Very early image of Walter Johnson from his time out West playing with various teams in the Los Angeles area, this a RPPC shot of the Santa Ana All-Stars, dated and each player identified by an older handwritten note card. The photo was taken Jan. 1, 1909 and was mailed April 20, 1909, from an unknown person to William "Bill" Cornett, a person of PCL note, who was around baseball on the West coast for much of the 1900's/1910's, he managed the San Bernardino club in 1915, and played for the team prior to that. Of course the real star of this postcard is the young Walter Johnson, although there are several other Minor/Major Leaguer's in the photo, notably Wild Bill Donovan, among various PCL stars such as Brashear, Mott and La Longe among others.
The image is clean, with nice contrast. The back has some paste residue and a small piece of tape, which is away from most of the text. A thorough search has not turned up another postcard of the same sitting, although the Johnson family had a team image from 1908, taken at the same location in the ballpark, with a slightly different group of players.
Early postcards of big-name HOFers continue to escalate in value, the offered RPPC of Johnson would be a key piece to any collection. The handwritten note came with the postcard when acquired by the consignor and does come with the lot.