In 1916, printer and publisher Felix Mendelsohn of Chicago produced two series of black and white photographic baseball cards that were designed with blank backs, and also offered to a variety of companies with their advertisements on the reverse. The different sets have become extremely popular among type card collectors, hobbyists building back runs, and set collectors alike. Long underrated, the challenge of completion, coupled with the added layers of rarity associated with the various backs have increased collector interest, particularly as type collecting becomes more popular.  The various sets are also noted for a number of important rookie cards, among them that of Casey Stengel.

This high-grade card of the Hall of Fame manager has been graded NM 7 by SGC, with sharp corners, strong centering and a deep, rich photographic image.  The earliest card of Stengel as a major league player, a high-grade rookie card is highly prized among advanced collectors. Of the entire universe of Mendelsohn-produced issues, SGC has graded just one Stengel - a much more common M101-4 Sporting News card - as high as NM, with zero higher.  Most cards from Stengel's playing years are tough, but high-grade examples are few and far between.  For collectors of Hall of Fame rookie cards, this represents the absolute pinnacle, one of just a handful of graded examples, and the highest assessed by SGC.