This 1888 Old Judge Cigarettes N173 cabinet card of William "California" Brown is a very appealing sample from one of the period's most fabled sets. Old Judge issued these cabinet cards of baseball players as premiums to their cigarette brand; a smoker could send 20 coupons and, in exchange, receive a large-format card of his favorite player.

Centering is nice with great contrast, giving this one tremendous eye appeal. Soft, rounded corners, with creasing and wear in the lower two especially, keep this card from grading even higher than it already has. The scarcity of this issue far outweighs any perceived cosmetic flaws on this example.

This is the only example of this N173 cabinet of Jimmy Ryan with his bat at his side that PSA has ever graded.