[bbpostcards]

These reach deep into baseball postcard history. Postal cards were a predecessor to postcards and private mailing cards. The 1875 Peck & Snyder is the earliest I know of with baseball content (two illustrations and ads down the right for balls, bats, uniforms). It was printed just two years after postal card use began in the United States in 1873.

The group of six that follows it below are from 1886, pertain to the Dover, New Jersey team arranging games with other local clubs - Roseville (Newark), Morristown, Hibernia (Rockaway Township), Hackettstown, and Rutherford - and are among the earliest of their kind.

The fold-out from 1888 is especially interesting. Addressed and stamped, it advertises Boston horse-shoeing businesses The Hub Force and The Back Bay Force and includes a clever baseball themed pitch under the heading, "Play Ball!" The interior has an 1888 National League schedule in red ink at the top with all the players and their positions at the bottom. Ads along the sides state that more schedules can be obtained from either business location.