What is the best pre war design?
 

Without the aid of foil, refractor material, Photoshop, etc. Many cards from the late 1800s and early 1900s are just flat out gorgeous. What card type is your favorite, and why?

T205's are works of art. Beautiful colors, delecate gold borders, artistic frames on the minor league cards, 1st cards to have stats & bios. They simply have it all

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There's some really cool pre-war designs out there! Here's my favorites:

-1914-15 Cracker Jack... absolutely stunning cards.

-1934-36 Diamond Stars - Pieces of Art! (my only one is here: http://imgur.com/a/H8uyJ , file too large to attach )

-Zeenuts, 1912 Homerun Kisses, D310's and 1911 Big Eaters - Really cool cards, they have a nice, simple design with a focus on the players. Zeenuts are extra awesome from 1911-1923, the years after that IMO aren't as nice.

-Owen

N162 Goodwin Champions

T3 Turkey Reds

+1

T204 - The cards exude class and contain real pics of the players.

Allen & Ginter N28

http://cconnect.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-...othy-Keefe.jpg

For me it is easily the T210 cards. That beautiful red border with the BW picture are simply awesome.

Not a fan of cartoon looking cards so a lot of the T206, T205, etc cards fall into that category for me but some of the portraits are pretty well done.

I prefer real photos and high detail lithography. N162, some of the T3 cards (there are a few ugly T3's as well... Burns, Gibson, Smith, & the Schmidt pose always kinda bugged me), Old Judge Cabinets (if the pose is a good one), N28, and 1911 Zeenuts are some of my favorites.

My new favorite board member!

I'd say 1941 Play Ball and Buchner Gold Coins are my next two.

+1 - probably between these and N162s for me.

a few
 

a few favorites::::in no particular order---
D311
M116
N173
N300
T3
T204
T210
T211
T212
W600

T3 turkey reds.
Colors, size, backgrounds, beautiful cards.

I like cards whose design is evocative of the era in which they were made. The 1935 Diamond Stars get points from me for their sort of art deco aesthetic.

Not pre-war, but 1949 Leaf is probably my favorite set of all. Little bits of pop art on baseball cards (these ones are actually a bit ahead of their time, aesthetically speaking).

Another favorite, albeit for different reasons, are the Exhibits. I like the action photographs that have the background airbrushed out. They are sort of like idealized images of these guys, baseball and nothing else.

N162's are truly a work of art. I also believe the diamond stars are extremely appealing.

I would also give props to T205 for the design, the gold borders, and for being one of the first card issues to have stats on the back.

Another prewar design that I find striking is the one found on N43. Related to the design on N28's and N29's, it's like taking one of those cards and placing it on a tastefully designed lithographic background.

The N43 Buck Ewing has always been a favorite card, and, although I don't own any, I've always liked the similar N36 set which featured American Indians...

http://i.imgur.com/OaB9co8.jpg

Easy selection for me. To have virtually every star of the day portrayed via a Horner portrait is pretty special. 12 players for each of the 16 teams are included in the set. Here are a couple of outstanding examples.

My picky design faves
 

Here is my list of favorite vintage bb card designs:

N162 Goodwin Champions - check out Ted's set he has posted on various occasions...it is tough to top the design and artistry. The Kelly is one of my all time favorites.

T212 Obak - 1910 and 1911 issues. Some collectors like the typically more muted 1909 set, but I have always been drawn to the blaze of colors that are present in many of the backgrounds of the two later issues.

T3 - I don't collect bigger cards, but the artwork of some of these cards is improved by the bigger size of this issue, which gives it a huge advantage over the normal sized small issues of the era.

W503 - Simple design that has the benefit of incredibly sharp photos. I especially like some of the action shots.

R327 Diamond Stars - the first set I ever attempted to complete because the art deco backgrounds just drew me into trying to collect them all. I am still short a few, because I never saw the need to collect the last 12 duplicated artwork cards.


Brian (only some of these good bad boys are mine)

Great looking cards by all. My favorite, or at least one of them :), has always and will always be T205. These are from my last collection. How can you have a better looking vintage card I really don't know.

http://luckeycards.com/pt205cobbbrownjohnson3x.jpg

N162
T205
T206
1933 Goudey
1941 Play Ball

It's hard to beat the Turkey Reds or the Cracker Jacks.

t205 are works of art that just can't be correctly emulated by mass producers of cards now. When reprints or emulated sets (such as topps 205) can't match the beauty of the original that is impressive to me.

The Allen and Ginters are a great set. It shows the popularity of the design when modern collectors have been collecting Topps' modern variation for 11 years now.

Cracker Jack and T3's are phenomenal.

1909 E90-1 is VASTLY underrated. I love the background colors/scenery in this set.
http://caimages.collectors.com/psace...8_945x1599.jpg

Best issue
 

Here's another vote for the T205s. Always liked the NL version better.

I think from pure aesthetics, I gotta go with N162 (wish the baseball set was bigger)
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... but from the cool and unique category, I love the triple folders. There's so much great stuff going on, including multi player cards (many ideal matches like Speaker/Wood or dual HOFer), nice color portraits, great actual (not just posed) action shots, and the great period write ups.
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T204 Ramly

I think E97's are underappreciated:

I like the T202 triple folders. You get the brilliance of the T205s on the end panels, alongside a beautiful in-action photograph in the middle.

The T3s are in a category of their own and I love them.

The T201 double folders don`t get as much respect owing to the simplistic artwork, but I find them very visually appealing too. The background imagery - mostly simple fences and grandstands - is pretty neat.

And the 1935 Diamond Stars are my favorite 1930s set, the art-deco style artwork is just perfect for evoking that era.

Cabanas
 

What about these

Do you actually like the design of these? They seem rather crudely done, but each to his own.

I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be posting those Cabanas if he didn't think they looked good. I like them a lot. Definitely not crude to me.

My other submissions would be the 1913 Zeenuts, because sepia and baseball cards are a match made in heaven. And also the D381 Fleischmann Bakery series, because I'd argue there's no set that did a better job of capturing the personalities of the players like this set. The photography seems way ahead of its time

1933 DeLong and it's not even really close in my opinion.

1909 E90-1 is VASTLY underrated. I love the background colors/scenery in this set.

................. yup .................... :)


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I have to say I love the T4 Obak, but right up there is the T211 and D310. Oh, and who can forget the E222?

Not mine any longer but what a portrait!!

http://luckeycards.com/pd381wagner.jpg

Totally. They (the human race) just don't make faces like that anymore

I fell in love with this recently, and I paid the most I've ever paid for a card for it. 1910 Tip Top Bread. They only did the world champions team from 1909---the Pittsburgh Pirates The design in the background, even after a hundred years, gives a shimmer to the card.http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...d0942d0f54.jpg

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I gotta go with T202...it combines action with portraits...the beauty of the colorful t205 with a black and white action photo in the middle. Bio on the back...it's got it all!!!

I really only like the National League portraits in T205. The American League cards with the frames is just too busy.

I used to be a big fan of T205's but not so much now for some reason. Like some others have said, I always liked the National League cards better.

T202s are kind of awkward shaped though. Otherwise, I agree, great cards...

I like the simple elegance of the t206 portraits and the use of color in T3's and the E145's. Nothing fancy for me, just a classic look.

1937 Wheaties Series 9

Attachment 248030

and my favorite, although I could only find an incomplete card of it- Carl Hubbell...
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My favorite pre-war sets in no particular order:

N173
N172
T204
T200
T222
1933 Tattoo Orbit
1933 DeLong

The 1920's are frequently overlooked as far as design is concerned:


E120 is simple but elegant.

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This.

W573 as well