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Among the finest early baseball advertising collectibles is this beautifully designed 1890-era cabinet card promoting Paulding, Ohio, its local businesses, and its nicely attired baseball team, the Paulding Clippers. The team’s players are identified on the card’s reverse. Visit the Unusual Baseball Postcard and Paper gallery in the website below for a closer look.

Standing out among the ads for the blacksmith, barber, and baker is one for Dr. William Flavein, provider of “BONKOCINE!!! FOR G&G.” (The right side, fourth from the top.) The capital letters and three exclamation points are warranted. “G&G” is short for gonorrhea and gleet. Gonorrhea is a venereal disease. Gleet is best left undescribed. Let’s just say Bonkocine was perfectly named and leave it at that.

Internet research dates the card to about 1890. There’s an 1891 reference to the Paulding Clippers. The firm Cullen & Richards, which advertises on the card, existed by that name until June 1, 1891. One of the listed players is H.E. Allen, and someone by that name left Paulding for Mississippi in about 1891.