Lot # 22: 1884 Lawson's Base Ball Game Playing Card Set - Deluxe Edition!

Issued in 1884 by the Lawson Card Company of Boston, Massachusetts, the Lawson's playing-card set features 36 cards with extremely striking baseball-related designs. The backs feature a very attractive baseball scene in blue and white. This is a rarely offered complete 36-card "deluxe" edition Lawson's set in its original box. The cards in the deluxe edition are identical to those in the standard-edition except that each card has beautiful gilt edges and the same very attractive baseball scene in brown and white, as opposed to blue and white. Instead of a thin cardboard box, the deluxe set is presented in a thicker brown cloth-covered cardboard box with game identification in gold lettering, and with matching interior cloth-covered sleeve. The cards display light, natural age toning along the edges, but otherwise they have very little handling wear and remain in Excellent or better condition. The set is also accompanied by the original instruction booklet explaining the rules of the game, which features a black-and-white woodcut of a batter on the cover, and two "value of cards" cards (Vg-Ex and Gd), which explain the scoring of the game. The 20-page instructions booklet is missing four pages (ends at page 16), with both covers detached. The original box displays as Very Good to Excellent with light-to-moderate handling wear. The gold lettering and the interior sleeve remain in Excellent condition. Total: 40 items (complete set of 36 cards, one rules booklet, original box, and two "value of cards" cards).