Produced in 1910-11 by the American
Tobacco Company, the Turkey Red cabinet cards were redeemable by mailing
in coupons found in packs of Turkey Red, Fez and Old Mill brand
cigarettes. The large-format cards were produced on heavy stock,
measuring 5 ¾” x 8” and feature beautiful, colorful lithographic
printings featuring one of 126 different subjects (including 25 boxers,
which are catalogued as T9 cards, but are actually part of the same
set).
Cards are found with checklists on the reverse, or in the case of
card numbers 77-126, with a Turkey Red advertisement. Due to their
size, the cards are often found with pinholes and back damage from
mounting in scrapbooks or hanging on walls, and are seldom found in
higher grades. Difficult to find in quantity, they are considered to be
among the most beautiful and desirable of all the baseball tobacco
issues.
Despite some heavy soiling on the top half of the card, this example of one of the most popular players of the era has graded exceptionally well, which proves how great the condition of the rest of the card is. Beautiful colors, sharp corners, and a gorgeous back give this one plenty of eye appeal, despite the staining.
PSA has only ever graded 64 total examples of this T3 Turkey Red with a
checklist back, with only five receiving a
higher grade than the EX 5 offered here of Bill Dahlen.