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N174 Gypsy Queen Baseball
10 April 2007Issued in 1887 by Goodwin and Company is the N174 Gypsy Queen baseball card set. Issued in two sizes, with the large cards measuring 2" by 3-1/2" and the small cards at 1-1/2" by 2-1/2", these cards are similar to the Gypsy Queen series in the N172 Old Judge set, making it a closely related set of tobacco cards.
In fact, the same images are used on the Gypsy Queen cards as the Old Judge cards. As the name implies, the N174 cards were issued with Gypsy Queen cigarettes.
The 133 known cards in the N174 Gypsy Queen set feature a sepia photograph of a baseball player surrounded by a white border, pasted to a dense cardboard backing. The portrait curves at the top and the lower border is substantially larger than the other borders.
Shown at the top of each card are the words, "GYPSY QUEEN". Printed at the bottom on the larger border is the player’s team (in capital letters), and the words, "CIGARETTES, GOODWIN & CO. N.Y." The player’s name, position and team is shown at the lower part of the portrait just inside the bottom border.
The backs are blank.
Interestingly, almost all of the Gypsy Queen cigarettes were costlier than most other brands. Typically, only the upper class could afford them. Because of this and the fact that there were less of these cards collected, they are much rarer than most other tobacco cards.
As a rule, the large cards are much more difficult to collect. And, both sizes use the same card designs.
Included in the N174 Gypsy Queen are hall of fame players Buck Ewing, Mike Kelly, Tim Keefe, Tim McCarthy, Pud Galvin, Dan Brouthers, Monte Ward, and Sam Thompson.
Here are some more of the 1887 Gypsy Queen cards.
Source: Benjaman Edwards collection on file at the NY Library of Congress.
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