Outstanding complete portfolio as issued in 1906 by Sporting Life magazine and containing the entire assortment of what we know today as W601 team composites.  Each of the beautiful pieces measures approximately 13" x 14", printed on glossy paper and containing portrait images of the players of each major league team, American and National League team managers and executives, along with 7 individual minor league teams, for a total of 25 individual supplements.  The pieces are presented in a handsome red portfolio, string-bound with its original twine.  This piece was the property of former St. Louis Browns pitcher Barney Pelty, whose image is included on the Browns supplement.

Of primary importance here is the inclusion of the 1905 Detroit Tigers team composite, which is the earliest-known collectible to picture Ty Cobb in a major league uniform.  The identical composite image served as the cover of the November 25, 1905 issue of Sporting Life, a clear "rookie" image of Cobb.  This highly-desirable scarcity is the key item in this collection.  A similar piece in stronger condition sold for $8,400 all by itself in our Summer, 2022 Premier Auction.

The additional pieces included in the portfolio are: Boston Americans (with Jesse Burkett, Jimmy Collins and Cy Young), Boston Beaneaters (with Vic Willis), Brooklyn Superbas (with Ned Hanlon), Chicago Cubs (with Mordecai Brown, Frank Chance, Johnny Evers, and Joe Tinker), Chicago White Sox (with George Davis and Ed Walsh), Cincinnati Reds (with Miller Huggins and Joe Kelley), Cleveland Naps (with Elmer Flick, Addie Joss and Nap Lajoie), Detroit Tigers (with Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford), New York Giants (with Christy Mathewson, Roger Bresnahan, Joe McGinnity, and John McGraw), New York Highlanders (with Jack Chesbro, Clark Griffith, and Willie Keeler), Philadelphia Athletics (with Chief Bender, Connie Mack, Eddie Plank, and Rube Waddell), Philadelphia Phillies (with Hugh Duffy), Pittsburgh Pirates (with Fred Clarke, Barney Dreyfus and Honus Wagner), St. Louis Browns (with Barney Pelty, Branch Rickey, and Bobby Wallace), St. Louis Cardinals (with Jake Beckley), Washington Senators, American League (with Jimmy Collins, Clark Griffith, Ban Johnson, Nap Lajoie, and Connie Mack), National League (with Frank Chance, Fred Clarke, Hugh Duffy, Ned Hanlon, and John McGraw), along with seven minor league teams.

Overall condition is VG+ with some better, the majority of the wear to the supplements relating to edges and corners, along with some mild surface wrinkling and light toning.  The cover has not fared as well, preserving the pieces inside but sustaining significant surface and edge wear.  The original string binding is intact, though we removed it temporarily to photograph some of the interior pages individually.  An exceptional piece, containing the earliest known collectible of Ty Cobb in a major league uniform - a piece that realized nearly five figures by itself in our most recent auction - along with many of the game's greatest-ever names.