Among the most beautiful of all tobacco issues, the T204 Ramly issues were produced by the Mentor Company of Boston and distributed with both Ramly and TTT brand cigarettes. As opposed to many of the other mainstream cards of the era, the Ramly cards featured Carl Horner portrait photographs set inside an ornate, gold embossed frame, with the player's name, team and position printed in a text field at the bottom.  The cards are particularly condition-sensitive, due in large part to the gold foil and its propensity to chip.  

Though the issue is filled with rarities and popular poses of key Hall of Famers, the unquestionable key to the set is that of Walter Johnson.  Featuring the same portrait photo used on his Rose Company Postcard and for the illustration on his T206 Portrait pose, the image is classic, picturing the future Hall of Famer at the dawn of his career, in his early 20s.  Considered the rookie card of the Big Train, the T204 Ramly is among the most valuable and highly prized of all Johnson's cards.  

Graded GOOD 2 by SGC, this example is part of a complete set of oval frame T204 Ramly cards being sold individually in this auction (you can see the remaining cards in the prewar section of the catalog).  The card boasts strong eye appeal for the grade, centered well with very little chipping at the borders and within the gold frame. Some minor surface abrasions have revealed a speck of paper loss in the shoulder area of the image, as well as some very minor chipping at the top edge. A small amount of foxing or staining is evident within the image and the frame, running diagonally from the top left to the bottom center of the card. Some foxing and age-related discoloration is visible in areas of the card back.  What appears on the reverse to be a faint wrinkle near the "S" in "Cigarettes" does not appear to pass through to the card front.  Overall, a wonderful example of the rookie card of Walter Johnson from the beautiful T204 Ramly issue, the first we have offered in nearly 12 years.