2. Set Profile: 1911 T205 Gold Borders
The 208-card 1911 T205 Gold Borders set is well known to collectors of early cards. Produced in 1911, it is among the most attractive and informative sets of the tobacco card era. The quality of artwork and lithography used on the cards is unsurpassed.
|
|
|
American League (114 cards) |
National League (82 cards) |
Minor Leagues (12 cards) |
Common to all T205 card fronts are bright colors surrounded by a gold border. However, three distinct front designs are used within the set--one each for the American League and the National League, and still another for the twelve minor league players represented in the set. Examples of each of the three designs are shown at here.
As seen in these representative examples, portraits of American Leaguers are framed inside a symbolic baseball diamond. A panel below the player identifies him and his team. Icons of other baseball gear are also displayed.
The design of cards in the National League series is somewhat simpler, resulting in a larger display of the player's portrait image. The design also makes use of facsimile autographs for the first time in a widely distributed baseball card set.
Team logos and popular team names are printed in the top corners of the cards for both major leagues.
The twelve cards of minor league players are the most ornate in the T205 set. Frame designs vary, but always include a three-quarter length image of the player. Perhaps the most unique identifying feature in the minor league series, however, is the prominent display of the first letter of the player's team in both of the top corners of the card.
The T205 cards were distributed in packs of the cigarette brands of the American Tobacco Company. They measure approximately 1-7/16 by 2-5/8 inches.
As the set name suggests, all three designs for the T205 set are framed inside a gold border. While providing a basis for the set name and resulting in a distinctive appearance, the printed gold borders are susceptible to chipping, resulting in a higher value for cards of high grade.
There are 198 players featured in the T205 set. Of these, 10 players are printed with either multiple poses or team changes, resulting in a standard set of 208 cards. In addition, there are twelve cards with relatively minor variations, bringing the count for a T205 master set to 220 cards. A T205 Master Checklist on the Old Cardboard website identifies these cards along with a brief notation for each variation.
Of the Gold Border cards, about a dozen or so are considered to have been short printed, based mostly to the limited quantities of cigarette brands related to these cards.
The backs are printed with brief biographical data on the subject player. For most major league players, basic stats are also provided for the prior three years. No such stats are provided for the minor league players.
The cigarette brand in which the card was packed is also printed in a block across the lower portion of the card backs. As with the T206 set, back brands for the T205 cards have been the focus of analysis by many of today's collectors. All together, there are eleven brands promoted on the T205 card backs. They are (in approximate order of rarity):
- Piedmont (38%)
- Sweet Caporal (16%)
- Polar Bear (12%)
- Hassan (12%%)
- Honest Long Cut (9%)
- Sovereign (8%)
- Cycle (3%)
- American Beauty (1.4%)
- Broadleaf (0.3%)
- Hindu (0.2%)
- Drum (0.1%)
|
Typical Piedmont Back
(click image for gallery of all brands)
|
|
The numbers in parentheses indicate the approximate population distribution of the back brands. As seen, the seven most common back brands make up 98% of the cards, with four brands (American Beauty, Broadleaf, Hindu and Drum) making up the balance. As indicated, the rare Drum back is found on approximately one in every thousand cards known.
A Gallery of all eleven back brands has been recently added to the Old Cardboard website. Several of the eleven T205 back brands have variations in print color or the factory number from which they were manufactured, bringing the master checklist of backs to seventeen. These variations are noted in the gallery.