E96 Proof set debunked

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Posted By: fkw

For those that dont know, I have wrote on this about 4 times in the past 7 years....


That particular SGC "E96 Proof" (Notebook card) has been auctioned on eBay at least 4 times in the last 7 years. It has the old style flip and was graded about 10 years ago in the late 90's when no one really knew where these cards came from (SGC just guessed when they identified it). It is not a Proof, it is cut from the notebook, notice the left and bottom borders have a sliver of the orange background color (other scans from previous auctions of this exact card are clearer and the orange is easy to see). There are also at least 2 of these Notebook cards slabed as "proofs" in ASA slabs (another Lajoie and a Wagner). Even Lew Lipset wasnt quite sure where these cards came from, but he sure knew they were not proofs.
Lew Lipset's Baseball Card Encyclopedia Vol.2 (1984), on page 19, Lew wrote... "Thin, blank backed E95's and E96's are known and most likely these were cut from display posters. They should not be considered proofs."

I wrote the post on the SGC message board mainly because I submited the Mathewson and SGC wouldnt slab it for some reason. Yet they slab 1910W-Unc. Strip cards cut from a similar piece, E97 B&W cards also though by some to be notebook cover cards, Darby Chocolate cards, which to some is just the panel of a candy box.

IMO, they are cards, not cutouts, they have the exact look of a 1910 card of the era, and a blank back, and the biggest reason of all, 99% have been cutout by the kids of the time, and collected as cards (thats why the complete notebook is so rare). BTW the complete notebook's original owner was a little girl (homework Sep/Oct 1913), and mostlikly the reason it survived being chopped up in 1913.

I was the original owner of the complete notebook, but sold it off. The Lajoie on the complete notebook has the red color backbround slightly off registered, thats why the border looks thin. Here is a closeup.




Im sure you all have seen the one thats on eBay right now (if not and you planed to bid, sorry, its out of the bag now ) This example (with crease through the middle) was found in an antique store and is just the cover portion of the notebook, but the registration looks to be right on and much clearer than the complete notebook I once owned.

BTW there are 19 different notebook cards known (that I have seen in the last 7+ years).

Frank