Lot # 3068: 1916 M101-4 Gimbel's #97 Napoleon Lajoie SGC FAIR 1.5

Graded FAIR 1.5 by SGC. Presented is a modestly graded example of Hall of Famer Napoleon Lajoie from M101-4 Sporting News series with the exceedingly rare Gimbels advertising back. This is a very rare back for any M101-4, let alone for Napoleon Lajoie, one of the key cards to the set! This card (and set) is usually referred to as issued by the Sporting News, but the M101-4/5 sets were actually issued with a variety of advertising backs as well as with blank backs. The M101-4/5 sets were also issued as promotional vehicles for a number of regional businesses, among them Gimbels Department Store, which had locations in New York, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee in 1916. Fascinating research by vintage-card scholar Todd Schultz has turned up period newspaper advertisements that reveal these cards were issued by the Milwaukee store in groups of twenty cards. (Todd's research, and copies of the ads, can be found here: http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=203319.) Like most of the regionally issued M101-4/5 sets, we have never seen or heard of a complete set of Gimbels, which makes this Lajoie an extremely significant offering. To date, PSA and SGC have combined to grade only 192 examples (of all subjects) from this rare set. This is only second example of Lajoie from the Gimbels series that we offered in the past 22 years. This example displays a bright and crisp image, honest corner wear, and a horizontal crease extending across the center. Gimbels cards (like all M101-4/5 related sets) have a glossy coated surface that is very susceptible to creasing. The printed advertisement for Gimbels on the reverse is bold and crisp. This is an exceptional card worthy of the finest Napoleon Lajoie , Hall of Fame, or rare vintage baseball-card collection.