In 1886, the J. Wood Studio produced a series of studio cabinet photos featuring portraits of members of its hometown New York Giants.  It is theorized that the photos were made available to the public, perhaps even as a complete set, as a group of individual player photos plus a team composite (there are actually two team photos, one where the players are wearing caps that have been added to the players' heads, and one where they are not). Photos from this series are found in other late-1880s card sets (this image of Dude Esterbrook is, for example, replicated on his N690 Kalamazoo Bats card, and more notably was used to create the illustration on his rare N167 Old Judge issue).

Thomas John "Dude" Esterbrook was a journeyman utility player with experience at multiple positions. He played outfield with the 1882 Cleveland Blues before moving to the American Association and playing two seasons with the New York Metropolitans. Despite a strong season, he was released in early 1885 and signed with the New York Giants for the 1885 and 1886 seasons. Esterbrook batted a modest .264 as the Giants' third baseman in 1886, ultimately moving back to the Metropolitans for 1887.

The card itself is stunning, technical grade notwithstanding (SGC has graded a total of 10 examples from this issue, and all but one have graded "AUTHENTIC," with the one receiving a numerical grade being a POOR 1). Of the cabinets from this issue that we have encountered, this is by far the finest, boasting a spectacular image with a clean surface (many of the surviving cabinets from this issue are coated with glue on the front), the photo quality superior to any we have seen.  The reverse exhibits some paper loss and also remnants, clearly from scrapbook removal, along with some light pencil writing as is typical with studio cabinets of this vintage.  Corner and edge wear is visible but slight. Undoubtedly one of the finest examples from this issue to have survived, a spectacular image that served as the basis for his N167 Old Judge and N690 Kalamazoo Bats card, an incredibly rare example with no more than a couple others known to exist.