Baseball Card Relics older than a T-Rex Discovered!

[mouschi]

I've kept this acquisition under my hat for over a year now

In 1902, the first Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton was discovered by Barnum Brown in Hell Creek, Montana. Does it shock you that it wasn't that long ago? Think of all the people who never got the chance to know about the T-Rex. George Washington, Van Gogh, Darwin, etc.

Barnum Brown is in the white shirt, next to his discovery.



Ever since, the T-Rex has been known as the king of the dinosaurs. If you ask a child what their favorite dinosaur is, they will either say a T-Rex, or lie and say something else like a Triceratops or Brontosaurus.



Could you imagine being the person to have discovered it? *Digs a bit ... "Oh, neat! I found a little...HoooOOLLLYYyYYY CRAPPPPPZZZZ WHAT IS THIS!?!?!?!?!? DRAGONS EXIST!!!!!"

Ever since then, kids and scientists alike have been trying to illustrate what a T-Rex could have looked like. Did they stand up tall? Did they have feathers? Were they multi-colored? Few things have captured my imagination like thinking about what dinosaurs were like. Hence getting goosebumps when I tried the Jurassic Park VR on our Oculus! Seriously, man ... goose ... freaking ... bumps.

Speaking of Jurassic Park, it came out when I was a kid, and instantly became my favorite movie. (It was also my first PG-13 movie!) I saw it in the theatre four times, fell in love with dinosaurs all over again ... and Lex. Mom bought me the VHS tape when it came out, and it was the greatest thing, ever. Up until that point, all I had were books from the library about dinosaurs.



SPOILER ALERT: (lol) If you didn't already know, the movie Jurassic Park was about mining for dino DNA, and being able to recreate dinosaurs.

So, what is needed to know what exactly a T-Rex truly looked like? Say it with me ...



And that, my friends, is where we begin the baseball card portion of our story. Raise your hand if you are surprised about me writing a baseball card / dinosaur cross-over article.



About a quarter of a century prior to the discovery of our favorite dinosaur, our beloved hobby's first nationally distributed photographic baseball cards were produced: Old Judge. I've heard them described as a primary building block for the collecting community - the cornerstone manifestation of baseball cards as noted on the PSA website. I think that's quite aptly described!

Oh, and yes, Old Judge baseball cards pre-dated the discovery of the T-Rex by about 25 years!

Catalogued with the designation of N172, Old Judge provided the only way for many baseball fans to see actual photographs of their favorite players. Much like the T-Rex fossils that were discovered, Old Judge cards can perhaps be considered the fossils of the baseball card hobby. It was a time before photographs could be mass produced. Instead what they would do, is they would line up photographs of players in a 24 image matrix, put a matte of borders on top of them with names, teams, copyright info, etc., take a photograph of the 24 image matrix, and chop them up into cards.

Holding one of these baseball relics demands your full attention, because you are holding Baseball history. Baseball card history. American history. They are incredible relics of the past that steal the spotlight as a conversation piece, even amongst those who don't care one bit about baseball. The typical non-baseball fan's response will be "Okay, now THAT'S cool!!!" Heck, I've had conversations with baseball enthusiasts who had absolutely no idea whatsoever that 19th century baseball cards even existed!

To those who don't know the history of Old Judge cards, one might look at one, and be instantly intrigued. Take a look at this Abner Boyce card. Study it. Seriously! Look it over. What observations can you make?



It's faded, but give it a break, will ya? The fella depicted was alive and likely coloring with crayons during the Civil War! Scratch that - crayons weren't yet invented. No one living on the planet today was even alive when this card was created. Heck, no one living on the planet today can say they've seen 19th century baseball game! This card was created closer to the birth of the United States than today's date. So yeah, it's old. It's been through a lot. To top it all off, this particular card is the only one that has been graded by PSA. (It is a 1.5, fyi ... I just photoshopped it out of its holder.)

Anyway, back to the question. What observations can you make? Here's what you might find ...

• A man with a hearty moustache by the name of Boyce
• He's a Catcher, and is catching a ball with his bare hands. (That, or is doing one of those Dragon Ball Z things)
• It appears as though he is partaking in a game of our national pastime out in the country.
• There is a fence in the background, with flowers just behind him
• Way in the back, you can almost make out what looks to be a dirt road. (Keep in mind, cars weren't yet a thing.)

Much like the T-Rex, we don't have much else to go by for this particular Old Judge issue of Abner Boyce, aside from this faded relic. We simply can't make out much detail. It leaves me wanting more. A student of baseball and its cardboard history may want to know why he was in a field, and would want to know what it felt like catching a ball without a glove. Sadly, this may be the only thing we have regarding this photograph of Boyce.

Or is it?

Much like in Jurassic Park when they found dino DNA, I found Old Judge DNA! Here's what I mean ...



What exactly is this? It is THE original glass plate negative straight from the Vermont Find from years ago! It serves as our lens into a lost world. Let's talk a bit about the Vermont Find ...

Remarkably enough, against all odds, a mere 84 original glass plate negatives were discovered years ago. I don't have many details on this find (that I can discuss publicly, that is), though I can imagine the thrill it must have been for the person who had them to see they were photographs of baseball players. Maybe a similar response to digging up the first T-Rex.

Of the 84 glass plate negatives, 63 of them were used to create Old Judge baseball cards (that we know of). For those keeping score at home, a total of 30 players were covered - about 32 adult T-Rex skeletons have been discovered. Is there a reason to call this to attention? Meh, not really - I just like me some numbers!

It is truly remarkable that these exist...truly! They are not like the printing plates of today - they weren't meant to be preserved and collected. Heck, you could probably throw a printing plate at a wall, and it won't do much to it. Sneeze on the glass plate negative? Things might get sketchy. The glass is very fragile. Over the years, they have been broken/destroyed (intentionally or unintentionally) and many were simply wiped clean to be used again for other photographs. So yeah - the very fact that 84 of them even exist is a miracle. Keep in mind the Old judge cards are about 2 1/2" tall. The glass plate negatives are about 6" tall.

Every now and then, they will pop up. In fact, I think Robert Edward Auction has a couple up for auction right now (though I'm not sure the auction will be live anymore by the time I release this article.)

When this came to auction, I immediately fell in love.

Watch what happens when you bring a scan into photoshop and invert the image ...



Magic? Witchcraft? Nope. Photoshop! I get a kick out of it every time.

The clarity and detail shown is simply amazing. Plus, it answers a lot of questions for those who may not know much about Old Judge baseball card history! Boyce is on a blanket or rug, with some sort of fake grass behind him. Behind that, is a painted backdrop! This was common practice back then. I found this on the internet that gives you a better idea of how it all went down:



Here's another ...



It is wild to think that this exact physical glass plate negative was not just used to make a real Old Judge card, but was literally right in the room with the player to have his image imprinted upon it.

Check out this craziness ... I pulled some high quality 8x10s from it, even zooming in on his body. We can study every detail up close and personal.



That's a far cry from this little 2 1/2" tall piece!



What this means is that we now have the DNA needed to create our own N172 Old Judge card.

Check it out ...





The final product ... before and after ...





Y'all, this gives me goose bumps! I've had the plates for over a year now, and just last night put this together. When I was done ... well ... let's just say I couldn't stop looking at it!



It's fun, because this isn't just a "reprint" that's been copied from online. It is an actual photograph taken from the original glass plate negative, and it's perfect. It embodies everything I love about Old Judge cards. The reason why I fell in love with this one in particular is because I'm a huge fan of interesting 19th century painted backdrops used in Old Judge cards. Many players were posed in front of a blank wall - and those are great, too, as they tell a story. But for me, a great backdrop is where it's at!

But that's not all.

(continued on the next post ...)

[mouschi]

The auction house that sold it, had the other Boyce...and I was the winner of this one, too!



Not only that, but I was able to track down the Old Judge card from Jay, one of the authors of "The Photographic Baseball Cards of Goodwin & Company" - aka the Old Judge bible. It's extra fun that my Boyce is the exact specimen shown in the Old Judge bible! (See below). To my knowledge not a single copy of this one has been graded by PSA.



Second verse, same as the first! Invert in photoshop ...



*squeals like a little girl again ... and whammo! A perfect Old Judge card, created from the original glass plate negative ...



The before and after isn't as dramatic as the first example, but still a night and day difference.



And here are the two Old Judge reproductions together!

Would you like a copy of each for your collection? They should make for a great conversation piece for both your collecting and non collecting friends alike! Send $20 shipped via paypal to tanmanbaseballfan@gmail.com / tanner-jones-93 venmo or $10 for one (just let me know which you want!)



It's shocking to me how I can pull such large high res images from them! I have a feeling we can go even larger. In fact, I was considering making a 20x24 of one of them, but I simply don't have the room...but when has that stopped me before?



I'm far from done with these - my plan is to have much more fun with them, but for now, I'm just happy to have been able to share them with you all! But stay tuned

So there you have it - original glass plate negatives from the first nationally distributed photographic baseball cards! Pieces that are older than the discovery of the T-Rex.

[BioCRN]

Wild ride of a post. Great job, all of it.

[Jay Wolt]

Love the clarity of the Boyce cards, great job!

[maniac_73]

This was an outstanding read! Will you be selling these recreated cards because I would love to purchase some!

[mouschi]

Originally Posted by maniac_73

This was an outstanding read! Will you be selling these recreated cards because I would love to purchase some!

I will! You can send $10 for one or $20 for both to tanmanbaseballfan@gmail.com (paypal)

[Bpm0014]

That was a great read!!!!

[Bigdaddy]

That is really cool. I love the creative side of the hobby - cards that never were, mixed media displays, old and new technology brought together, etc.

Thanks not only for showing the finished product, but also for the backstory.

[Casey2296]

I've been missing a good Tanner post, thank you.

[Michael B]

You could easily get a 16x20 from that negative and it would look quite nice. I have 50-60 glass plate negatives. Most are in the 4x6 range. My largest is 7x9! That one could easily make a 3' x 5' print with sharp clarity. If you are interested in making larger prints try Digital Silver Imaging in Belmont, MA. I have used them for my processing. They can take digital files and make silver gelatin prints from them. They are very good and used by quite a few pro photographers.

https://digitalsilverimaging.com/

[ChasingPaper]

What a great read that was. Thank you for this and peaking my interest even more into these relics of baseball card history.

[abothebear]

Amazing work with the photoshop inversion. Super cool.

[brianp-beme]

I suggest you buy all of these Old Judge glass plate negatives you can get a hold of and create a set of these New Judge cards...they are amazing. Impressive work!

Brian

[mouschi]

Guys, thank you all so much for the kind words. I'm very happy to hear that some folks have connected well with this!

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

That is really cool. I love the creative side of the hobby - cards that never were, mixed media displays, old and new technology brought together, etc.

Thanks not only for showing the finished product, but also for the backstory.

Thanks for reading and commenting! I know I mentioned it at the end of the article already, but I'm not done with them yet! I hope to do some other fun things with them. The problem is finding time. It would be perfection ... almost ... if every day had 72 hours in them!

Originally Posted by Casey2296

I've been missing a good Tanner post, thank you.

Thanks for reading and commenting! It has been a long time for sure. I was planning on writing something up a year ago - that's how crazy/messed up life has been.

Originally Posted by Michael B

You could easily get a 16x20 from that negative and it would look quite nice. I have 50-60 glass plate negatives. Most are in the 4x6 range. My largest is 7x9! That one could easily make a 3' x 5' print with sharp clarity. If you are interested in making larger prints try Digital Silver Imaging in Belmont, MA. I have used them for my processing. They can take digital files and make silver gelatin prints from them. They are very good and used by quite a few pro photographers.

https://digitalsilverimaging.com/

Wow, that is quite the collection! I missed out on the original 1915 Cracker Jack Walter Johnson glass plate negative - that one hurt. I was really wanting it. But yeah, I suspect I can go even larger than 16x20 with these, though I may need some photoshop help as well. If I had unlimited wall space, I'd try to do a human sized one ... hmmmm *wheels in my head start turning

Originally Posted by CardboardandCrackerjacks

What a great read that was. Thank you for this and peaking my interest even more into these relics of baseball card history.

That's one of the greatest things I can hear after someone reads what I write, thank you!

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

I suggest you buy all of these Old Judge glass plate negatives you can get a hold of and create a set of these New Judge cards...they are amazing. Impressive work!

Brian

Oh goodness, I wish I could! I love ALL of them.

[ejharrington]

Great post Tanner, I love crystal clear photography.

[Chris Counts]

I tip my cap to you, Tanner. That's the most entertaining and informative thing I've read here in a while.

[BobC]

Mouschi/Tanner,

Great stuff, love the look of those enhanced Old Judge images. The image clarity is just stunning!

Along those lines, have a serious question for you. Have you ever thought of trying to do something like this with a Magic Lantern Slide? Not exactly the same as a glass plate negative, but again, dealing with an image on glass, and not paper. So, I assume the images may still be much sharper, clearer, and undamaged, after more than 100 years than if they were all on paper. Would be really interested to see if you could do a similar zoom or expansion of Magic Lantern Slide images, and if they could look anything similar to how those OJ glass plate negative images turned out for you. If you could blow-up some of these Magic Lantern Slide images with even a somewhat similar clarity to these glass negative images, I think that could result in some great images also. Just a thought outside the box.

[BobC]

.

[1880nonsports]

thanks for that! I like the smoothness of your delivery..........

[mouschi]

Originally Posted by Chris Counts

I tip my cap to you, Tanner. That's the most entertaining and informative thing I've read here in a while.

In my book, this is a website full of heavy hitters, so I wear this comment as a badge of honor, thank you!

Originally Posted by BobC

Mouschi/Tanner,

Great stuff, love the look of those enhanced Old Judge images. The image clarity is just stunning!

Along those lines, have a serious question for you. Have you ever thought of trying to do something like this with a Magic Lantern Slide? Not exactly the same as a glass plate negative, but again, dealing with an image on glass, and not paper. So, I assume the images may still be much sharper, clearer, and undamaged, after more than 100 years than if they were all on paper. Would be really interested to see if you could do a similar zoom or expansion of Magic Lantern Slide images, and if they could look anything similar to how those OJ glass plate negative images turned out for you. If you could blow-up some of these Magic Lantern Slide images with even a somewhat similar clarity to these glass negative images, I think that could result in some great images also. Just a thought outside the box.

That's a great idea - I'd love to look into it when I have time. The problem is my creativity wants to live in a world where days at 72 hours long. I have so, so, SO many ideas ... and so, so, SO little time.

Originally Posted by 1880nonsports

thanks for that! I like the smoothness of your delivery..........

I'm glad you liked it!

[ezez420]

Great post!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[robinsonmantle]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing!

[JollyElm]

"You card creators were so preoccupied with whether or not you could, you didn't stop to think if you should!!"


Very cool stuff!!!!!!

[Eric72]

Leading candidate for post of the year. That's a statement, not a question.

Tremendous work, as always. Thank you for sharing the story and images.

[mouschi]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

"You card creators were so preoccupied with whether or not you could, you didn't stop to think if you should!!"


Very cool stuff!!!!!!

This is my favorite response so far

Originally Posted by Eric72

Leading candidate for post of the year. That's a statement, not a question.

Tremendous work, as always. Thank you for sharing the story and images.

Wait, this is!


Some folks have reached out to me to create reproduction Old Judge cards and 4x6 prints from the negatives for their collection. Here is the first round - I think they came out great! They are posed with my original cards here.

[GeoPoto]

Great stuff Tanner. I don't want to impose on your thread but thought you might be interested in the image below, which presumably was made from the original plate back around the time the cards were made, or sometime after.

The card is not mine, alas, as I have 5 different Farrell Washington OJ cards (poses), but do not yet have a card to go with "Bat at Ready, Looking at Camera".

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1681983871
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1681983876

[StraightRaceCards]

Unbelievable post!

Thank you for doing this work- truly fascinating about Old Judge and the plates.

This was one of my all time favorite posts I read on n54. Made me laugh out loud and appreciate cards all the more.

Now that you got me inspired… time to go look up my name sake Pud Galvin!

[SyrNy1960]

Tanner, amazing post! Thanks for the two cards you made for me! Your work is the best! Tony

[mouschi]

@GeoPoto by all means, post away! That is a GREAT picture. You may be interested in this also - check it out! https://net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=315005

Also, for everyone else, I have put together a video on the subject. Please be kind - I'm not the greatest at video stuff, but I'm trying!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zup6xMgrtR8

[T206Collector]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Leading candidate for post of the year.

+1

[Section103]

Bravo!

I know you dont need to be told, but I am compelled to say it anyway: please, always be a responsible steward of these glass images. They are truly invaluable, in my opinion.

Again - bravo!

[Scott L.]

That was really awesome. Thank you for posting.

[mouschi]

Originally Posted by Section103

Bravo!

I know you dont need to be told, but I am compelled to say it anyway: please, always be a responsible steward of these glass images. They are truly invaluable, in my opinion.

Again - bravo!

This reminds me of a conversation I had with my wife the other day. I told her to not get offended if she is out with our 3 year old and I feel compelled to tell her to keep an extra close eye on him. There is literally no reason for me to tell her this - it isn't because I don't trust her - heck, I trust her more than anyone else on this planet (myself included!) so I told her to please give me grace and let me say it if I need to sometimes

[oldjudge]

Great work Tanner. People like you are a real asset to the hobby.

[mouschi]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Great work Tanner. People like you are a real asset to the hobby.

Thank you Jay! Hopefully you aren't tired of me referencing you in my articles