Though
more scarce, the Boston Store set catalogued as H801-8 utilizes the
same 200-card base set (though some variations are known) as the
Collins-McCarthy issue. It is a clean and stark black and white photographic
set, similar in design to a number of other baseball sets released in the
early 1920s. The cards were produced on thin stock with a glossy
surface, making them susceptible to creasing and wrinkles.
Featuring
promotional advertising for a Chicago department store, the cards are
very scarce and desirable today. The issue is rare enough that the
total graded population of most of the cards remain in the single
digits, and despite the preponderance of of hobby auctions and
internet-based card dealers making an enormous variety of inventory
available daily, not a single complete set appears on PSA's massive set
registry.
St. Louis first baseman George Sisler is featured on this example which is centered southwest on the canvas. Corners and edges are consistent with the grade, though some light surface abrasions and soiling around the perimeter keeps this card from grading even higher than it already has. Nevertheless, the scarcity of this issue far outweighs any cosmetic flaws on this example.
PSA has only ever graded 6 total examples of this 1917 Boston Store, with
only TWO receiving a higher grade than the VG-EX 4 offered here of Hall of Famer George Sisler.