Iconic PreWar cards I love to HATE
 

There are certain cards that are so unappealing to me that I can't bring myself to own one. I see them posted, offered in major auctions and I instantly move on. There are certainly a lot of ugly cards out there, but some are actually coveted by collectors. Sorry, but I'm not spending good cash for a card i don't like, no matter how iconic. I know...to each his own and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. All in good fun....you take these cards, I'll move on:

1)1909 E90-1 Joe Jackson Wanna last longer during sex? Try putting one of
these dogs on the bedside table to take your mind
off things!! The only reason people own this card
....is to tell other people they own the card. Now
take a hard look then list it on Ebay with all the
others.
2)1952 US Caramel Babe Ruth " Look fellas my hat is 3 sizes too small"
I love this set, but the Ruth is awful.
Babe Nerd....there i said it!
3)1909 E91 Christy Mathewson I'm a Mathewson collector and refuse to
acknowledge this card. Comic picture of
someone with zero resemblance of the man.
At least my crummy strip cards try to look
like the player. I don't get it and always pass!
4)1933 DeLong Lou Gehrig Ugly card. Cartoon background with bizarre image
of Gehrig batting. I think the top and bottom of him
are from two different images. I tried to do this
batting swing/pose and pulled something in my
low back. Ill take the 33 Goudey thank you
5)1938 Goudey Heads Up Joe DiMaggio The person responsible for this set was
fired the next day,right??.....Right???

I know many will disagree. Ugliness IS in the eye of the beholder

I've always thought the Joe Jackson Cracker Jacks looked weird. The guy on the front of that card doesn't scare me one bit. He should look tougher.

Any and all T206's:D

Funny David...I totally agree with your #1...JJ e90-1 is attrocious!!!!!

I'm not a big fan of any of Ruth's caramel cards either. The one with the bird? That crappy picture of him with the baseball? I do love the montage one though.

Agree with 4 of the 5 mentioned but I think the US Caramel Ruth is a great card.

I would add Johnson hands at chest which looks nothing like him, CJ Jackson for same reason, E90-1 Mathewson for same reason, N28 Anson for same reason.

While "hate" is a strong word... a card I used to like a lot, that I now can only stare at in a quizzical way...is the T-3 Turkey Red Ty Cobb

Is it just me or is his head way too small proportionally to the rest of him?

agree on the jackson.

M101-4/5 Ruth. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: clown with a badly broken leg.

Nice idea on a thread topic...

I think the e90 Jax is just ugly as all hell...

The t3 Cobb does seem to have a tiny head...kinda thought that was just me but I am glad someone else sees it...

Irv Cy Young

Would it really have been that hard to put the correct Young on these cards?

http://caimages.collectors.com/psaim...Youngfront.jpg

I'm so used to seeing images from certain pre-war cards that it takes friends of mine outside of the hobby to point out how aesthetically displeasing or goofy they look.
I had a T3 Mathewson I was proud of that was seen as being effeminate by some people who saw it for the first time. They pointed out that Matty looked to be consciously posing for the camera, "Vogueing" with his hair pulled down from the front of his hat in an effort to "look pretty". I think of this now every time I see one or even the t206 poses with his hat pulled back. "Hey Matty, its picture day. Go get yourself pretty for the camera, people are gonna see this."

GB

That matty was sure a dandy...

All cartoony cards that don't look like the player. Too many to list.

Yes... and No...
 

I agree with you on #1 & #3, but I like the fact that the Delong Lou is different from most cards as well as the 38 Joe D, and I really like the US Caramel Ruth as it is a nice face image and to me looks way nicer than Goudey Ruths, and more scarce.

I was always under the impression that that was Cy? I know the e97 pose is Irv?

Regardless I've never liked that pose of Cy...or Irv...or whomever it is!

Pete, here's a thread that discussed this a few years ago: http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=124640

Here's a portion of the image reversed to match the E105/E92/etc.
Attachment 174301

T206 Speaker. It looks bland and cartoonish to me. I need one for my T206 collection but I've not purchased it just because I don't like the look of it.

I think his shirt has heavy starch, making it bow out, and therefore we have a tiny head Cobb. Never noticed it before....I still think it's a neat card though...

My all time favorite to dislike is E90-1 Jackson. To me it's just butt ugly. But I know many cards I think are beautiful, others think are even more butt ugly than I think the Jax is. :)

thanks daryl

I agree on the cartoonish Joe D but respectfully couldn't disagree more on the Shoeless and the Ruth. But as said in the top post, different strokes, etc.

Personally, I love the e90-1 Jackson; I think the pose, leaning on the bat, is very cool, very dapper. I also love the regal, purple background.

I also am a huge fan of the US Caramel Ruth; he looks like a rumpled, lovable bulldog and the crooked hat, to me, is a touch of style and flavor.

I always give the DeLong props because of its unique design and color, though it's a distant choice for me to other Gehrig issues.

Love the thread topic, it's so true! I agree on the OPs first 4, especially the E90-1s. There is so much I'd prefer do with my money than buy that Jackson, especially when his lips are so often up in his nose, and I've avoided that Matty for years. I have a pretty nice Matty collection, full of many T's and E's, but can't pull the trigger on that E90-1 because it looks nothing like him. I laughed at the other post talking about Matty "vogueing" for the camera.. It's so true now that I think about it, but it did make for good looking cards. E90-1 missed the boat on that.

My other pet peaves are the Cy Young cards as mentioned. I won't touch E98 due to its being Irv, and the E90-1 (Cleveland) whether Irv or not, looks nothing like Cy, or even a human. His E93 batting pose bugs me too.. Even on his relatively nice cards, Cy definitely could have used some more Matty style "vogueing" since he pretty much always looks like a schlub (T205, T206 glove showing, etc). Thank God American Caramel also made the portrait of Cy in Boston uniform... His T3 and D304 very solid too.

E90-1 Jax for me too.
I'm all for a regal purple background (love the '33G Gehringer) but the fact he is wearing lipstick, has no nose and bears little resemblance to himself curbs my enthusiasm.

Maybe not the iconic...of the iconic...but I've never cared for the following cards:

e90-1 young cleveland...looks like a penguin with those lips!

e95 matty

e102 look Cobb amongst other issues...too cartoony and way too much background...cobb is little!

T206 young throwing...or whatever he's doing and glove shows pose...both...Uuuuuuuggggllllyyyyyy!

On the Cobb T3... the artist made the head slightly smaller to give the effect that ol' Ty is leaning back, waiting for the pitch, that's all. Sheesh! ;)

I've never cared for the T206 Cy Young portrait. Reminds me of Bobby Hill. I'd photoshop Bobby onto the card, but I'm tired.

I've got your back, Chuck. :p

http://imageshack.com/a/img673/48/GIIzYR.png

Nice teamwork there guys. Good stuff.