Spring 2019 Premium Auction Closing May 11
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/12/2019
The complete set of 200 cards is presented. These glossy-photo, tobacco insert cards feature a grand variety of historical personages - many of whom are shown in true-to-life depictions. The blank-backed cards' subjects are framed by deep black-colored borders that also accommodate a brief caption and a brand-name advertisement on each piece. The cards are housed in a 6-1/2" x 7-1/4", hardcover album produced by the manufacturer. The book's embossed cover bears the title, "Ogden's 'New Century' Picture Album"; the cards are slotted into 17 interior pages. (These pages are made of thick cardboard, with thin, die-cut paper on each side allowing every card to be securely slotted into its own "frame.")
Highlights among the issue's many high-profile subjects include:
Political/Royal - #'s 1 King Edward VII/England, 7 Czar Nicholas II/Russia, 14 Wm. McKinley, 23 Disraeli, 44 Cecil Rhodes;
Science/Education - #'s 54 Huxley, 120 Edison, 121 Marconi, 130 Martin Luther, 141 Socrates;
Music - #'s 57 Beethoven, 56 Mozart, 61 Wagner;
Literary - #'s 75 Charles Dickens, 76 Leo Tolstoy, 81 Rudyard Kipling, 84 Emil Zola, 85 Longfellow, 91 Jules Verne;
Military - #'s 104 Maj.-Gen. Baden-Powell, 136 Alexander the Great, 138 Julius Caesar;
Ships - #'s 147 H.M.S. "Illustrious," 149 White Star Liner "Oceanic," 152 Cunard Liner "Lucania";
Stage Actresses - #'s 153 Adelina Patti, 178 Sarah Bernhardt, 200 Lily Langtry.
With care and, ideally, the patient use of tongs, it appears that the cards can be slid free from their pages. Their overall display quality is EX to NM. The album concedes wear to the exterior, weakness in the binding, and occasional small tears to the fragile card-securing paper mounted to the pages.