1903 E107 Breisch Williams – The FINAL Offerings from The Chris Sullivan Collection I will never forget the Spring of 2004, when I had my first opportunity to meet Chris Sullivan. After spending an evening with him—selecting consignments for an upcoming auction—he pulled out an album from his closet and showed me what turned out to be about three-fourths of the elusive E107 Breisch Williams baseball card set. He had been working on the set in that binder for almost two decades. From that point on, every conversation with Chris ended in the question, “Are you ready to part with those little black-and-white cards yet?” Eight years later—with the project now being dozens of cards closer to completion, and with a multitude of upgrades bringing the work nearer than ever to perfection—I got the call: he was finally ready to let others enjoy these rare gems. For a long time an avid Boston Red Sox fan, Chris Sullivan resides in a quiet suburban Massachusetts town, and his desire to begin collecting Breisch Williams cards was kindled by the numerous Red Sox players depicted in the E107 set. A decade before he commenced the seemingly endless quest to obtain E107 subjects, Mr. Sullivan’s love for baseball-related collectibles was triggered by the classic T206 “Monster” issue, from which he began to acquire some of his favorite “Dead Ball Era” stars. On the following pages, we will be offering the FINAL opportunity to purchase cards from what we believe to be the most significant 20th century baseball card set ever assembled. From the perspective of rarity, as well as that of preservation quality, no individual enthusiast has ever started with a single card purchase and then tenaciously continued to construct a gallery of this magnitude—wherein the graded holdings surpass the industry’s next-best assembly by a substantial margin. As fellow hobbyists, we hope that you will enjoy this presentation and join us in congratulating Chris Sullivan for his incredible achievement of compiling all of the 147 players confirmed in E107 (including a”Type II” Lajoie), plus four additional Type II duplicates and seven “Type I” duplicate player/team variations. History of E107 Breisch Williams: Set Significance and Composition: The issue’s most renowned subjects are Honus Wagner and Christy Mathewson, and both of these incredible gems are extremely rare and valuable. Less than ten specimens (graded and un-graded, combined) of either Wagner or Mathewson have been documented. Of the remaining 21 Cooperstown inductees, some of the more prestigious subjects include Ed Delehanty, Ned Hanlon, Cy Young, Eddie Plank, Addie Joss, Nap Lajoie, Rube Waddell, Wee Willie Keeler, Jack Chesbro and Chief Bender; Delahanty and Hanlon stand out as two of the foremost 19th century stars who were winding down their professional baseball careers in 1903. Population estimates range from one to somewhat fewer than a dozen specimens for most E107 subjects—all E107’s are rare, indeed. E107’s roster of baseball stars serves as a virtual “Who’s Who” of the National Pastime at the beginning of the 1900s. Elite Condition: Our highest compliments go to Chris Sullivan for his diligence in carefully selecting these E107 examples over an extended, three-decade period—while assuming the added burden of finding a representative card for each separate player featured in the Breisch Williams issue. Through the years, we have had the distinct honor of offering some of the finest memorabilia that has ever surfaced in the hobby, including several examples of the T206 Honus Wagner “Holy Grail” card. Yet, in view of its stellar desirability, rarity and value, this “Mona Lisa”-like gathering merits consideration to stand among the finest heirlooms that have graced our catalogs. |