- Photo Number:
- 13098
- Size:
- Category:
- Comic Art, Misc
- Artist:
- High Admiral Cigarettes
- Medium:
- button set
- Description:
- Yellow Kid button set of 154 - DESCRIPTION FROM HAKES AMERICANA & COLLECTIBLES: "When I (Ted Hake) returned from the American Political Items Collectors national convention in August, Hake’s GM Alex Winter had a shock in store for me. Alex received on consignment what must be the supreme condition set, of about only five known, of complete collections of Yellow Kid buttons. In our last auction, we sold a complete set and that sale pulled this totally unexpected set out of the woodwork. It took Hake’s five decades just to offer one complete set and now we have complete sets in back to back auctions. In spite of that, this set is indeed a once in a lifetime opportunity to own what I judge to be the finest set known. I apply very strict standards to button grading. I use the words “ultimate” and “supreme” very sparingly and feel this set justifies those adjectives as there are a mere seven buttons of the 154 in the set with just the slightest defect. Apparently, the vast majority of the buttons in this set were collected as a unit in 1896 when they were issued to promote High Admiral Cigarettes. This is evidenced by the incredibly glossy brilliance of the celluloid obverses and well as the lack of any age on those with back papers and the high degree of silver luster flashing still remaining on nearly all of those with tin covered reverses. Here is the amazingly brief list of the seven with a small defect: #41 has 1/16” rough dot of celluloid on the right edge; #53 has 1/16” rough dot of celluloid along the pant leg at right; #79 has light background spotting but still with intense color and full gloss; #80 has one 1/8” scratch and a pinpoint age dot; #89 has an 1/8” craze line; #145 has a black dot on the background as printed; #160 has one faint 1/32” age dot. We grade the remaining 147 buttons as ranging between Near Mint and Mint. We believe this set to be the finest in existence." (Item 13098)
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