E107 Breisch Williams - As Complete a Set as exists
 

Late last year I cut a deal to acquire the most complete E107 Breisch Williams set known to exist. The set, which was issued in 1903-04, contains 147 Type I players, with 13 team variations, for a total of 160 Type I combinations, as well as 7 Type IIs (missing only Seybold, if it exists). I acquired the set raw, but last week submitted the entire set to SGC for authentication/grading. Pictures of the set, in its raw state, are attached. Much of this set came originally derived from one collector, who acquired a large group of E107s removed from a scrap book; thus the back damage. The cards look incredible in person. While some are beaters for sure, others are in tremendous condition for their age.

The E107 set is exceedingly rare and important, which is what attracted me to the set. I am aware of no card that has more than 20 known examples and many cards are less than 10 pop, with some only having 1-3 known. It appears the most common cards are of Philadelphia Athletics players, which makes sense since that is where the Bresich-Williams factory was located. The cards have three different backs: (i) One of 150... (ii) One of 150 with a BW stamp, and (iii) Blank. There is a lot of mystery surrounding the set, some of which is discussed below.

The E107 set was the only "card" distributed between 1896 and 1908, which means it contains many rookie cards and some of the only examples of certain HOFers and players who made their career during that time period. As you can see, many of the E107 poses are (later) used as portrait poses in the T206 set. Here is an excerpt I found online regarding the set:

"History of E107 Breisch Williams:

The E107 Breisch Williams cards are generally considered to be the first “conventionally sized” baseball card issue of the 1900s. True, the Sporting Life Company began distributing oversized W600 cabinet premiums in 1902, but many elite, vintage card purists forgo the angle of collecting cabinet and/or postcard-sized cardboard artifacts, preferring instead to focus their want lists and associated budgets on pieces of more standard, card-like dimensions. With that in mind, the 1903 distribution of E107’s ended an 8-year drought, with the popular 1895 Mayo’s Cut Plug, 40-subject set (N300s) serving as the last previous baseball card issue fitting the desired parameters. While there is some ambiguity associated with the exact origin of the landmark E107 set, what we do know is that the Breisch Williams Company, Inc. utilized the well-known Caramel Factory in Oxford, PA. to produce its caramel, marshmallow, and cream candy products, and that some of these contained E107 inserts during 1903 and 1904. At the turn of the century, the Oxford factory was one of the most prominent global facilities of its kind, and the organization eventually changed its name to the “Williams Caramel Company” (the namesake of 1910’s E103 Williams Caramel production). Not too long after the E103 issue, the company renamed itself once more, to “Oxford Confectionary,” and took responsibility for the 1921 E253 Oxford Confectionary set. This was the concern’s final baseball card effort, and the business closed for good in 1929—the onset of the Great Depression.

Set Significance and Composition:
The significance of the E107 Breisch Williams set cannot be overemphasized. Baseball had successfully passed into the 20th century, and a stern, virtually unflappable man by the name of Ban Johnson was in the process of rocking the baseball world with his newly formed “American League.” Convincing players to “jump ship” from the established National League, Johnson was able to steal many N.L. stars for his newly formed A.L. teams by offering unprecedented, lucrative salaries. It’s ironic that the initial 1903 calendar-year distribution for E107’s coincides with our National Pastime’s inaugural World Series—where the A.L.’s Boston Club bested the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5 games to 3. Famous for its iconic black-and-white portrait images, many of the Breisch Williams illustrations can be attributed to the legendary photographer Carl Horner. Approximately eighty percent of the images show the players in their period-style uniforms, with the remaining subjects wearing formal attire. There are currently 160 known “Type I” (Basic Set) and 8 “Type II” Breisch Williams subjects, with the 160-subject basic set holding 147 different players and 13 additional team variations. Therefore, a complete “Master Set” encompasses all 168 Type I and Type II subjects—but no such “completed” set is thought to exist.

The issue’s most renowned subjects are Honus Wagner and Christy Mathewson, and both of these incredible gems are extremely rare and valuable. Less than ten specimens (graded and un-graded, combined) of either Wagner or Mathewson have been documented. Of the remaining 21 Cooperstown inductees, some of the more prestigious subjects include Ed Delehanty, Ned Hanlon, Cy Young, Eddie Plank, Addie Joss, Nap Lajoie, Rube Waddell, Wee Willie Keeler, Jack Chesbro and Chief Bender; Delahanty and Hanlon stand out as two of the foremost 19th century stars who were winding down their professional baseball careers in 1903. Population estimates range from one to somewhat fewer than a dozen specimens for most E107 subjects—all E107’s are rare, indeed. E107’s roster of baseball stars serves as a virtual “Who’s Who” of the National Pastime at the beginning of the 1900s."

I feel very lucky to own a set of this age, rarity, and importance, and I am thankful there is a forum where I can share this with friends and others who appreciate old cardboard (because my wife and kids sure don't). There are members on here (Scott, Luke, Steve, etc) who know much more than I about the set and its origins, and I invite them to join in with any knowledge they have.

Happy New Years!

More Pics

Sublime.

Ryan,

What a great set and great looking cards.
But in addition thanks for the background and insights into the history and significance of this set.

The great thing about this forum is the learning and sharing of knowledge.

Looking forward to them being graded

And then

Looking forward to you upgrading them in the coming years. Lol

Thank you for posting these……I’m gonna need a moment now.

These are Smithsonian or HOF worthy.

Congratulations Ryan. These are in the right collectors hands. Yours!!!

Have fun and enjoy them, but most importantly thank you for sharing this epic pick up.

Amazing acquisition!

Congratulations!

Ryan, outstanding!

What an amazing set and a thrill to just see them pictured! Congratulations!
We’d be thrilled hear how SGC distributed the grades…. Just awesome.

thank you for the e107 education.

Set
 

Ryan- what an incredible accomplishment, magnificent! Smart to send them
to SGC too. Would love an update on what they get if you are comfortable
sharing. Congratulations, Trent King

Fantastic Ryan, congratulations!

Great to see the deal completed Ryan. I can't wait to see them graded.

I’d say Wow, but somehow it feels like that doesn’t do justice to your set. Congratulations

VERY early contention for post of 2022!

WOW! Ryan, congrats!! I'm happy for you, as I consider you to be one of the really good guys in our hobby.

What an awesome acquisition for your collection, congratulations. Thanks for sharing. I am sure many of us also share that feeling about the disinterest at home (I know I do!).

Fun to see them all together. Great find.

Dude really cool. Congrats on that set. One of my favorites!

Ryan so mind blowing, Congrats!

I can’t even put into words how cool it is to see all these in one place. Just incredible. Thank you for sharing.

Wow. Absolutely amazing.

Incredible Ryan, thanks for sharing.

Wow. Beautiful to see them all together.

Yes- Thank You for sharing. Beautiful.

Very nice Ryan! I love seeing the Type IIs in the scans too!

I find it curious that in among all the Horner portraits there's a single action pose (Charlie Carr)--and that looks more like a drawn rendition.

This is the kind of thing that doesn't jump out until you see the whole set together.

Bill

What a grouping! I love seeing these cards raw in sheets. Even though my little raw collecting heart sinks realizing these will be plasticized for posterity, I certainly appreciate that you took photos of them all before encapsulation, and that you shared them here with us.

Brian

HOF pick-up! Too cool!

Awesome.

As a 19th century collector, this is my favorite 20th century set. Very cool cards, great group of players.

poses
 

Incredible Ryan!!...a couple of those poses I don't think I've seen before...Jerry

Wow
 

Beautiful

Exactly! So much NEW eye candy. Thanks Ryan!

I have never seen the Elberfeld NY card. Didn't know it was even real. Incredible. 1st year the Highlanders came to be. Just historic.

Absolutely incredible Ryan. Congratulations.

Re: E107 Breisch Williams - As Complete a Set as exists
 

Congrats, Ryan. Happy to see that you've descended into the dark realm of set collecting.

I love these finds
 

Congrats and thanks for sharing. What a way to ring in the new year!

+1 agreed

Ryan you will have to work extra hard to top this one

What an incredible grouping of E107's :eek: thank you for sharing all of the pics, Ryan. This is a great opportunity for newer prewar collectors to scope out the entirety of this historic set. I mean, T206's are great and all, but E107's are (and will always be) the grand daddy of all 20th century sets.

Congrats on the monster acquisition!!

Congrats!

I see many of the stamped backs( I believe all are unique, only one stamped card of each player). The type 2 Tenney is only the second type 2 with a stamp I have seen. It also provides further proof that these stamped cards were done after the fact, as the type 2's were almost invariable cut from some type of packaging and this would have been impossible to stamp on the inside the package.

Also, if one wants to get another to level, most of the E107's can be found with wide and narrow captions at the bottom. I believe they were put out in 1903 and 1904 and perhaps longer using the different font. It is also possible there were different merchants using them and not just Breisch-Williams(whose only connection is the stamped back). The blank backs and 150 Series might have been used by different products and issued at different times.

Also of note, most of the known E107's can be traced back to a very few original collections via their backs, many as seen here have the two spots of paper loss of red paper still adhered, another known group of blank backs have the team penciled down the middle, yet another have the shadows from photo mounts, a fourth all have a sign of album mounting/paste residue and disturbance. A fifth group also has penned notations at the top(not Buck Barkers notes, which are also found on these). Another sizable group has a very lightly erased number in the upper left back corner. Lastly like the Wagner you are selling and the Doyle type 2 in the group, a small group have paper adhered from an old book or magazine that they were glued into.

I have forgotten a bit more, but these are just a few of my recollections while attempting this set 15-20 years ago, during which I handled well over 1,000 E107's.

Lots of answers to questions which will probably never be known.

Wow! Definitely the most impressive aquisition I've seen on this board. Congrats.

Ryan,
Congratulations on this magnificent set! Thank you for posting so we can all enjoy them.
Andy Cook

I'm totally speechless. I remember a few years back when I came back to the card collecting world and really jumped into pre-war. I remember how in awe I was at seeing a complete T206 set (up to Plank) in a binder and being able to flip through it and see every card. Up until that point, I didnt even know that it was possible to complete a set like that. Seeing this group all together and presented this way just gave me that same feeling, albeit virtually. Simply amazing set that I never would have imagined was remotely possible to complete. I can't even imagine what the purchase price was, lol.

Mike

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

The first real baseball card set of the 20th century made the year of the fist world series! Incredible indeed!

Thanks all. I am glad so many people enjoy seeing this set. One of the zillion reasons this forum rocks.

Scott, great info. A huge invitation to Everyone/anyone with additional info on the e107 set.

This is just stunning. Thanks very much for sharing this.

Here are my unsolicited favorites:

The Chief Bender card is hands down my favorite card in the set. I'd take it even over the Young and Wagner.

As a Cobb fan I have to love the Harry Bemis. Cool picture.

The Jimmy Collins and Lajoie cards are outstanding.

I can't decide if Jimmy Sheckard looks more like a gangster or a politician.

Some kid really loved Eddie Plank, because he must have carried those cards around in his pocket. But he didn't like Ed Poole. I love that Ed Poole was traded for reading novels in the dugout. And why is he halfway down the card? Did they use the kiddie stool to pose him?

The Doc Powers portrait is a beautiful card. Harry Steinfeldt too.

Fred Tenney may be the all time human being who looks worst with a mustache. I'm including women.

Little Joe Yeager looks 12 and Vic Willis just looks confused.

Emmet Heidrick looks like he's trying to pose for a postage stamp. Or be a European general.

Historic set, Ryan. Unbelievable.

Oh man. Seeing this group together makes me look at my small gathering of e107s over here and go "...see that boys??? We can do it, it's possible after all! Let's keep going!..."

Seriously though, thank you for taking the time to scan all these in for us. Many of these cards have NEVER been seen by the majority of this community. It's a pure treat just to get to see them. And all the OP backs? Wow...what a find. A couple questions if I may -

I once theorized that the Type 2 e107s came from multiple different advertising pieces / display boxes. I have owned two Type 2s, one of which was a Delehanty, that had a back that was as white and smooth as a cue ball. At the time, which was maybe 15 years ago, I had thrown the idea out there of a Type 3 e107 existing, since it was clear that the card wasn't the same sort of paper stock as the heavier, greyish Type 2s and certainly was not a Type 1 either. In your collecting this set, have you ever come across such a Type 2?

This might be a question for anyone reading this thread - I also remember asking a long time ago about the Type 2 Socks Seybold. I had the other 7 Type 2s at the time and could never verify that the Seybold existed. Anyone ever seen one of these?

Again, a beauty of a collection. I'm going to go ahead and add this thread to our Archive page as well so people won't have to look to hard to find this in years to come.

https://www.net54baseball.com/forum/...ivecenter.html

Damned impressive group of cards, Ryan.

Congrats on the E107s Ryan. I remember seeing the basis for this set 30 or so years ago. It is a great collection.

Brian - I have never seen a Type 2 Seybold, but I have had it on my checklist since the early 1980s. Also, Lipset lists it in his 1984 book and specifically states that the "caption as in checklist" whereas he notes that others such as Delahanty and Keeler have different captions. Lew was pretty meticulous with his E107 checklist and I doubt that he would have included a card if he had not verified it himself.

What an incredible collection. I've never seen so many E107 cards in one place. Congratulations!

In these times to assemble such an incredible grouping of these very special. They represent the bridge to 20th cards and now that you actually own them is astounding. You realize that henceforth, Ryan, you are now the Godfather of E107's forever. Hyper congrats.
When I saw the Matty card, I cringed, for at one time I held one and, as i recall, it was a nice specimen. Kevin S. might remember it.

Amazing collection there, sir! Fantastic acquisition!

I feel like there was a huge collection of E107s that sold not too long ago at one of the big-boy auction houses. Was that collection the same one that Ryan just acquired, or separate?

Anyway, it will be fun to see if you can continue upgrading this collection (or to find the one missing card) to make it even more amazing than it already is!

Chris Sullivan's near set was broken up about a decade ago by Mastro/Legendary.

Guys, I think its clear in my opening post, but to restate/clarify: I did NOT assemble this set. Instead, I acquired it from a single collector, who had assembled some of it. The bulk of the set comes from a legacy portfolio that initially came from a scrap book. The person I bought it from added to that legacy portfolio to create the the collection I posted.

I do not plan on upgrading the set, aside from the occasional HOFer or if I find a better version of a real beater. That said, I already own better quality examples of Young, Plank, Keeler, Waddell and Lajoie Type II and I will be substituting these better examples for the ones in the current set.

As a member pointed out to me, the set you see has 5 "extras", including Plank. I do not know why these extras remain but I believe they are undergrades to their better counterparts. I have no direct access to the immediate seller/former owner, so I cannot ask.

The person from whom I acquired the set is a long-time, and very accomplished and knowledgeable collector. It is my understanding that he believes this set is complete, except the Seybold Type II, which I understand he has never seen and does not know to exist, although (as Kevin mentioned) he believes it could/does exist. I have spoken with numerous people who have much more knowledge about the set than I, and none of them have ever seen a Seybold Type II; yet the general consensus is one likely exits because it keeps ending up in various checklists. ALSO, SGC shows a Whitey Alperman on its pop report, but nobody I have spoken with believes that exists, especially considering that Whitey's first season was in 1906.

I am hardly the godfather of E107. In fact, I know relatively little about the set other than what I shared. There are many here who know a ton more than me in their little finger! I love that this set has so many rookies, that the T206 portraits derived here, that the cards are so damn rare, and that it is the only set spanning 1986-1908. I also love that it is the only known "complete set" out there. Its a super important set and I could not pass on the chance to own it AND to ensure (at least for now) that it stays intact and is not broken up card by card.

Congrats Ryan and thanks for sharing ..
.

Ryan,

The dupes are font/text variations. Most of those shown are minor, others in the set are much more pronounced. Compare the spacing of the Player/Position/Team. These font changes were almost certainly made when the team changes were made in 1904.

+1 agreed

E107 is my favorite set ever. Congratulations!

Incredible!
 

Ryan,

Congrats on the pickup and thanks so much for sharing the images with the board... so many of which I've never seen before!

Incredible set! Glad it will be staying intact, amazing carboard history right there!

Wow. amazing collection! As others have said, I’ve never seen so many e107s at one time. Congratulations, Ryan.

Time to open your own museum. Super cool

One of a kind. The Young is my favorite card of all time.

Ryan, That is fantastic! Great acquisition.

I can't even believe what i'm looking at. incredible.

I can't believe this even exists! I've been looking for Chance and Taylor to add to my Cubs collection for years.

Any additional "variations" other than text type, like blank back vs. "Set of 150" backs? Maybe you can go crazy and try to get all the variations (text font, back variations, etc). But if not, just enjoy what you have! What a fantastic set!

Congrats Ryan and very impressive. Great Eye candy for 2022.

Ryan, what I meant was kudos to the collector who assembled them and kudos to you for acquiring them. Now that you own the set, less one, makes you, at least for now, the Godfather of E107's. What a wonderful start to the year, and I can't see anyone on the board topping your accomplishment.

Goodness gracious! This is amazing. Congratulations! It is so neat being able to see these all together like this.

Amazing to see them all together like this. Congratulations on getting them, Ryan! In the late 1980s or early 1990s, I saw an ad from Lew Lipset in one of the hobby magazines with a large group of E107s for sale. I pored over the Baseball Encyclopedia to figure out who the best Detroit player was from that group and bought that card. I've often wished that I would have bought all the Detroit players for sale or at least a few more, but at least I got one of them. I think they were priced at $30 each or maybe $60, I can't remember well anymore. I once asked Lionel Carter what his thoughts were on E107 and he told me he never heard of the set.

Whoa! Amazing. Congrats!

Good old Eagle Eye. That's the one Beckley I don't have and am quite sure never will.

Pretty

Simply amazing
 

Ryan,
Thanks so much for taking the time to show these to us!!!! Just simply amazing! Love how clean the fronts of the collection are!!!

Especially love the Chic Stahl! One of only a few issues with his image on them. I visit his grave site here in Fort Wayne once and awhile and wonder why he might have done what he is believed to have done to himself to end his life and career...tragic story!

As a few others have stated, this collection is museum worthy!

Tim Kindler

Chris Sullivan here. Congratulations Ryan on a tremendous acquisition. It's one of the truly historic sets in our hobby and I hope you'll enjoy it for a long time. If I'm correct the prior owner won the (core) set in July/96 in a Mastro auction. If so I was the underbidder. At the time I was living with my family in Switzerland on business and I had about 30-50 cards at the time and I made a run for this set. At some point I was leading in the bidding because at about 4 AM I received a couple of phone calls from Bill Mastro asking who I was and who did I know in the hobby and on and on, but all through the calls implying that I damn well better pay for the set if I won it!! Haha. I wished then and I wish now that I had won it. I think it went in the mid 30's. After I lost I continued to accumulate them through the years. I got to a complete player set missing about 6 team variations before I sold them in 2012-13. Once again congrats and enjoy. They are the Faberge Eggs of our hobby

beautiful stuff! what dreams are made of.

Hi Chris! Very nice to meet you and thanks for posting. I have read all about your amazing E107 collection -- the completeness and quality. I am not sure, but I expect this is the same set you are referring to in your post. I am super psyched to own this set (I agree its special) and to know that it will remain complete. Thanks again for the post and saying hi.

EDITED -- I reviewed a note from the previous owner that states the set was purchased from the estate of the late Bill Haber, who was an employee of Topps for many years and an early card-collecting pioneer. Among other things, Here is what I was able to find on Bill online:

"Bill Haber was a Topps employee for quite some time and wrote a lot of what appeared on the backs of baseball cards. He was responsible for bringing many Topps test and proof issues into the market as he was an early dealer; he spun some tall tales about the origins of these sets in certain cases, thereby obfuscating the real story but giving us raison d'etre here at the ol' Topps Archives."

Wowzers! My eyes were immediately drawn to the Bender. What a beauty! And 2 Planks? Who has 2 Planks from this set? :) Just incredible. Thanks for sharing.

Rarefied air!
 

Congratulations, Ryan! Your E107 acquisition admits you to a rather exclusive fraternity, one that includes some of the most dedicated collectors in the hobby's history (Chris Sullivan, Lew Lipset, Scott Brockelman, the late Don McPherson among others, plus at least three people currently working on the set).
If, indeed, Bill Haber's E107s form the nucleus, your set has an incredible pedigree. As I recall, Bill told me he acquired the bulk of his E107s from a pioneer collector whose name I can no longer remember. And, it was my understanding that another hobby legend purchased the set after Haber's premature passing.
Bill Haber was much more than a Topps employee and baseball card collector. He was a founding member of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and a peerless biographical researcher. Without Ancestry or the Internet he tracked down birth and death data for dozens of early ballplayers, filling blanks in the MacMillan Baseball Encyclopedia (an earlier generation's Baseball Reference). He focused his card collection on E107, Colgan's Chips (E254 and E270), T210 and T209 because many of the players he "found" or was pursuing were included in those sets.
So, know that your E107 set has long been treasured. Please treat it accordingly.
B0b Rich@rds0n