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DavidCraig, I wrote a long article relating to this subject, and submitted it to VCBC. However, many know that the publisher is not big on communication, so I have no clue as to whether it will appear.
If you you are concerned about reprints of the baseball Harper's Woodcuts, don't be overly concerned. It's not a big issue in that area, and all the baseball woodcuts I've seen were original. If someone sees a nice Harper's or other woodcut at eBay he wants to bid on, there should be no big worry. Also, realize that experienced dealers of early newspapers and related are usually very knowledgeable about the material (original versus reprint, etc)-- even if they know nothing about baseball or King Kelly.
Albie, the Smolin lot looks like a decent if enough collection. I've owned them all, except the Providence. Probably worth a few hundred. However, I don't think any of them are particuarly rare. So if the bidding seems to get out of hand, you will be able to find these and other examples elsewhere at some point in the future. In other words, it's not a one of a kind lot that you will never see again.