Ernie Johnson Hockey Card #28 - Proof
Imperial Tobacco - 1911

Graded "Authentic" by SGC. Never before have proof cards been seen from the early days of hockey. This card of Ernie "Moose" Johnson is one of only 17 total C55 Proofs known to exist and it documents some of the last changes made by the lithography company before the set was authorized to be commercially printed by Imperial Tobacco.

This one-of-a-kind C55 Proof possesses greater detail and clarity, particularly on Johnson’s face, jersey, and glove. The outer portions and borders of the card have similar defining characteristics as does the nameplate near the bottom, which is quite distinct. There are registration marks near two of the corners on front. Near the top of the card, the two red circles have a more continuous gradient. The text on the reverse has narrower lines and is sharper.

Seventeen different C55 Proofs have recently been discovered and are now encapsulated by SGC (Sportscard Guaranty, LLC.) and PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator). These distinct cards were created by Imperial Tobacco in Toronto in 1911 to test both the printing process as well as to further refine each card before production. To date, they are the only C55 proof cards known.

They include:

#4 Joe Malone (RC, HOF), #6 Tom Dunderdale (HOF), #13 Alex Currie, #17 Jack Darragh (HOF), #19 Don Smith, #22 Larry Gilmour, #26 Skein Ronan, #28 Ernie Johnson (HOF), #29 Jack Marshall (HOF), #30 Harry Hyland (HOF), #31 Arthur Ross (HOF), #33 Gordon Roberts (HOF), #35 Ernest Russell (HOF), #37 James Gardiner (HOF), #38 Georges Vezina (RC, HOF), #40 Rocket Power, and #45 Jack Laviolette

MORE DETAILS about this Hockey card can be learned at http://c55proofs.com/