Great discussion! I am sure many of you have seen Dave Grob's piece on his worries.
if not
http://www.mearsonline.com/news/newsDetail.asp?id=757
I am the owner of many pre-1955 flannels. Some I purchased at Halper sale. Like anything else, caveat emptor. There were some good, some bad. You could see in the prices a huge difference for jerseys people believed in, vs those with issues. Clearly, 19th century jerseys look to have issues.
My bad story does not come from auction, but after auction. They had an internet only auction from Soethbys. I bought a supposed 1919 white sox jersey (similar to Joe Jackson). Turned out to be total joke. Was child size, tags were way off. I have kept it as a reminder to my self of always do my work.
dan