The H804-11 Cosack & Co. trade cards are among the more popular of
all the 19th Century trade card issues. It is a 9-card set that features
colorfully illustrated cards featuring generic images of baseball
players framed inside a bright blue border. Each image represents a
different position on the baseball field, though there is no card for
"right field", as the set includes a "batsman" instead.
As is the case
with most trade card issues, these cards were printed on a lighter stock,
making them condition sensitive. They were produced by Cosack &
Company, a Buffalo-based lithographer. They feature delightful
illustrations on postcard-sized paper, the interesting illustrations
lending the set its popularity. The cards - like all advertising trade
cards - were printed and sold to different sponsors who applied their
advertising message on both the front and back of each card. The most
frequently found of these advertisers is the New Jersey clothier
Marshall & Ball. Because of this, many refer to the cards as the
"Marshall & Ball" set. The reality, however, is that there are
multiple advertisers found to have used these cards to convey their
message.
This example depicts the Catcher, and has been graded Good+ 2.5 by SGC and does not have an advertiser's mark on it. While there is some very small text at the bottom of the front giving the card's copyright information, there is no other text on the front, leaving the image beautifully undisturbed. The reverse is also blank, showing just some light residue in the center, possibly remnants of a past life in a scrapbook or photo album. Soft corners are consistent with the grade, though sharp edges are nicer than the grade would suggest. Only some light soiling keeps this one from grading even higher than it already has.
SGC has only ever
graded 13 total examples of this H804-11, with only four receiving a
higher grade than the Good+ 2.5 offered here of the "Catcher"
without an advertiser.