1890-1892 John H. Ryder Cabinets Cy Young Rookie PSA FAIR 1.5 (MK) - The ONLY Graded Example!

Presented is one of the most significant and substantial Hall of Fame rookie cards in existence! The offered 1890-1892 John H. Ryder studio cabinet of Cy Young, the legendary right-handed pitcher who many consider the greatest pitcher of all time, is the only known example of this card featuring Young and represents one of his earliest appearances ever on a card! Issued by John H. Ryder, High Art Photographer, of Cleveland, Ohio, as noted on the bottom of the mount, the cabinet features Young as a member of the Cleveland Spiders, a team for which he would play nine of his twenty-two seasons. During his earliest years with the club, Young quickly became the team’s ace, winning nine games during a shortened 1890 campaign (he was called up in August), 27 games in his first full season the following year, and a career-high 36 games in 1892. During these seasons, the Spiders consistently finished near the top of the standings, emerging as a strong contender and ultimately building a foundation for a championship to conclude the 1895 season.

Beyond the iconic Old Judge set issued between 1886 and 1890, there is a yearslong gap in which no notable trading-card sets were produced, and even the 1895 Mayo's Cut Plug set from 1895 is limited in its representation of contemporary players. Nineteenth-century card collectors have long grappled with how to classify rookie cards of significant Hall of Famers from this period, and cabinet cards produced by a number of different studio photographers often fill holes in the representations for these players. As a result of a few notable finds in recent years, we know that John H. Ryder produced multiple sets of cabinet cards for the Cleveland Spiders. To date, examples of Cy Young in uniform and in street clothes have surfaced. While none are dated, we know from the inclusion of other players in similar styles, who have a more narrow window of time with Cleveland than Cy Young, that these cards can date to the 1890-1892 period.

Graded FAIR 1.5 (MK) by PSA, the offered example boasts an exceptional presentation and a display value far exceeding its assigned grade. The image of Young is crisp and clear, with the image centered perfectly upon the mount. Ideally, a handwritten notation of "Cy Young / 1890" is present in the bottom margin of the mount, flanked on either side by the photographer's name and address. Measuring approximately 4-3/16 by 6-1/2 inches, the cabinet card exhibits light wear at the corners but is remarkably preserved given its age. The black reverse, which features a gold embossed logo of "Ryder's Portraits," displays several small areas of adhesive residue, almost certainly from mounting within a scrapbook, which was an extremely common method of display and storage at the time.

This is a superb opportunity to acquire one of Hall of Fame card collecting's landmark pieces. For Cy Young collectors, this represents the pinnacle of collectibles memorializing his illustrious career. As the only surviving example of this important cabinet card, it cannot be overstated how significant it is, and how revered it should be, for Hall of Fame collectors.