This is the first of three annual Toleteros card sets issued during the Puerto Rican League winter seasons. The album is 9x11" with stiff paper cover and 18 pages that have designated areas for mounting the set of cards. Each card is about 1.5x2.25" w/sepia-tone photo and player name on bottom margin. The Standard Catalog Of Vintage Baseball Cards list 168 cards in the set. From that list we have 161 of 168 as well as seven variant cards (different photo images) and five uncatalogued players. There are also 13 duplicate cards. Total number of cards mounted in the album comes to 186. Additionally 16 cards are of the glossy photo stock variety while the rest are on thin card stock (only six such photographic stock varieties are listed in SCVBC). Cards are mounted at designated spots in the album as well as on backs of pages and front cover as far as the variants and uncatalogued cards are concerned. The true highlight of this set (and included in the album) is Hilton Smith. This card alone is listed in SCVBC w/values of $20,000 NM, $10,000 EX, $6,000 VG. Other key cards included in this album are: Willard Brown, Tommy Butts, Buster Clarkson, Francisco Coimbre, Jim Lamarque George Scales, Quincy Trouppe, Tetelo Vargas. A detailed list of all cards- missing, variant, etc. is at the end of this description. The Hilton Smith card is bright and clean w/sharp corners. Overall condition as mounted varies, some cards show bit more wear/aging while others are very bright and clean. Visually cards grade mostly as Exc. w/exception of those on the front cover that show much heavier wear. The album cover itself has obvious wear and aging w/margin tears and small portion of the title sticker missing as mounted at center. Good. Pages have some aging but all remain clean and intact. A well preserved card set overall and rare to find this complete and w/the Hilton Smith rarity. This is the third and final 1948-49 album in the Merkin collection, the two previous examples (both w/less cards but both w/the Hilton Smith card) sold for $4,830 and $6,325. From the Richard Merkin Collection and come with Hake's COA.
Missing cards (as per the list in the Standard Catalog Of Vintage Baseball Cards):(7) Luke Easter, Howard Easterling, Jim Gilliam, Ismael Perez, Tomas Quinones, Vicente Villafane, and Luis Villodas.
Photo variants:(7) Juan Carrero, Efrain Hidalgo, Ramon Lasa, Humberto Marti, Luis Morales, Ken Sears, and Artie Wilson.
Photo stock variants: (16) Joe Atkins, George Brown, Jose Burgos, Buster Clarkson, James Guillian,  Van Harrington, Dixie Howell, Jim Lamarque, Tom Parker, Robert L. Rombey, Jose G. Santiago, Harry I. Simpson, Rafael Vasquez, Luis Villodas, Paul Wargo, and Jesse Williams. 
Uncatalogued cards:(5) Robert L. Rombey, Harry I. Simpson, James Guillian, Paul Wargo, and Tom Parker.
Duplicates:(13) Pablo Andino, Johnny Britton, Joe Buzas, Eugenio Camara, Francisco Coimbre, Cefo Conde, Teggy Espinoza, Jose E. Montalvo, Howard Moss, Noel Oquendo, Jose Polanco, Earl Taborn, and Leon Tirado.