This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/8/2018
Of all of the varied PCL baseball card issues that emerged on the West Coast around 1911, there were several oversized issues such as Zeenuts, P.C. Biscuits, Big Eaters, and the impressive T4 Obak premiums. Rarer than any of those are the locally produced little known series of cabinets issued by Gilmartin Printing Company, portraying only players from the San Francisco Seals. The scarcity of these 4-3/4" by 6-7/8" printed cabinet photos is such that fewer than a dozen player examples have been catalogued and of those, most examples exist in singular form with no more than two known of any given player. Presented here is a newly discovered example of George “Buck” Weaver” which originates from the estate of Seals player Oscar Vitt who is also represented in the Gilmartin issue. Weaver is hands down the most coveted subject in the roster of known Gilmartin cabinets. His serene countenance in this early image from belies his troubles ahead. Weaver would go on to be perhaps the most tragic figure in the whole 1919 Black Sox scandal. He was asked to participate in the fix but refused. He was later banned from baseball for life in 1920 along with the other players for knowing about the fix but not reporting it. Hitting an even .300 from 1917 thru 1920 he had just turned 30 and was in the prime of his career.
This Weaver Gilmartin specimen has an area of staining on the upper left border and smaller spots of discoloration that do not significantly detract from the crystal clear image. The back has some surface loss and adhesive residue at all four corners from album removal. That said, even the most ardent PCL collectors will surely marvel at this find.