19th Century Game Cards: 1888 WG1 & 1889 E.R. Williams

1888 WG1 and & 1889 E.R. Williams are two very interesting (and scarce!) sets that aren't often discussed. Both contain great looking cards and are loaded with 19th century HOFers and stars. It would be great if we could share our knowledge and experience with these two sets right here and now

Before we get to that, how about a quick review of a few facts on each set.

1888 WG1 game cards

-72 cards in the set
-Generic poses, but facial features are uniquely designed to each player.
-No known record of how the game was played. Some clues are in the markings on the top two corners of each card. Any theories?
-Back contains an elaborate blue pattern design.

Scan of front & back:

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1889 E.R. Williams game cards

-52 cards in the set, although only 19 of them contain player images.
-On the 19 cards containing players, there are two portraits per card.
-Not listed in the ACC
-Cards contain baseball phrases such as "home run", "three base hit", "struck out" etc which facilitated how the game was played.
-Backs picture a generic player printed in green ink.

Scan of front & back
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Lastly (and most importantly), please share any info & experiences you may have with either set. Personally, I've only owned one WG1 (Mulvey, graded sgc 70) and have never owned a E.R. Williams card. It would also be interesting to learn more about how these games were played, especially the WG1's. I look forward to your responses!

*images courtesy of Old Cardboard

I have none of these, and have never had any, but I would like to change that.

What kind of price range do these fall into? Pretty neat looking playing cards.


Lee

bowlingshoeguy wrote:What kind of price range do these fall into? Pretty neat looking playing cards.

Lee, I've seen VGish commons from both sets sell in the $250-300 range. At the time I owned the SGC 70 WG1 Mulvey, I valued it at around $6-700. I recall a lower grade WG1 Keefe selling for around $750 (can't remember the exact figure).

The E.R. Williams cards show up less frequently and tend to sell for slightly more than the WG1's. Of course, the E.R. Williams cards that do NOT contain player portraits sell for far less. Three of the E.R. Williams cards feature two HOFers on the same card. Here's a list of the double HOFer cards in the set:

-Anson/Ewing
-Clarkson/Keefe
-Comiskey/Connor

Being the top card in the set, the Anson/Ewing card will sell for a nice sum. Brouthers, Kelly, Galvin, and Ward are the other HOFers in the set that aren't paired with another member of the Hall of Fame.

A SGC40 E.R. Williams Pud Galvin/Orr changed hands today @ $800. from a knowledgable seller, and a lucky buyer. Quite an attractive price, imho.

ItsOnlyGil wrote:A SGC40 E.R. Williams Pud Galvin/Orr changed hands today @ $800. from a knowledgable seller, and a lucky buyer. Quite an attractive price, imho.

I saw that, Gil. And if I wasn't blowing all my $ on my current trip to Europe (in Rome now), I would have bought that card for sure.



Here are some more WG1's to look at. Top left card is Anson:

I like these much more than the Williams game cards. Too bad they don't come up for sale very frequently. I'd really like to partner up on an auction of several of these or more.