19538

"1888 N173 Old Judge Cabinet Mike ""King"" Kelly "

Currency:USD Category:Sports - Cards & Fan Shop / Sports - Cards Start Price:4,750.00 USD Estimated At:6,000.00 - 8,000.00 USD
 1888 N173 Old Judge Cabinet Mike   King   Kelly
<B>1888 N173 Old Judge Cabinet Mike "King" Kelly.</B></I> Exceptional in rarity, quality and appeal, this 118-year old artifact presents a rare opportunity for one advanced collector. Those studied in nineteenth century collecting are aware that these cabinets, measuring 4.125x6.5", were only available to those tobacco enthusiasts enterprising enough to save and send coupons to the headquarters of Old Judge, who distributed the cabinets solely by mail. As such, the population of the cabinets was never high, even at the time of issue. Over a century later, just a handful remains. And of the tiny tribe of survivors, few could hold the same appeal of a Kelly representation, as the National League slugger was one of the most noteworthy of Victorian ballplayers, and a 1945 posthumous Cooperstown inductee. Here he poses in the uniform of the Boston Beaneaters, an archaic bat poised at the ready. Speaking to the nature of the card itself, we note that the surfaces show just the slightest touch of wear, and the back remains devoid of the damage so typically seen in this issue due to scrapbook removal. The image contrast and clarity is unimprovable, and the gilded lettering and border remains almost entirely intact. We may well be overly conservative in granting the piece a grade of EX-MT. Certainly one of the finest Old Judge cabinets to appear at auction in recent months. <BR><BR><B>Important notice:</B> Heritage usually auctions material at the rate of 200-250 lots per hour. On some occasions eBay Live bid software or the Internet may not be able to keep up with the pace of the auction. We recommend placing a realistic absentee bid now as insurance to avoid disappointment. Occasionally the auctioneer may eliminate or reject an eBay Live bid, and the auctioneer may also reopen a lot after the close of the eBay live bidding (usually because we missed an audience bid), and may reject your bid even if it shows you as the winning bidder. By bidding via eBay Live, you agree that Heritage may award the lot to another bidder at its sole discretion under the circumstances described above or any other reasonable circumstances. Since eBay bids are not shown to us until we open the lot on the floor, we treat those bids just like floor bids. In most cases the floor responds before the eBay bid is presented to us, due to Internet lag time, so for consistency we have made it a policy that floor bids are always considered first over tie eBay live bids. Also please note that all Heritage lots purchased through eBay Live carry a 22.5% Buyer's Premium. Please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions before you bid. This lot is being auctioned in conjunction with a live floor auction by Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers. All final auction and invoice information will be supplied by Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers, and all other information should be considered preliminary. Lot:19538 <BR><BR><B>Winning Notification and Billing:</B> After the FINAL session in this auction is complete, Heritage will send e-mail and snail mail invoices. This process normally takes several days. All final auction and invoice information will be supplied by Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers, and all other information should be considered preliminary. <BR><BR>This auction will be conducted on a live auction floor and over the Internet through eBay Live. If you choose to place an absentee bid, please take a moment to <font color='#0000ff'><u><a href='http://pages.ebay.com/liveauctions/help/before/laabsentee.html'>learn how eBay Live absentee bidding works</a></u></font><font color='#000000'>