Historically important cabinet photo of Hall of Famer Charles Augustus “Kid” Nichols as shot at the legendary Boston studio of Elmer Chickering. The Chickering studio is well-known for its baseball portraits, and is the source of almost all the images of Boston players from the late 19th Century. This image is a familiar one, best known as the portrait that graces Nichols’ National Copper Plate/Sport- ing News Supplements, a beautiful original photograph with outstanding detail of the young pitcher. The photo dates to 1897, based on the placement of the “B” on Nichols’ shirt, therefore predating the National Copper Plate supplement. Although the photo is sharp and detailed, it does exhibit some soiling, along with minor areas of foxing on the image itself. The mount displays some wear at the corners and edges, along with some surface wear, some of which is evident in the Chickering logo at the bottom border. Surface wear is also evident on the photo itself, though not distracting from its beauty. The reverse is heavily notated, with some handwriting and former owner address typewritten onto labels affixed to the back, secured in place with clear tape. The notations are interesting, and suggest a history of newspaper or period- ical use. We surmise that the tape and labels are the reason for the AUTHENTIC grade assigned by PSA, as the cabinet measures properly and shows no signs of tampering that we can identify. Some minor creasing can be observed on the mount at the reverse. A tremendous early cabinet phot of an important 19th Century Hall of Famer, taken by an important photo studio, an original photo picturing what is perhaps the most widely-recognized image of Kid Nichols. MINIMUM BID: $2,000 10. 1899 Elmer Chickering Cabinets Kid Nichols (HOF) - PSA A Stunning Old Judge card featuring King Kelly, one of the most popular players of his era, in one of his better-known images but one of the most scarce of his many poses in the set. Pictured here in the uniform of the Boston Beaneaters, where Kelly would play for three seasons after starring in Chicago, the image is quite extraordinary, one of the finest we have encountered. An early example from 1887, Kelly is identified as “$10,000 Kelly,” a reference to his sale to Boston at the then-astronomical price. The highest graded example of this pose assessed by PSA, the card is wonderful, sharp with bright borders and a clean, well-centered image. The contrast is far above average for the issue, allowing for exquisite detail in the image, right down to the laces on Kelly’s shoes or the knot in his tie. One of the finest Old Judge Hall of Famers we have handled, and undoubtedly one of the finest N172 King Kelly cards in existence. MINIMUM BID: $5,000 11. 1887 N172 Old Judge Cigarettes #254-6 King Kelly (HOF) - PSA EX 5 - Highest Graded
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