitter, base runner and fielder, he was the first catcher to crouch and one of the first to use a jumbo catcher's mitt.
1887 Buchner Gold Coin Charles Comiskey. (1 3/4" x 3") Pictured here in the field, Comiskey made his name later in life as an executive. He helped form the American League and was founding owner of the Chicago White Sox. Miserly, to say it politely, some suggest that his penny-pinching led in part to the notorious 'Black Sox' Scandal of 1919. Several underpaid White Sox players, including the legendary Shoeless Joe Jackson, were banned from baseball for life after it was determined they took money to throw the World Series.
1887 Buchner Gold Coin Non-Sport cards. (1 3/4" x 3" each) To the left is Capt. Michael J. Murphy, 26th Precinct, New York City. To the right is Capt. Charles McDonnell, 8th Precinct, New York City.
5) 1887 Four Base Hits
(not pictured)type: tobacco; mounted photograph
availability: rare
popularity: popular
Considered by many to be the Holy Grail of 19th Century baseball cards attaining even one would prove most difficult. The King Kelley is considered one of the treasures of the hobby and would cost a small fortune. Even a common card in Near Mint condition could sell for upwards of $10,000. The cards measure 2-1/4" X 3-7/8" with sepia colored photographs. The player's name, position and 'Four Base Hits / Four for 10 cents' is written near the bottom. It is unknown who was the issuer.
6) 1887 Gypsy Queen
Samuel Barkley (fielding)
type: tobacco insert, mounted photograph
availability: below average, with jumbo versions scarce
popularity: average/above average
The 129 cards in this issue are closely related to the popular N172 Old Judges. Both were issued by Goodwin & Co. and use similar photography. The Gypsy Queens are scarcer than the abundant Old Judges. Gypsy Queens come in two sizes, with the large size being extremely difficult to find and quite expensive. Photographs with good contrast receive a premium.
1887 Gypsy Queen Ezra Sutton
1887 Gypsy Queen Chris Von Der Ahe The flamboyant owner is popular amongst many collectors. Appearing on only a few issues, his cards are priced in the star status.
7) 1887 Kalamazoo Bats N690
type: tobacco insert; mounted photograph
availability: scarce
popularity: popular
Along with the other Kalamazoo issues, these sepia-colored cards are amongst the most desirable 19th century cards. They were issued by Charles Gros & Co. of Philadelphia. At 4" X 2-1/4" they are larger than most tobacco inserts. Most card backs are blank with some having an ad offering various prizes in exchange for the cards. The ad backs were made scarce so that there were few prizes redeemed. It is speculated that there were more than one printing of the cards from 1886-1888. Specimens don't pop up in auctions often and when they do they often sell above book price.
Two New York Players
1887 Kalamazoo Bats Denny Lyons and Taylor N690 (2-1/4" X 4") An interesting shot showing the left fielder being worked on by the team trainer.
What a baseball player did on his own time is his own business. Actually there are numerous non-baseball cards issued by Kalamazoo Bats.
8) 1887 Kalamazoo Bats Team Cards N690-1
Detroit Team
type: tobacco insert; mounted photograph
availability: scarce
popularity: popular
Another desirable issue by Charles Gros & Co. The cards are the same style as the player cards N690 except they depict teams. These are rarely seen and don't come cheap.
N690 Team Cards Baltimore
9) 1887 Kalamazoo Bats Cabinets N690
Boston Base Ball Club.
type: tobacco; Cabinet Card
availability: scarce
popularity: above average/popular
Yet another scarce and desirable Kalamazoo Bats issue. It is not certain what was the purpose of these cards. They were probably either premiums or proof photographs.
There are two distinct styles of cabinets, both measuring 4-1/2" X 6-12/2."
One style has a pinkish mount. The only way to identify these is an embossment on the card which says: 'Chas. Gros & Co' (top line)/ '1887' (middle line)/'Copyright' (bottom).
The second style has a black mount with the words 'Smoke Kalamazoo Bats' embossed in gold lettering to the left of the photograph. Some have embossments as described above on the photographs though most don't.
There are player cabinets and four team cabinets. The team cabinets are extremely rare and expensive. The above pictured Boston Cabinet is the only known specimen and would probably sell for $20,000 in national auction.
10) 1887-90 Old Judge N172
1887 Old Judge N172 Connie Mack
type: tobacco insert; mounted photograph
availability: available
popularity: popular
When most think of 19th century cards they think of these tiny tobacco cards. They are the trademarks of the era just as T206, Goudey or Topps are for theirs.
These collector-favorites were usually issued in Old Judge brand cigarettes. There are over 500 different players depicted with numerous poses for many players. New players or variations are still being found. The cards are comprised of sepia-toned photographs glued to cardboard. The backs are blank. The in-studio photography is somewhat primitive and show players or managers in obviously posed scenes.
1887 Old Judge N172 F. Roach (1-7/16" X 2-1/2")
N172 Arlie Latham: The Browns Champions, subset celebrating 1886s world champs, is an especially popular subset.
1887 Old Judge N172 Cal Broughton
1887 Old Judge N172 Harry Wright (left) and Harry McVey (right)
Exhibiting some wear.
main index........................ tobacco era index (c) David E. Rudd, all rights reserved
