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.
Dallas' Molly Miller is the
subject of this example, graded Poor 1 (MK) by PSA due to some surface abrasions on the front which cause some color loss. The (MK)
qualifier comes from the number "505" written in pencil near the top of the reverse, which does not affect the front. This one still has plenty of eye appeal.
Among
the more popular subsets in the T206 issue, Southern League (SL) cards
are lauded for their scarcity. The cards of 48 players from the Southern
Association, the South Atlantic League, the Texas League, and the
Virginia State League were printed in
total. These cards were printed separately from the rest of the T206
cards, resulting in a
shorter supply than other T206s, and creating a high demand among
collectors.