Lot # 73: 1888 H. D. Smith & Company Baseball Gum Card Die-Cuts WM. Robinson PSA VG-EX 4 - 1 of 1 - Highest Graded!

Graded VG-EX 4 by PSA. This is the ONLY example graded at this level by PSA with none higher! Outstanding example of this early classic card of WM. Robinson from the unusual 1888 H. D. Smith & Company Baseball Gum Card Die-Cuts series. This uniquely designed issue features nine players from the American Association’s legendary St. Louis Brownie Champs and nine players from the Detroit Wolverines. It is one of only a few full-color baseball issues from the nineteenth century and also one of the most distinctive and unusual of all early baseball card sets. For decades, the set was referred to as "Scrapps" or "Scrapps Tobacco," but recent extraordinary newspaper archive research has finally allowed for the definitive identification of the issuer: H. D. Smith & Company, a Cincinnati Candy and Gum manufacturer. The hobby has long known that these die-cuts were not actually issued by "Scrapps Tobacco" (as no brand of that name has ever been found) but we personally never thought we would ever learn exactly how they were issued. The fact is, they were actually issued as premiums with gum! These cards were intended to be glued into scrapbooks and almost always display evidence of glue residue or album removal on the reverse. The offered example is no exception, displaying light spots of glue residue. The card has bold colors and superb image quality. A tremendous sample with strong visual appeal.