1.5x2-3/8" Cuban card produced for the Aguilitas Cigarette brand. The baseball cards are a subset featuring 44 players from the Cuban Professional League. This extensive 900 card set also featured movie and stage stars, boxers, and other subjects. Glossy photo front with text below portrait "Charleston Base Ball." The card back has the card number and an ad for Aguilitas (baseball subset was numbered 841-899). This is one of the key cards in this very desirable Cuban set.
Despite the card wear, which includes a tiny insect hole at top center (and well above the image), card front retains a glossy appearance, image is strong and distinct. Only a few examples are known of this card. The example we offered from the Richard Merkin Collection, which was SGC 30 Good 2, sold for $9,172. Charleston was one of the greatest legends of the Negro Leagues. A multi-talented star, he was renowned by those who saw him play as the finest all-around player in Negro League history and was dubbed the "Black Ty Cobb" by sports writers. He was inducted into the National Baseball HOF in 1976.