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.

There are four different John McGraw cards included in the T206 set (the only person with more is Hal Chase, with five). This version, which depicts McGraw sitting, reclined, in his New York Giants sweater, wearing a cap in front of a red background, is the rarest of his four. Centering is very nice on this one, which helps the eye appeal tremendously as there are some soiling issues which make the entire canvas slightly darker. A large crease in the top left quadrant is the main culprit holding the grade down, but rounded corners, soft edges, and some paper loss help, as well. However, the main redeeming quality of this example is the very tough Tolstoi back, whose printing remains dark and bold. A large bit of paper loss near the top further explains the card's technical grade, but the entirety of the word TOLSTOI is unaffected and looks gorgeous. Regardless of any condition concerns, the scarcity of this issue far outweighs any cosmetic flaws on this example.

SGC has only ever graded 19 total examples of this T206 with a Tolstoi back, with only twelve receiving a higher grade than the Poor 1 offered here of the portrait of Hall of Famer John McGraw with his cap.