In 1916, published Felix Mendelsohn produced two series of black and white photographic baseball cards that were designed with blank backs and also offered to a variety of companies with their advertisements on the reverse.  The different sets have become extremely popular among type card collectors, hobbyists building back runs, and set collectors alike.

Long underrated, the challenge of completion coupled with the added layers of rarity associated with the various backs have increased collector interest, particularly as type collecting becomes more popular.  In addition to offering a number of different advertising backs from these two issues, our Summer 2015 auction includes a large number of Hall of Famers and key cards with the tougher Famous & Barr advertisement on the reverse.  The St. Louis clothing retailer was an early customer of Mendelsohn's M101-5 issue, and continued with the M101-4 series.  

Collector-grade example of Hall of Famer George Sisler, interestingly marked as a pitcher with the Browns.  Sisler broke in as a pitcher, appearing in 15 games in 1915 while playing 66 more at first base and in the outfield.  His pitching appearances continued to dwindle, though he did pitch one game in each of the 1920, 1925, 1926 and 1928 seasons.  It was his hitting, however, that made him a superstar, eclipsing the .400 mark twice in his career and retiring with a lifetime batting average of .340 after 15 years, mostly with the Browns.

Population Data
SGC Population: 2 total graded, 1 at this level, 1 higher
PSA Population: 3 total graded, 0 at this level, 2 higher

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