The first series of cards in the T206 set were issued beginning in
1909 in cigarette and loose tobacco packs through 16 different brands
owned by the American Tobacco Company. It is a landmark set in the
history of baseball card collecting due to its size and rarity, with
cards of over 500 major and minor-league players issued in the set
through 1911. It is known informally as the "White Border" set due to
the
distinctive white borders surrounding the quality color lithographs on
each card.
The golden-honey glow of the sunset behind a determined
Addie Joss in his finest Cleveland togs yields a first-rate study in darker
tones, with the cupola of Cleveland's League Park prominent over his
shoulder as he readies to pitch. As it turned out, the card would serve as an inadvertent
double memorial as Joss, sidelined midway through the 1910 season with
arm trouble, would end up perishing from meningitis in April of 1911 as he
was working his way back into shape. Too the wooden-stand League Park,
which had served Cleveland well for almost two decades, was replaced in
1910 by a concrete and steel version that lacked both the cupola and the
charm of its predecessor.
Joss is part of the 55 subject 350/460 "regular" print group in T206,
issued around the middle of 1910. A dozen or so different brands are
represented in this print group, many of them, including Piedmont, scarce. Centering is slightly north on the canvas, but great corners and sharp edges provide a wonderful frame to this gorgeous example. The reverse does show some tobacco staining and a couple light surface abrasions which contribute to some color loss, but the scarcity of this issue far outweighs any perceived cosmetic flaws on this example.
PSA has only ever graded 8 total examples of this T206 with a Piedmont 350-460/Factory 42
back, with only TWO receiving a higher grade than the VG-EX 4 offered here
of Hall of Famer Addie Joss pitching.