One of the more attractive and certainly underrated 19th Century baseball issues is the N135 Duke "Talk of the Diamond" set. Featuring larger cards than typical for the period (4 1/8" x 2 1/2") each card contains a full-color lithograph of a ballplayer or team with a clever or humorous play on words illustrated on the right. Since the players are not identified on the card itself the issue has not captured the attention of collectors the way many other sets of the period have. However they remain a beautiful example of lithographic baseball art of the period. The set itself is an extremely attractive one; the majority of the cards exhibit bright vibrant images with a few showing some back damage from scrapbook removal. One card "A Base Tender " is marred by significant paper loss on the front. However that is the only example suffering from such damage. This is the first example of this set that we have ever seen in complete form. It is uncommon enough that just one registry set exists on either PSA or SGC's registries and that set has been retired as it was sold at auction four years ago. This is an attractive set featuring beautiful full-color lithography and baseball images an unheralded 19th Century tobacco set. A complete condition breakdown is as follows: SGC EX/NM 80 (1 card): No Game; SGC EX 60 (1 card): Stealing A Base; SGC VG/EX+ 55 (1 card): A Low Ball; SGC VG/EX 50 (2 cards): A Foul Balk Going For Third Base; SGC VG+ 45 (6 cards): A Regular Ball Three Out-All Out A Big Hit A Chronic Kicker A Rounder Lively Game; SGC VG 40 (4 cards): Out He Serves The Ball A Home Run Left Field; SGC GOOD+ 35 (2 cards): Left On Base A Hot Ball; SGC GOOD 30 (3 cards): A Good Catch A Shortstop A Pitcher In The Box; SGC FAIR 20 (2 cards): After The Ball A Good Throw; SGC POOR 10 (3 cards): A Base Tender A Heavy Batter A Foul Catch. An interesting seldom-seen set from the dawn of collecting. 25 cards total.