Exciting New Hobby Find - 1893 Just So Tobacco Buck Ewing!

[Andy Baran]

Some of you may already be aware of this, but a gentleman in Pennsylvania has discovered a previously uncataloged 1893 Just So Tobacco Card of Buck Ewing. He is not an avid baseball card collector, though he still owns some of his cards from the 70's and 80's. He discovered the card about ten years ago during a home renovation, and recently decided to do a little research into the card. He contacted me several days ago, and may have contacted a few other members of the board as well.

The card is in rough shape, but who really cares. It is so exciting when a "card that should exist" turns into a card that really does exist.

The owner isn't sure at this point if he is going to sell the card or auction it. There is a good chance that he may choose to just keep it. He knows how rare the card is, and luckily has an appreciation for how cool it is as well.

The owner gave me permission to post about the card, but I'm going to protect his privacy and not post his name or contact information. I'm sure he would appreciate it if others who may have been contacted by him also allow him to be anonymous, at least for now.

I have shared a scan of the card that he sent me. Not a great scan, but certainly good enough to authenticate that the card exists. I hope that others are as excited about this find as I am. The Just So Tobacco set has always been one of my favorites. I used to own the Burkett, and the Young card is one of the most important baseball cards of all time. This is a welcome addition to the checklist. I hope Bob Lemke is reading.

[nolemmings]

Always figured it would happen some day--next will be McAleer. Thanks for the scan Andy. Great photo of the veteran Spider.

[19cbb]

Very cool Andy... thanks for sharing.

[ethicsprof]

super!
thanks for sharing , Andy.
best,
barry

[Leon]

yeap...we knew it should exist and now we know it does. Thanks so much for sharing, Andy.

[Matt]

Andy - good to see you around and thanks for sharing!

[Bicem]

very cool, is the card going to auction?

[cozmokramer]

anyone care to guess what it would bring at auction?

[e107collector]

I will take the first guess at an auction price and say around 80K-100K.

Just my two cents.

Thanks,
Tony

[barrysloate]

What an extraordinary find!

[Andy Baran]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

What an extraordinary find!

I thought you might like this card Barry, given your history with the set.

[barrysloate]

Yes Andy, I've sold my share of Just So's but never a Hall of Famer.

There are some cards that you assume existed, but don't actually expect to find. That a Ewing finally shows up is really something.

[bcbgcbrcb]

Any reports of an Alpha Photo Engraving Keeler yet?

[E93]

Wow! Incredible find!!!
JimB

[barrysloate]

Does anybody recognize that pose of Ewing? Am I correct that it is new to the hobby?

[bcbgcbrcb]

The pose is not the same as the Mayo card is it?

[Matt]

Originally Posted by bcbgcbrcb

The pose is not the same as the Mayo card is it?

nope.

[egbeachley]

Can someone explain why it was presumed to exist?

[Andy Baran]

Originally Posted by egbeachley

Can someone explain why it was presumed to exist?

The Just So Tobacco set is a set of cards that only depicts members of the 1893 Cleveland Spiders. Buck Ewing was a member of the 1893 Spiders, but until now, no card of him in this set was known.

[botn]

Andy,

Thanks to you and the owner for sharing the image. Pretty spectacular find. What were the circumstances of the home renovation that lead to the card's discovery? Just wondering how close the hobby was to never seeing this card.

Thank you,

Greg

[nolemmings]

IMO, the card would likely exist because of the subject matter. The Just So set depicts only Cleveland Spiders and coming off their best season where they made it to the World Championship Series. They acquired the popular and highly regarded Ewing in February '93, nearing the end of his career. It would seem odd to exclude him from the set, particularly as Frank Boyd is included--who played 2 games his entire career, as was Tom Williams, who pitched but 7 games in his career.

The Spiders traded George Davis to get him, and Davis was not in the Just So set (or has not been found). If the cards were printed before the trade, then it would seem Davis and not Ewing should be in the set, and that gave me some hesitation, although because Boyd played his only 2 games in 1893, it seemed likely the season must have started by the time the cards were printed and thus Ewing would be the one in the set, not Davis.

Jimmy McAleer was a speedy centerfielder and pretty important cog on that Spider team also. I believe his card is out there, somewhere.

[GrayGhost]

Not to be a pessimist, but a "picture is a picture". Isnt it even remotely possible that a card previously undiscoverd, isn't real? I mean, circumstances and from the great information Ive gathered from you knowledgable people, tell me it is real. But, what about getting it graded, for paper age, stock, etc, as Authentic?

[Wesley]

Great discovery. Each Just So card is one of a kind?

[Andy Baran]

Originally Posted by Wesley

Great discovery. Each Just So card is one of a kind?

Each of the Hall of Famers (Young, Clarkson, Burkett, and now Ewing) are one of a kind known at present. There are a few commons in the set that have more than 1 known example.

[Rickyy]

wow that's a nice card!

Ricky Y

[Leon]

Originally Posted by GrayGhost

Not to be a pessimist, but a "picture is a picture". Isnt it even remotely possible that a card previously undiscoverd, isn't real? I mean, circumstances and from the great information Ive gathered from you knowledgable people, tell me it is real. But, what about getting it graded, for paper age, stock, etc, as Authentic?

Scott- many members on this board have handled one or more Just So baseball cards. I have handled several and owned a few. The answer is yes, it could be faked, and no this isn't a fake. Once you handle enough vintage cards there are only a few sets that make you scratch your head on easily knowing if they are fake or not. This is a nice real card that this gentleman found. Fro-Joys and Babe Ruth Candy cards are the most faked and some of the hardest to tell......regards

[Bob Lemke]

Thanks for sharing this with the hobby, Andy.

[ScottFandango]

GREAT FIND......to discover something new after so many years must be a unique feeling....enjoy!