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1910 E221 Bishop & Company Los Angeles Pacific Coast League Team Card

Sold For: $3,900
Year: 1910
Auction: 2016 Spring
Lot #: 332
Auction Category: Prewar Baseball - 1910s and 1920s Cards

Presented is an example of the Los Angeles club (red background) from the E221 Bishop PCL team-card series. E221 Bishop team cards are among the rarest of all "E card" issues, and one of the most highly prized of all PCL issues. Distributed by Bishop & Company of Los Angeles, E221s are noted for their brightly colored backgrounds (red, blue, yellow, purple, or green), unusual design, and extreme rarity. These team photographs were issued as premiums in five-cent packages of Bishop's Milk Chocolate. There were six teams in the PCL in 1910, but to date only five different Bishop Team cards are known. The sixth team (Sacramento) has yet to surface, suggesting that it may have never been issued. (An anecdote in Lew Lipset's The Encyclopedia of Baseball Cards, originally published in 1983, reveals that an uncut sheet of five cards is known to exist, further casting doubt on the actual existence of the sixth team.) E221s measure 10 x 2.75 inches (the offered example measures approximately 1/16 inch short each way, very likely issued this way as it shows no evidence of trimming on any of the edges). They are printed on thin stock and are therefore particularly susceptible to damage. The offered example is an uncommonly sharp, high-grade sample. The front displays with a bold red background, crisp images, and strong corners. It has a single thin vertical centerfold, as issued and seen on every example. No other folds or creases are present. The blank reverse shows a few tiny spots of paper loss and light toning (it may have long ago been stored in an album and carefully removed). A superb example of this extremely rare Pacific Coast League team card, worthy of even the most advanced collection. From the Dan Gantt Collection. Reserve $1,000. Estimate $2,000+.