Lot # 169: 1909 T204 Ramly Tobacco Jesse Burkett SGC FAIR 1.5 - Square Frame

Graded FAIR 1.5 by SGC. Presented is a classic portrait image of Hall of Famer Jesse Burkett with an extremely rare "square frame" from the prized T204 Ramly series. Jesse Burkett is one of only 15 Hall of Famers in the Ramly Tobacco set. All "square border" variations are extremely rare, but this card is particularly noteworthy because it features key Hall of Famer Jesse Burkett, one of the most desirable cards in the set (and the only Hall of Famer among the square-frame subset). Only a few examples of each T204 "square frame" card are known, and each is far rarer than many of the most well-known tobacco-card rarities such as the T206 Wagner or Plank. Burkett's career spanned 16 years (1890-1905). During his career, he batted over .400 three times, a feat duplicated only by Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby. After leaving the Major Leagues, Burkett owned and managed the Worcester club of the New England League (the team with which he is featured on this card), from 1906 to 1913, making regular appearances in the outfield until he was 45. The card exhibits superb image quality, honest corner wear, and moderate creasing. The blank reverse has a light ink stamp along the left edge but is otherwise clean. A tiny tear near the upper-left corner factors into the assigned grade. This is a very pleasing example of one of the most important cards from this beautiful and extremely condition-sensitive set, with the added feature of having the extremely rare "square frame."