1912 T207 Brown Background Set: A Forgotten Tobacco Gem

Known through the hobby as the 'Brown Background' set, the T207 issue took a step back in terms of the beautiful colors offered in the previous two issues. 

Instead, ATC produced a rather dark and somber 200 card set that left out some of baseball biggest stars of the time.

Cards are prone to cracking due to a glossed card front and backs offer different advertising variations, some (Red Cross) are nearly impossible to find. 

Still, collectors of prewar tobacco cards view the 1912 T207 cards as an exciting challenge due to some of the tougher to find cards and back variations.

The American Tobacco Company

We provided a brief background of The American Tobacco Company in our article on the T206 White Borders set. In addition, there is more commentary in our piece discussing The History Of Baseball Cards.

Of course, the highlight tobacco issue for the American Tobacco Company is the legendary White Borders T206 set.

Most aren't quite familiar with the background of 'ATC' at the time and the stranglehold they had on the tobacco market.

In 1890 a merger of several large tobacco companies of the time led to the formation of what was known as the 'Tobacco Trust'.  

This included a few cigarette brands that produced some of the most historic cards in the hobby, including Goodwin & Co and Allen & Ginter. 

In 1911, the American Tobacco Company was forced to dissolve based on allegations of monopolistic practices.  Thus, some speculate that ATC could have been a bit distracted due to the dissolution of the company with its 1912 T207 release. 

Regardless, the span of tobacco sets issued from 1909 thru 1912 is considered a golden era by collectors.  Certainly. the American Tobacco Company issue known as the 1909-1911 White Border (T206) set is the most popular. 

Other popular issues released by ATC include the T3 Turkey Reds, T205 Gold Borders, the underrated T201 Mecca Double Folders and T202 Hassan Triple Folders set.  

And of course the 1912 Brown Background T207 Tobacco set which we profile below.

A Closer Look At The T207 Set

The T207 'Brown Background' set was a follow-up to the successful T205 (Gold Border) and T206 (White Border) sets. It would mark the last official set issued by the American Tobacco company.  It to this day has never garnered the same sort of demand as the previous issues. 

The cards were distributed inside the packs of two cigarette makers (Broadleaf, Cycle), two cigar products (Recruit, Napoleon) and one tobacco product (Red Cross).

Appearance-wise, the T207 cards lack the same sort of design appeal as the T205 and T206 sets. Gone are the striking colored lithographs, in favor of a monotone color set with many hues of brown and black (and some hints of red and blue).  

I'll admit, some of the cards are downright ugly.  This Ed Konetchy card from the set is one example - it looks like the artists gave Ed a streak of black lipstick. Although some might argue that there are a few strip card sets that look a heck of a lot worse.

And then there are cards like this Jack Barry card which are much more attractive. 

There are 200 cards in the T207 set, well short of the 520 cards issued in the T206, but more on par with the 208 cards issued in the T205 Gold Border set.  

T207 card backs include a short biography for the player such as with this Tris (or Tristam) Speaker card. 

There's a decent amount of star power in the T207 set, yet some glaring omissions. The most notable exclusions include the likes of Ty Cobb, Nap Lajoie, Cy Young, and Christy Mathewson or even 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson.  

It is uncertain why this happened, yet many missing stars are found in the T3, T201 or T202 sets, issued at around the same time as the 'Brown Background' cards. 

Despite the lack of big-time players of the day, the set does include a few other interesting subjects. Some include Eddie Cicotte, banned from baseball for his participation in the 'Black Sox' scandal) and Rafael Almeda, a Cuban baseball star. 

All in all, there are thirteen Hall Of Famers in the set. 

T207 Advertising Back Variations

There are eight different advertising back variations in the T207 (source Old Cardboard) as shown below.  The backs are shown in order of overall scarcity (starting higher population first).  

The Red Cross backs are so scarce, that less than twenty are known to exist.  A Red Cross Lewis Lowdermilk sold for over $13K at an REA auction back in 2014. 

This is a great resource that discusses the Red Cross backs in more detail.

Outside of the Red Cross backs, the Anonymous, Napoleon, Cycle and Broadleaf backs sell for a premium. The Recruit backs are the easiest to find, with the Factory 606 (Maryland) Recruit's a bit of a tougher find than the Factory 240's (Pennsylvania).

It should be noted that 50 cards in the set were only issued with Broadleaf, Cycle, or Anonymous Factory 25 backs and some Red Cross backs.  The other 150 cards in the set were issued with Recruit or Napoleon backs.  See OldCardboard for more info on back groupings.

Source: The T207 Set What Where They Thinking and No Population Explosion by Tim Newcomb VCBC).

Relative Scarcity Of The T207 Set

Based on population data from PSA, to date, roughly 9800 cards have been graded in the T207 set, equating to an average of 49 graded cards per player.  

The T205 set has an average of 205 cards graded for each player in the set.

The T206 set has the highest average between the three sets, with an average of 495 cards per player.

Thus, based on PSA data, we can comfortably state that T207 cards are much scarcer than their T205 and T206 counterparts.  

T207 cards have about 1/10 the existing graded population in comparison to the ever popular T206 White Borders set.

Rarest Cards In The T207 Set?

Over the years, collectors have speculated on the T207 cards which felt like impossible finds, and many are indeed scarcer than others.  

Read old forums and the likes of Louis Lowermilk, Charles Bauman and Red Donlin are some of the most oft noted tougher finds. 

However, today, thankfully we have the PSA and SGC population reports to help detail overall scarcity.

The Irving Lewis variation with 'No Emblem On Sleeve' is the scarcest card in the set with only 13 total graded copies.

The Paddy Livingston variation (small C on the shirt) is the second rarest with only 18 copies graded. 

Tied for third are Red Kuhn and Clyde Engle with only 24 graded copies each. 

Please find the full detailed list of overall population below. 

Source: SGC Pop Report and PSA Pop Report

T207 Set Variations

While there are 200 players in the T207 set, a number of variations exist.

Irving Lewis - Emblem On Sleeve and No Emblem On Sleeve

Paddy Livingston - Large "C" on Shirt, Small "C" on Shirt and "A" on Shirt

George Mullin - "D" on Cap and no "D" on Cap

James Austin - Insignia and No Insignia on Shirt

Ray Fisher - Blue Cap and White Cap

Most Valuable Cards In The T207 Set

Assessing the most valuable cards in the T207 set is a bit of a challenge. There are so many no-name players that have super hard to find cards.  

The most recognized player in the set, Walter Johnson is the easiest (although still fairly scarce) to find, yet it's quite possible that a very nice condition Irving Lewis (no emblem variation) could eclipse a T207 Wajo at auction.

So, I resorted to PSA's SMR price guide (using PSA 5 values) to provide some intel on the most valuable cards in the set. Not a perfect measure by any means, but it should provide collectors with a good overview of some of the prized cards in the set. 

Investment Potential Of The T207 Set

Overall Investment Rating: 9 out of 10

It's not glamorous by any means and there are a lot of big-time HOF player omissions, but the T207 set is one that should be a focus for vintage card investors. 

The relative scarcity versus the other big ATC sets makes the Brown Background cards a great investment. 

Paying a few thousand dollars for some of the rarer commons is questionable. But the stars such as Walter Johnson and Tris Speaker should be a great long-term investment. 

Also, some of the Black Sox cards (Weaver and Cicotte for example) and the legendary Smoky Joe Wood should remain popular. Not to add some of the Cuban HOF players which help make for a diverse and fascinating set.

Set builders should be aware that piecing together the full set (plus variations) could take years to complete. Also, the cards won't come cheap, especially some of the scarcer cards.

T207 Cards on eBay