H804 was Jefferson Burdick's catchall category for 19th Century Trade Cards that he termed "Baseball Comics," with the -7 suffix assigned to Merchant's Gargling Oil, a series that certainly fits the bill. You definitely didn't want to gargle with it, though, as it was a topical liniment. The manufacturer described it in period ads as "Recommended by us in the treatment of galls, sprains, callous, wind galls, scratches, mange, flesh wounds, muscular soreness, kicks, cuts, foot rot in sheep, wind puffs."

Each card of the five card set features an illustration of a disturbing-looking rotund ballplayer in what appears to be game situations. The full-color lithos were used to promote several different companies, though the one seen most frequently is Merchant's Gargling Oil, the company advertised on this example.

The primary condition flaws with these cards typically appears on the reverse where the telltale discolorations associated with being stored in the pages of scrapbooks can be seen. Luckily, this example, graded Good+ 2.5 from SGC, appears to have been removed carefully or perhaps even naturally as the reverse typography can be easily read and exhibits no sign of paper loss. Centering to the east of the canvas and some light soiling keep this card from grading even higher than it already has.

SGC has only ever graded 14 total examples of this H804-7, with only ONE receiving a higher grade than the Good+ 2.5 offered here of the "A Close Affair" issue.