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1914 B18 Blankets Complete Set (181)
- Sold For: $7,800
- Year: 1914
- Auction: 2014 Fall
- Lot #: 355
- Auction Category: Prewar Baseball - 1910s and 1920s Cards
Presented is a most extraordinary and very rarely seen complete set of 181 different B18 blankets: 90% range from Ex to Nr/Mt, 10% slightly lesser. We have not downgraded the blankets with paper remnants from their original packaging on the back (as this is how they were issued, and this paper could be removed if desired). Almost all of the blankets are bright and crisp, with vibrant colors and bold printing. Centering varies throughout the set, which is standard for this issue. This remarkable collection is missing only three printing variation blankets to be a complete master set! Also missing are the seventeen almost impossible-to-find red-infield variations, which are so rare that guides do not consider them a part of the total set count. (Incredibly, four red infield examples, including Ty Cobb, are offered individually in this auction.) Because they are not traditional cards, and are not yet graded by PSA, B18s have been somewhat overlooked by many collectors. They will have their day!
B18s represent one of the most outstanding values of all baseball tobacco issues. They are also one of the most interesting and difficult of all tobacco sets to complete. Distributed as inserts one per package of Egyptienne Straights Cigarettes, the set includes many Hall of Famers (all appearing twice, including Ty Cobb and Walter Johnson), as well as many scarcities and rarities, future "Black Sox" Joe Jackson (two color varieties of Joe Jackson also appear in the set), and many other stars. The assembly of this set was the result of a tremendous investment in time and energy over a period of many years, and a dedication to collecting that is very rare. B18 sets just don't "turn up," let alone in such extraordinary high-grade. They have to be assembled, one by one. This set offers a unique opportunity to acquire one of the finest sets of B18s we have ever seen. The three printing-variation blankets (according to The Standard Catalog checklist) missing for a complete master set are as follows: Chance (yellow), Griffith (white/red), O'Neill (red), plus the seventeen red-infield variations. Included among the 181 B18s in this collection are dozens of the rare and scarce designs and variations. A few of these keys are graded individually as follows: Carey/purple (Ex+), Carey/red (off-center to the right, otherwise Ex-Mt), Cavanaugh/brown (no right border, otherwise Ex-Mt), Chance/green (off-center to the left, otherwise Vg-Ex), Chance/brown (Ex-Mt), Cobb/white (Ex-Mt), Cobb/brown (Ex), Gandil/green (Nr/Mt), Gandil/brown (Ex), Huggins/yellow (off-center to the right, otherwise Ex), Huggins/purple (Ex-Mt), Jackson/purple (Ex-Mt), Jackson/yellow (Ex+), W. Johnson/brown (Ex-Mt), W. Johnson/green (Ex+), Maranville/white (Ex-Mt), Maranville/brown (Ex+), Stengel/blue (Ex-Mt), Stengel/green (Ex-Mt), Wallace/purple (Ex+), Wallace/red (off-center to the left, otherwise Ex+), Wheat/blue (Ex-Mt), Wheat/green (Ex-Mt). This is a remarkably crisp and clean, very carefully assembled, outstanding collection of one of tobacco collecting's most exotic issues, put together over a period of many years by a very advanced and dedicated longtime collector. Total: 181 blankets. SOLD FOR $7,800
