Potter & Potter Auctions
Live Auction

Ephemera, Americana, & Historical Memorabilia

Thu, Mar 7, 2024 12:00PM EST
Lot 617

[CIGARETTE CARDS]. JOHNSON, Jack (1878-1946). A Pair of Rar...

Estimate: $400 - $600

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$30 $10
$100 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $200
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,000
$50,000 $5,000
$100,000 $10,000
[CIGARETTE CARDS]. JOHNSON, Jack (1878-1946). A Pair of Rare Cigarette Cards Featuring Heavyweight Champion Jack Johnson. [New York: Mecca Cigarettes and Hassan Cork Tip Cigarettes, ca. 1910]. Cards with color portraits of Johnson on the front (two different action poses), with descriptive text on versos. Both approximately 2 ? x 3?. Some mild rubbing, Hassan card with faint creasing to upper right corner. Excellent and rare (ungraded). Johnson, nicknamed ?The Galveston Giant,? was a legendary boxer and the first African-American to claim the Heavyweight Championship. He had a total of 95 fights, with 72 wins (38 by K.O.), 11 losses, and 11 draws. He famously beat former champion James J. Jeffries (1875-1953) in the racially-charged ?Fight of the Century? in Reno, NV (Jeffries, ?The Great White Hope,? initiated the fight in order to prove the so-called superiority of the ?White Race;? Johnson beat him so badly, that even Jeffries acknowledged the prowess and power of Johnson).