Old Judge Proof?

[drcy]

The cardboard mount is period. The gold angled edges dates it to that time.

There are the 'Vermont find' pseudo-proofs that were made in 1900s, but, without having seen one in person, the so-called proofs with the standard N173 mount shape and style in general always looked okay to me. Though I don't know that they are actual proofs. Some may have been samples sent by the studio to Goodwyn and some may have been sold to the public by the studio. If a cabinet was found in the Goodwyn archives or with the Goodwyn embossed stamp on the image, then it's safe to assume it's sample, proof or something on that order. I have seen cabinets with the tobacco manufacturer's embossed stamp on the images, so there's no doubt about they're being some sort of production item. I believe the Kalamzoo Bats cabinet Proofs with the black mounts have embossed stamps on the images. Without any markings, provenance or other information, it's hard to tell just looking at the cabinet.

One thing is the N173 Proofs (quote unquote) are rather plentiful (relatively speaking), which would suggest at least some were sold publicly by the studio. Normally, genuine studio proofs or production items are rare and, in fact, the Kalamazoo Bats Proofs are amongst the rarest cards in the hobby.

As has already been said, this one resembles a trimmed N173.