This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/10/2010
One of the most interesting offerings of the early 20th Century, the Helmar Tobacco Company, in 1912, issued horsehide shaped "leathers" measuring approximately 10” x 12”. Portraying black sketched baseball images that were based on the pictures used for the T3 Turkey Red series, the L1 leathers were offered as a premium with the company’s Turkish Trophies cigarette brand, available to the general public in exchange for 50 Helmar coupons. In all, 25 of baseball’s greatest were featured in the series, with 16 of them becoming Hall of Famers. These leathers occasionally surface at major auction houses or cards shows, almost always in low to mid-grade condition due to tack marks from being displayed on a wall, or cracking and creasing in the leather due to age. Offered is perhaps the highest quality L1 leather in existence. This example of Hall of Famer Frank "Home Run" Baker is pristine, with absolutely no surface marks or cracks of any kind, and virtually no creases save for the natural grain of the leather. The imperial quality of the leather is accompanied by an uncommonly deep impression of Baker's image, exuding a like-new freshness to an almost century-old relic that simply does not exist elsewhere. The lucky winner of this lot will add a stunning piece of baseball Americana that can stand at the forefront of any collection!