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Posted By: hankron

The original National Game cards were made with an essentially defunct form of commercial printing called photoengraving (aka 'releif'). With a handheld microscope, photoengraving is easily identified.

The bottom half of the below linked page has a description with large pictures of what photoengraving looks like under the microscope. Both the back and the front of the National Game cards will have the dark rim around the printed ink as descriped.

Duly note, that on the page the section I mention is titled 'RELEIF' (and follows the first section called 'LITHOGRAPHY,' lithography being a different form of printing). Releif is another name for photongraving, and you can pretty much interchange the two words if that makes it simpler.

http://cycleback.com/baseballcards/7.html