1888 N15 Allen & Ginter "Great Generals" SGC-Graded Near-Complete Set (42/50)

Sold For:

$6,000

Year:

1888

Auction:

2021 Spring

Lot #:

3092

Category:

Non-Sports Cards/Sheets/Card Artwork

Presented is a near-complete set of forty-two different (out of fifty) 1888 N15 Allen & Ginter "Great Generals” cards, all graded and encapsulated by SGC (submitted by REA). Missing only Beauregard, Cornwallis, Crook, Custer, Hannibal, Lee, Meade, and Worth for completion. This is a very strong near-set of these extremely striking nineteenth-century tobacco cards, with twelve cards ranging from Nr/Mt to Nr/Mt-Mt, twenty-five ranging from Ex to Ex-Mt+, four ranging from Vg to Vg-Ex, and one grading lesser (Pr). In the following condition composite, cards are identified by the numbers provided by the American Tobacco Cards Price Guide checklist. SGC Grading Composite: NM/MT 8 (2 cards): #15 and 33 Napoleon. NM+ 7.5 (1 card): #36. NM 7 (9 cards): #16, 21, 23, 27, 28, 29, 35, 43, and 45. EX/NM+ 6.5 (2 cards): #3 and 11. EX/NM 6 (13 cards): #5 Caesar, 10, 13, 18, 20, 24, 30, 37, 39, 40, 41, 44, and 49. EX+ 5.5 (2 cards): #2 and 22. EX 5 (8 cards): #7, 12, 14 Grant, 32, 34, 42, 46 Washington, and 48. VG/EX 4 (3 cards): #4, 19, and 47. VG 3 (1 card): #28. POOR 1 (1 card): #25 Lafayette. Issued with Allen & Ginter's Cigarettes, the set is entitled "Great Generals," and as the set title implies, these cards feature great generals from all walks of life. Each insert card measures 2.75 x 1.5 inches and features a portrait image of a historical figure (such as George Washington, U.S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Napoleon Bonaparte, Julius Caesar, etc.) on the front with a checklist presented on the reverse. This is an extremely attractive near-complete set with outstanding eye-appeal. Allen & Ginter's "Great Generals" are rarely offered as a complete set (in fact we have sold only one complete set in the last eighteen years), and are highly prized by historical collectors and nineteenth-century nonsport tobacco-card collectors. Total: 42 cards. Reserve $1,000. Estimate (open).