Lot # 810: 1909-11 T206 Piedmont Fact. 42 Addie Joss (HOF - Pitching) - PSA VG-EX 4

Category: 1900-1948

Starting Bid: $250.00

Bids: 16 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed


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Item was in Auction "Summer, 2024 Premier Auction",
which ran from 9/12/2024 4:00 AM to
9/28/2024 9:00 PM



The first series of cards in the T206 set were issued beginning in 1909 in cigarette and loose tobacco packs through 16 different brands owned by the American Tobacco Company. It is a landmark set in the history of baseball card collecting due to its size and rarity, with cards of over 500 major and minor-league players issued in the set through 1911. It is known informally as the "White Border" set due to the distinctive white borders surrounding the quality color lithographs on each card.

The golden-honey glow of the sunset behind a determined Addie Joss in his finest Cleveland togs yields a first-rate study in darker tones, with the cupola of Cleveland's League Park prominent over his shoulder as he readies to pitch. As it turned out, the card would serve as an inadvertent double memorial as Joss, sidelined midway through the 1910 season with arm trouble, would end up perishing from meningitis in April of 1911 as he was working his way back into shape. Too the wooden-stand League Park, which had served Cleveland well for almost two decades, was replaced in 1910 by a concrete and steel version that lacked both the cupola and the charm of its predecessor.

Joss is part of the 55 subject 350/460 "regular" print group in T206, issued around the middle of 1910. A dozen or so different brands are represented in this print group, many of them, including Piedmont, scarce. Centering is slightly north on the canvas, but great corners and sharp edges provide a wonderful frame to this gorgeous example. The reverse does show some tobacco staining and a couple light surface abrasions which contribute to some color loss, but the scarcity
of this issue far outweighs any perceived cosmetic flaws on this example.

PSA has only ever graded 8 total examples of this T206 with a Piedmont 350-460/Factory 42 back, with only TWO receiving a higher grade than the VG-EX 4 offered here of Hall of Famer Addie Joss pitching.

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