Help Request Re: Background Info on 1888 Boston Baseball Club Trade Card, $100 Reward

[griffon512]

Hello All,

This is a long, link heavy post. I’m requesting help in the hopes of getting an item encapsulated by PSA. In order to encapsulate the item PSA needs to do due diligence, as the item is very rare. I have provided a lot of due diligence to PSA, but they are requiring more, which is where my request comes in. If PSA encapsulates the item, I will send $100 to whomever (or a charity of their choosing) provides me the “most helpful” background information addressing PSA’s request. Most helpful will be determined at my sole discretion, but there will be a winner as long as the item is encapsulated. Here is a link to the item (pictures are at the bottom, sorry for the sideways back image, not sure how to fix):
https://memorylaneinc.com/site/bids/...e?itemid=46052. It is a trade card, different in substance and size than a lithographic print. Trade cards became very popular as an advertising medium in the 19th Century. Perhaps the most famous baseball trade card in the 19th Century is the 1869 Red Stockings Peck & Snyder trade card. Depictions of King Kelly, John Clarkson, and Harry Wright, among others, are included in the 1888 Boston Baseball Club trade card, making it one the neater 19th Century items I have come across (I'm biased).

This is a quote from a PSA representative regarding the information they need to encapsulate the item:

“We could not find suitable information beyond the REA links as to why the various sizes exist or what other manufacturers may have used the same image from G.H. Hastings [the photographer of this image used in lithographic prints and trade cards].
During this Era – advertisers would use the same image to display their ad’s, in this case it was for Cigar’s. Various ads from different manufacturers may exist and we simply do not have the information even given the links from REA or Memory Lane. We need documentation explaining the differences in sizes/manufacturers.”

Listed below are links I provided to PSA to help them with their research.

https://www.robertedwardauctions.com...display-print/

https://www.robertedwardauctions.com...display-print/

https://www.robertedwardauctions.com...display-print/

https://www.robertedwardauctions.com...display-print/

Hunt Auction showing there is one other known John A. Andrews trade card:

https://www.huntauctions.com/live/im...=613&lot_qual=

Mears auction with a John A. Andrews print:

http://sports.mearsonlineauctions.co...-lot63079.aspx

Publication referencing history of John A. Andrews & Co. in Boston:

https://books.google.com/books?id=Vu...cigars&f=false

Library of Congress listing of print:
https://www.loc.gov/resource/ppmsca.18836/