(LOT 1705)
Offered is the Boston Base Ball Club from the extremely rare 1887 Kalamazoo Bats series of cabinet team cards. There are only six team cards in the set, and Boston is one of the high-profile keys. The Boston Club was one of the powerhouses of the era, highlighted by Hall of Famers Mike “King” Kelly and “Old Hoss” Radbourn. Kalamazoo Bats Imperial cabinet cards are known to exist in two styles: 1) with no advertising on the mount, but with a small embossed “Chas. Gross & Co.” stamp on the surface of the photograph (it is possible that these are proof cards of some type), and 2) with gilt-lettered advertising that prominently reads “Smoke Kalamazoo Bats” on the mount. The offered cabinet features the embossed “Chas. Gross & Co.” stamp in the lower left corner, and represents the only such Boston team card we have ever seen. Though Kalamazoo Bats cabinets are among the rarest of all 19th-century baseball cards, it is unknown exactly how they were distributed. It is likely that they were only available by mail, perhaps in exchange for coupons, as this was the case for many other premiums available from Kalamazoo Bats and other tobacco companies in the era. As opposed to the team cards, which are 2-3/8” x 4”, the cabinet cards are typically 4-1/4” x 6-1/2”. What makes this example possibly unique is that it is a 7-3/8” x 10” cabinet on thick cabinet card stock and features a “C Gross & Co.; Copyright 1887” deeply embedded in the bottom left corner. We are not aware of any other examples! Although the image displays with beautiful contrast, the top left edge displays some card stock loss. There is a semi-circular cut in the photo stock that has been professionally repaired and the brown back shows evidence of scrapbook removal.


MIN BID $900
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