Lot # 2785: 1888 N224 Kinney Bros. "Military Series" Near-Complete Set (540/622)

Presented is a near-complete set of 1888 N224 Kinney Bros. "Military Series" consisting of 540 different cards (out of 622 in the set). This set also includes 45 duplicates. The Kinney Military series is considered in many ways to be the nonsport card equivalent in significance and intrigue to the N172 Old Judge or T206 baseball card sets for their eras. It is a huge set consisting of 622 different cards. It is of great significance as one of the most ambitious and popular card issues of its day. It has many intricacies with reference to rarities, including virtually impossible-to-find cards. A complete set is unheard of, and to the best of our knowledge, no one has ever completed a set of N224s. The most complete collection that we know to exist is that of the legendary Sir Edgar Wharton-Tigar. His collection of 621 different (of 622 cards known) is permanently housed in the British Museum. The one card he is missing, "Hussar of France," is an extreme rarity. Issued with Kinney's tobacco, these cards feature magnificent full-color illustrations of men dressed in military uniforms of various nations from a variety of time periods. Approximately half the set features American military uniforms, and the other half features foreign military uniforms. Condition: 15% Gd to Vg (including a few better) and 85% Pr to Fr (mostly due to back damage from album removal, ink stamps, pencil/ink writing on the reverses, also including 10 trimmed). In the following listing, cards are identified by the numbers provided by the PSA Set Registry checklist. Missing the following 82 cards for completion: #1, 15, 19, 20, 58, 67, 104, 143, 161, 164, 167, 168, 181, 184, 185, 189, 193, 194, 197, 198, 201, 211, 215, 227, 230, 231, 235, 238, 243, 244, 251, 268, 274, 275, 276, 277, 279, 283, 315, 318, 319, 323, 324, 326, 327, 329, 332, 334, 336, 337, 338, 340, 343, 352, 366, 374, 379, 380 Hussar France, 406, 424, 430, 434, 443, 445, 447, 473, 475, 478, 484, 486, 488, 489, 490, 521, 549, 579, 580, 582, 606, 607, 608, and 609. Duplicates (45): #26, 32, 49, 52, 61, 63, 68, 69, 75, 80, 100, 106, 108, 172, 173, 175 (trimmed), 180, 188 (trimmed), 190, 195, 196, 249, 289, 310, 314, 360, 370, 392, 415, 416, 427, 429, 438, 458, 470, 476, 487, 513, 518, 520, 540, 541, 544, 573, and 601. Despite this group being lower-grade, this is one of the largest collections we have ever offered of these classic 19th century tobacco cards, and it represents a remarkable and outstanding foundation for carrying on the challenging (virtually impossible!) quest for completion of the N224 Kinney Military set. Total: 585 cards (near set of 540 plus 45 duplicates).