From Collins-McCarthy, the company which offered the long run of
Zeenuts cards, this 1917 set now known as E135 offered 200 new subjects.
While the company had been known for producing cards featuring players
of the Pacific Coast League, the E135 set switched
their focus to the National and American Leagues. Produced at a time
when few
sets were being issued, it gave collectors and baseball fans on the West
Coast a look at players they had only read about in the newspapers or
in
the annual Spading guides. While this set shares many photos with the
later E121 set and the much-later E126 issue (both from American
Caramel), this E135 set came first.
Centering is northeast on the canvas, with rounded corners and soft edges consistent with the grade. Some faint surface abrasions and light soiling keep this one from grading even higher than it already has, though the dramatic pose of the second baseman and the wonderful contrast of his uniform give this card tremendous eye appeal.
SGC has only ever graded 10 total
examples of this 1917 E135, with only six receiving a higher grade than
the Good 2 offered here of J.A. Niehoff.