Masterpieces and Uncommon Commons XXVIII
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on:
7/30/2010
One of the rarest 19th century baseball cards ever manufactured are the G&B chewing Gum cards issued by New York’s G&B candy company. Ultra scarce, they included the standard 19th century sepia-toned pictures and are considered the pioneers of candy/gum cards with all previous cardboard issues related to tobacco products. One of the smallest 19th century issues, many of the subjects include “line drawings” rather than the typical real photo pictures commonly seen on Old Judge N172’s (some of the G&B pictures are real photos). Locating any player subject from this obscure set is a monumental task which is why we are pround to offer one of the set’s most popular [players, renowned Chicago White Stockings catcher Silver Flint in a SGC 10/1 holder. This is one of only three Silver Flint SGC graded copies with PSA’s “pop” chart indicating none! We cannot overemphasize the significance of this seldom surfacing type card that manages to elude even the elite enthusiast.
Silver Flint began his Major League catching career with the National association’s St. Louis Reds in 1875. Never a strong hitter, he managed to play most of his career with the Chicago White Stockings as a standout defensive catcher, and was ultra popular with the Chicago fans. In 1890, he chose not to jump to the new Players League, retiring after the 1889 season. before his eventual retirement after the 1889 season. Forget the technical grade because the obverse side of this obscure cardboard artifact is strongly consistent with a mid-grade example. A fine sepia-toned “line drawing depicts Flint in his formal attire and while the contrast slightly leans towards the lighter side, a majority of Flint’s details are fully evident including his handlebar mustache and period tie. Beneath his museum like portrait pose reads “FLINT-CATCHER, NATIONAL LEAGUE, CHEWING GUM, G&B, N.Y.” with the bold brown capitalized text fully intact. Fine centering and strong partly square corners are additional favorable qualities contributing to the superb obverse side aesthetics. Moderate wrinkles located near Flint’s face are barely visible to the naked eye, and the modest surface wear near Flint’s left ear hardly encroaches on this offering splendid eye appeal. The technical assessment is solely due to scrapbook removal whereby the blank back includes additional glue and paper from its former dwelling.
Regardless of any assigned grade, the highly desirable combination of strong visual appeal and excessive rarity make this obscure offering one of the most coveted 19th century prizes. We are all familiar with issues such as Old Judge, Allen & Ginter and Goodwin Champions, with many of these popular cards circulating throughout the hobby. However, advanced enthusiasts are always searching for the more sparse type 19th century issues such as Kalamazoo Bats, “Just So” Tobacco, “Yum Yum” Tobacco, and G&B Chewing Gum, just to mention a few. The paucity level of any G&B Chewing Gum specimen cannot be overemphasized, and its status as the first candy/gum card places it as landmark issue. Now is the time to claim ownership of a pioneer like cardboard memento linking us to the origin of our illustrious hobby!
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