Early this year, we were paid a visit by an occasional consignor and antique hunter based in Pennsylvania. He brought with him two cardboard matte backer boards - the kind one would find in a picture frame - and onto each was affixed rows and rows of T206 cards. A first glance revealed several Hall of Famers, including a red background Cobb.  A closer examination, however, revealed a treasure trove - mixed in with the commons were a number of printers scraps and print anomalies.  Cards with missing colors, yellow print scraps, overprints, multi-strikes, dual names.  We were fascinated, and along with the consignor, made the determination that the cards needed to be removed from the backing.

We sent the boards to a professional conservator who determined that the cards were affixed to modern boards with what appeared to be heavy duty, double-sided tape.  We instructed the conservator to remove the cards, and when complete, we discovered many multi-strike Piedmont backs mixed in as well.  Ultimately amidst the group we found 20 cards that we consider scraps or print anomalies - never before have we found so many in one place!

Sadly there is no information about where the cards originated, but since there are a variety of different types of print scraps and anomalies, we think it is unlikely that they all came from the same place, and more likely that they were, at some point, collected by someone.  Eventually someone came into possession of them that did not know their value or importance, and taped them to the backer board to create a framed baseball display. Regardless, it is an amazing collection and we are proud to present them all here.

This example featuring Boston's Frank Bowerman is newly discovered and entering the hobby for the first time. It was printer's scrap with a light B on his uniform. Each of the corners is either severely rounded, or have been altered in some way, which gives the card an automatic Authentic grade, but even with the unusual look and shape due to the print error of the portrait, the interesting story still makes this a worthy piece. Further research has uncovered that there are many other examples of Bowerman's Boston card (including another in this auction) where the "B" on his breast is heavily faded, so technically this card may be much less egregious of a print anomaly than we at first imagined.