Auction #13 - February 2023
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/26/2023
In addition to other iconic sets like the R60 G-Men, R69 Horrors of War, R73 Goudey Indians, the R136 1933-34 National Chicle Sky Birds is one of the key sets of the Early Gum cards of the 1930's. Its beautiful art deco look along with important WWI flying subjects captured the imagination of the children of the day. The set, like many of the day was issued in sheets of 24 cards and series with back variations noting different numbers of series in the set. This method created a number of variations--some of which are difficult to find and create a good challenge for the variation collectors.
The list of famous aviators in the series is long and storied. It includes Frenchman Roland Garros--the namesake for the famous french Tennis stadium and Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, Charles A Lindbergh and more. It includes an extremely popular card of Amelia Earhart--lost forever somewhere in the South Pacific. In addition to the cards picturing the famous aviators, many cards--especially in the higher series picture famous aircraft from the 1920's and 1930's such as the Bristol Fighter, Fokker Triplane, the Winnie May and the incomparable Spirit of St. Louis.
The overall 4.92 GPA would put this set between the 7th and 8th current finest set. Three of the key cards break down as follows: #36 Charles Lindbergh (PSA3 VG), #48 Amelia Earhart (PSA3 VG) and #72 Spirit of St. Louis (PSA8 OC). Breakdown on the cards in the set include PSA8 NM-MT(OC) (1 card: #72), PSA7 NM (8 cards: #16, 19, 29, 31, 33, 70, 77 and 80), PSA6.5 EX-MT+ (4 cards: #5, 15, 68 and 83), PSA6 EX-MT (34 cards: #3, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 17, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 30, 34, 40, 41, 43, 44, 47, 55, 61, 65, 67, 71, 74, 75, 76, 78, 85, 86, 91 and 100), PSA5 EX (28 cards: #4, 7, 11, 18, 24, 25, 32, 35, 37, 39, 45, 46, 50, 51, 52, 57, 60, 62, 66, 73, 79, 81, 82, 84, 88, 98, 105 and 106), PSA4.5 VG-EX+ (2 cards: #53 and 102), PSA4 VG-EX (16 cards: #1, 2, 10, 38, 42, 64, 87, 90, 92, 93, 94, 97, 99(MK), 101, 104 and 107), PSA3 VG(8 cards: 23, 36, 48, 49, 56, 58, 63 and 95), PSA2 Good (5 cards: #54, 59, 69, 89 and 103) and PSA1 Poor (2 cards: #96 and 108).
Just a beautiful set. Cards #38 James McCudden and #48 Amelia Earhart are both Series of 144 tougher backs for the 25-48 series. This set offers a great opportunity for a strong base to build a solid mid-grade set on with just a few upgrades. All card fronts have been scanned for large format viewing.
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