Lot # 2837: 1888 N219 and N220 Kinney "Harlequin Cards" Series 1 & 2 Complete Set Pair (2 Sets, 105 Cards)

Presented is a complete set pair of 1888 N219 and N220 Kinney "Harlequin Cards” (Series 1 and 2). Issued with Kinney's Cigarettes, these attractive, rare, and colorful nonsport tobacco issues are entitled "Harlequin Cards.” Each card features a colorful and amusing comic-inspired drawing, with a brief title, that is designed as a playing card. This pair consists of the following: 1) N219 (52) Plus Four Duplicates: Includes the following four duplicates: Seven of Clubs, Four of Diamonds, Seven of Diamonds, and Ten of Hearts. This entire set is composed of cutouts which were long ago cut from an original album, barring the four duplicates which have original backs. Condition is 48% Vg-Ex to Ex, 40% Gd to Vg, and 12% Pr to Fr. Two cards have been professionally graded and encapsulated by PSA. PSA-graded cards: Ten of Hearts (VG-EX 4) and Seven of Diamonds (EX 5). 2) N220 (53): Twenty cards are rebacked and/or trimmed, otherwise present in Vg condition overall. The remaining thirty-three grade 27% Vg-Ex to Ex, 58% Gd to Vg, and 15% Pr to Fr. Key: Joker (Pr). A particularly rare pair of nineteenth-century tobacco issues, almost never seen or offered as complete sets. Total: 2 sets, 109 cards.