Originally issued in one-card penny packs and billed by Topps as "A gimmick penny
baseball series," these cards call to mind the 1911 Mecca "Double
Folder" cards which featured two players. Unfolded, these cards measure 2
1/16" x 4 7/8" and depict illustrated players set against a stadium
background. When folded, the player image on the reverse becomes the
front, sharing the same legs and feet of the player image on the front.
When placed side-by-side in numerical order, the card backgrounds form a
single continuous scene.
This
offering is the Henry Aaron/Ray Herbert issue in a wonderfully high
grade. Aaron is the main image, with centering just a hair south on the canvas. Edges are crisp, and corners are sharp, with only a faint bit of staining at the bottom border. The Herbert side has some very faint foxing, mostly on the text half, but is also
beautifully clean with brilliant colors. An excellent opportunity to
acquire a difficult early Topps issue.
SGC
has only ever graded 31 total unperforated examples of this
Aaron/Herbert Double Header, with only 9 receiving a higher grade than the
NM+ 7.5 offered here.