Taking their hobby nickname from their gold-leaf borders, these cards were issued in a number of different cigarette brands. The cards nominally measure 1-7/16" X 2-5/8" although many cards, even though untrimmed or unaltered, measure somewhat less than those dimensions in length and/or width. American League cards feature a color lithograph of the player inside a stylizedd baseball diamond. National League cards have head and shoulder portraits and a plain background, plus the first-ever use of a facsimile autograph in a major card set. The 12 minor league players in the set feature three-quarter length portraits or action pictures in an elaborate frame of columns and other devices. Card backs of the major leaguers carry the player's full name (another first) and statistics. Card backs of the minor leaguers lack the statistics. The condition of the fragile gold leaf on the borders is an important grading consideration. The legendary Christy Mathewson was the mainstay of the Giants rotation during the early 1900's. His amazing career totals place him near the top of the ladder for that or any era. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1936, "Matty" had a 373-188 career record, with a 2.13 ERA and 79 shutouts. This card qualifies as a true rarity with only 86 PSA-graded copies and no more than twenty better than this beauty. The scan above speaks for itself.