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1912 Turkish Trophies Advertising Display
The rich and romantic history of tobacco-related baseball cards and other memorabilia in the early 1900s is brought back with a hint of Scott Joplin playing piano in the background by this phenomenal display encasing some of the most unspeakably rare items of the genre. These must-haves for dedicated collectors include 6 incredible artifacts from Turkish Trophies -- a 1912 L1 leather of Home Run Baker, a 1912 Turkey Red S-1 silk of Napoleon Lajoie, a 1910 Turkey Red T3 card of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Vic Willis (another HOFer), a 1912 Turkey Red T3 card of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Vic Willis (another HOFer), 2 coupons that came in Turkish Trophies packages to be collected and sent in for the leathers or silks, and an original Turkish Trophies ad. Some history as context: Turkish Trophies, introduced in 1892, was bought by tobacco magnate James Duke and brought to America in 1901. Needing a good gimmick to draw smokers away from the more entrenched tobacco companies, Turkish Trophies first issued a premium card set, called the T1, featuring 25 stage actresses such as Ethel Barrymore. The consumer would find coupons in each cigarette package, and could choose the card they wanted by collecting enough coupons and sending them in. Then came cards with a tried and true motif -- hot babes and sports. The former were in a card set called Hamilton King Girls, some with a sports theme (Horse Show Girl, Fencing Girl) and some more generic (Palm Beach Girl, Asbury Park Girl). The 25-piece L1 baseball leather set was illustrated with the likes of Speaker, Mathewson, Cobb, Evers, Tinker, Johnson, Jennings, Walsh, Lajoie, Magee, Bresnahan, etc. Again, one would collect and send in the enclosed coupons for the one they desired. The Turkey Red cards and silks, though issued by the American Tobacco Company, were closely related to the Turkish Trophies premiums, with both sharing the same images of the ballplayers. The T3 set had 131 cards, designed as faux cabinet cards, which were given out for 25 coupons from Old Mill or Fez cigarettes, or 10 coupons from Turkey Red cigarettes. The S-1 silks required more coupons and are far rarer today, and the 7 x 9" Lajoie is perhaps the rarest piece in this display. Numbered "96" in the upper left corner, it depicts Lajoie with a bat on his shoulder above "Lajoie, Cleveland." One can imagine the effort it took to preserve the silk piece, which is nearly pristine (!) save for a fold mark on the upper left corner. The other pieces mounted in this wondrous display are in similarly great condition. The 9 1/2 x 11" L1Baker leather -- and these things are disappearing fast -- shows Baker in his A's uniform and sweater with the distinctive team elephant symbol swinging his renowned 50-oz. bat above "G. Baker, Phila. A." Leather is mildly weathered (as leather is supposed to be) with some darkening of the brown surface, a little bending of the leather at the lower left, and 2 tiny pinholes at the top left and right, o/w EX. 5 1/2 x 8" Turkey Red T-3 Willis card has the pitcher cast against a green field, a distant grandstand and a yellow sky, wearing a Pirates uniform. By the time the season began he'd been traded to Sy. Louis, leading the company to print under his image, "Willis Pittsburg -- Now with St. Louis Nat'l." Card is impeccable, NRMT all the way! 4 1/2 x 5" Turkish Trophies coupons are arrayed on a green backing board beneath the Baker leather, the one at the left having been damaged by the brown color the leather bleeding onto it, o/w G-VG; the one at the right is also damaged by the leather and has some paper loss at the top. Some of each coupon is obscured by the leather. Middle of the display, between two wooden sectional dividers, is the 5 1/2 x 14 1/2" Turkish Trophies ad, which reads in white lettering on a green background: "Some of the many designs on leather, satin and card mounts given for gift slips packed with Turkish Trophies." The ad looks brand new, an unflawed NRMT. The wood frame and everything under glass is original. The display itself was reconstructed in an archival manner to look exactly like the original display. On the top piece of wood is engraved "Turkish Trophies." Specks of damage and slight chipping of the frame only enhance the antique look and feel of this stunningly valuable piece that makes it seem like 1912 all over again. A Turkish Trophy, anyone?
Past Sports Card, Memorabilia, Non-Sports Card and Collecitble Auction Items
Other past auction items that may be of interest to you.
1889 Hoss Radbourn Diamond S Cigar Card
1907 Detroit Tigers Dietsche Postcard Near Set (15 of 16)
Ty Cobb L1 Leather NRMT
1939 Playball Joe DiMaggio SGC 96
1933 Goudey Baseball Near Set Plus 1934 Goudey Baseball Cards (11)
1912 Turkish Trophies Advertising Display
1909 Cy Young E90-1 American Caramel SGC 50
