1910 C56 Imperial Tobacco #37 Newsy Lalonde SGC 3 - RARE

Description: The C56 Imperial Tobacco #37 Newsy Lalonde rookie card is one, if not the scarcest, of all vintage hockey cards. Most price guides are aware of its existence; others seem not to be (it is listed in Beckett, Vintage Card Prices, and on the Trading Card Database, among others, but not in the SMR). This exceptionally rare specimen, graded "Very Good 3" by SGC, represents one of only five that are known to exist. It is also the highest graded of all examples—the best in the hobby. Of the remaining four cards, two reside in private collections, one is listed for sale on eBay, and the last one is a valued part of the NHL's Hall of Fame Museum collection in Toronto. In the world of vintage hockey ephemera, nothing else has the same improbable qualities of scarcity and star power. Quite simply put, nothing else is quite like it. For over 90 years, the 1910 C56 Imperial Tobacco Series of Hockey—the first known hockey set—was thought to be complete at 36 cards. However, after the discovery of another, previously unknown card (a second Newsy Lalonde), it is now known to comprise 37 different specimens. This discovery has been discussed on numerous websites and forums and various theories have been given for its existence. The 2007 unearthing of the original lithographic stone used to print the C56 series, however, has provided confirmation that 37 cards were originally produced by Imperial Tobacco. C56 Lithographic stone & close-up of surface -- click to enlarge The stone itself possesses printing elements for both the front and back of the hockey cards from the C56 series. Included are the players' names, card numbers, and common framework for the reverse side. The numbers as well as letters of the players' names are hand-drawn and appear to exactly match those of many of the cards in the C56 series, although there are minor anomalies—perhaps indicative of multiple printings (two names are misspelled; one is corrected by an over-strike while the other is rewritten correctly). The final card in the C56 series, then, is numbered with "37" in the top left corner instead of "36," but has the same pose of Édouard "Newsy" Lalonde. The mystery surrounding card #37 remains, however, since speculation is that it is similar to the T206 Honus Wagner in that it may have been pulled from production early with very few examples ever distributed. Fortunately, we know from the acquisition of one of the elusive #37 cards that the original owner did indeed pull the card from a cigarette pack. This known provenance would strongly discount the theory that #37 Lalonde would have been a salesman sample or was part of a store display. All known examples found to date have an original, factory cut. Front view of card Back view of card We accept PayPal as well as all major credit cards (Mastercard/Visa/Discover/American Express). Contingencies may also be made to accommodate other buyers' payment requests pursuant to eBay rules and regulations. We ship via USPS first class mail or, for larger ticket items, via FedEx next day delivery. Insurance is added to most items at no extra cost. All payments should be received within 10 business days of auction end unless otherwise agreed upon by buyer and seller. WI residents please add 5.5% sales tax. Questions? Contact us through the eBay system. Office Hours: from 10 am to 7 pm (CST). All descriptive and photographic information in this listing - copyright © 2024, BMW Sportscards

Price: 279000 USD

Location: Madison, Wisconsin

End Time: 2025-01-18T04:22:06.000Z

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