I think the OP surely recognizes that but simply asks what is the holy grail of postcard collecting?

Exactly, To say the Wagner is the holy grail of card collecting is equally as dubious given that the Wagner does not give eternal life, clearly exists and never appeared in an Indiana Jones Movie.

"I told him we already got one!"


FWIW, my vote would be for the Ruth team shot with Boston.

Yeah, those Pebble Beach cards are pretty wicked too. I've only seen one DiMaggio in person in 30+ years of collecting. I have seen two O'Douls, and got one for myself at the 2006 National in Anaheim:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...quDoul%202.jpg

Mona Lisa of postcards?

Plus, I had to reference t206 in some capacity to even get people to look at the thread.

Meh
Great thread but I don't like the choices,
Any Rose pc: No! Big green with tiny head shot. fugly. Rather have a W600 with a better photo any day of the week
Any Joe Jackson: No! If he doesn't get banned he's basically George Sisler WITHOUT the 2 batting crowns
Ruth Redsox postcard: great card but a team shot. Unfortunately the Babe doesn't have great individual pc's like Cobb
Cobb probably has the best pc's and my grails are the Seamless Steel, The Detroit Free Press Cobb that Jeff showed, The Hubel Cobb which Jeff didn't show, the American League Publishing Cobb which Jeff didn't show, and your Underwood Matty. Could add the American League pub Wagner for good measure.

The Prince thinks otherwise :cool:
not my card

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

I'd love to have that 1911 Addie Joss Day All Star Line Up Post Card if I could ever afford it.

Ricky Y

I think Jeff's HC Hubel Cobb is pretty high up there. I'll let Jeff post his copy if he chooses. This is my unlisted contribution.

Mercy

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3195/...ff2c0f8e_o.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4080/...697afb3d_o.jpg

Nice!!!

What is on Ty's suit in the small oval pic?

Duke is my first choice... Cobbzilla is a very close 2nd

Well I think the answer is a cobb postcard! Personally I like the Detroit Free press or the hc hubel...Roses do nothing for me...even the chase!

.
 

the Hubel - & Leon's Cobb w/bat - are insanely cool - 35+ years chasing BB postcards and never seen either until now (as is the case w/ others, of course)...not to downplay the Duke (it's tough but NOT impossible!) as I've owned a few in the past 10 years - plus a RP of the identical view as well as one of the Olympic Thorpe PCs - good stuff nevertheless, same with the Pebble Beach's...however, I'd definitely put the Joss and Jackson (RP) near the top of any "Holy Grail" list, IMO.

postcards
 

For Cobb, the one below would get my vote because it's the only example, is probably the best real photo postcard of him in-action, and was snapped in 1911 during his historic .420 batting average season.

For Jackson, unless I'm forgetting something the one shown below is his rarest postcard from during his professional days.

And for Ruth, there's this unique postcard showing Ruth, Gehrig, and their young admirers during the Yankees important 1927 season.

Wagner's 1908 American League Publishing Co. postcard deserves consideration on the Wagner side of the ledger because so few have surfaced and it shows his T206 image.

For minor league collectors, there's the T210 Kelly mascot postcard.

For more, visit http://www.sportingoregon.com/

Lots of nice Cobb Postcards posted, this is the one I have. Never seen another.

Joe

C.1915 RPPC Ruth
 

My favorite is this 1915 RPPC Ruth. In the pre-stripes era Red Sox uniform, with rip knee to boot!

I'm not an expert by any means (and I'm even less of an expert when it comes to post cards). But I really like the 1907-1909 Dietsche Tigers set. So, I'd pick the Cobb batting. My favorite from the set, though, is the William Coughlin.

I have a vague memory of reading in a Cobb bio that he had received some sort of foreign honor, i.e. with all the trappings of such including the bestowing of medals.

Wow. It looks like Honus just hit a bullet into an outfield gap. Great photo.

Like the Cobbzilla

OK, but that's an entirely different question from the one asked. What's the point of asking to make an analogy if it's assumed one doesn't exist? Obviously, the answers are all to a different question, such as "What's the greatest PC?," or "What's your favorite PC?" or, as you put it, "What's the holy grail of PCs?" And that's fine, I sure like looking at all these great postcards. Don't mind me for pointing out a fallacy in the question, as I said that's just me nitpicking. Please continue on.

Confused... why can't there be a Wagner (most iconic, desirable, valuable, etc) in the postcard collecting world?

Well I think what he's saying is that the Wagner is a rarity because it was a scarcely manufactured card in a larger set that for the most part was manufactured in relatively equal numbers.

So for a true "Wagner" a postcard would need to be a set rarity if we're saying apples to apples.

ah gotcha, jeez so literal.

1915 RPPC Ruth
 

I guess this is one of my favorite cards...and yes, I voted for it.

Well, the way I see it, if you ask for an answer and it doesn't exist, then you're going to get something else. When you say "The Wagner" of something, you're talking about the most iconic, of course, and I think everyone here would agree there is no one iconic PC a la the Wagner in cards. So what, then, are people voting for and putting forth candidates for? The rarest, coolest, favorite, etc, postcard? I honestly don't know, and that's what I was wondering about. But, as I said before, don't stop the fun!

One last thing, and I hope this explains what I'm trying to say. When I looked at the list, and thought about voting, I was confused about what I would be voting for. I suspect most people are voting for their favorite among the group, and that's entirely different from choosing "a Wagner." That's all.

Well my intent was to find out IF there was a particular postcard that a majority (or at least a lot) of the general collecting public (represented by net54 members) sees as the most iconic, similar to that of the t206 Wagner in the normal card world, even if not to that same extent.

I didn't want to assume that there was no postcard that stood out as being the most iconic without at least asking the question. That was the original point of the thread, and not really to find out people's personal favorites or coolest or most valuable, etc, although I enjoy hearing those results too.

I'm really not trying to be contentious here, but this would seem to fall into the category of "If you have to ask..." Whatever people are responding to, though, keep the great postcards coming!

I don't know that there is one definitive postcard, although as a group the Rose Company postcards may be the most iconic.

Is there a definitive book or guide to baseball postcards?

If there were multiple past threads debating the most iconic postcard that all ended with no clear censensus, your point might be well taken. However, I'm not aware of the conversation ever taking place, so you can't really say "If you have to ask..." about something that hasn't really been asked.

Note: If there are in fact many other threads debating this that I am unaware of, please move on to the next post.

Ha, true, but then again makes for good discussion none the less. Can only take so many t206 threads.

As folks know, some of these postcards are available in REA's current auction. So value shouldn't be a factor as the results will speak for themselves. I see rarity as key for me. That is what draws me to the 1915 RPPC with Ruth. Rare and early Ruth.

And great postcards, which I love for their variety and uniqueness. Let's see some more out of these wonderful collections, fellas!

If this is the criteria...then this be the Honus Wagner of postcard collecting!:)

One of more interesting aspects of PC collecting to me is that they were so prevalent in documenting the amateur, semi-pro, Negro League, and minor league parts of baseball, and so much else in American culture and sport. The images can be quite compelling:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...l%20batter.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...Lipset%201.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...t%20Gibson.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...0Royal%201.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...Davis%20Jr.jpg

"the Wagner" of postcards
 

I agree with others that one of the Cobb PCs would be the logical choice for the most "iconic" postcard. Unfortunately, I don't think there is one that every postcard collector simply "must have". I love postcards, and I especially love postcards depicting minor league players before they became HOF icons. Here are a few of mine, but I wouldn't consider any of these the "holy grail" of PC collecting (although I am mighty fond of the Campy):

> 1909 Dave Bancroft w/ Superior
> 1943 Roy Campanella w/ Monterrey
> 1943 Ray Dandridge w/ Veracruz
> 1914 Spokane Team w/ George Kelly & Stan Coveleski
> 1908 Little Rock Travelers Team w/ Tris Speaker
> 1909 KC Red Sox Team w/ Casey Stengel
> 1937 San Diego Padres Team w/ Ted Williams
> 1922 Martinsburg Blue Sox Team w/ Hack Wilson
> 1907 St. Mary's College w/ Harry Hooper and Hal Chase

http://photos.imageevent.com/derekgr...Bancroft_1.jpghttp://photos.imageevent.com/derekgr...Campanella.jpghttp://photos.imageevent.com/derekgr...0Dandridge.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/derekgr...%20Kelly31.jpghttp://photos.imageevent.com/derekgr...0Travelers.jpghttp://photos.imageevent.com/derekgr...0Stengel31.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/derekgr...lliams_131.jpghttp://photos.imageevent.com/derekgr...20Wilson31.jpghttp://photos.imageevent.com/derekgr...7%20Hooper.jpg

I also like these two:

> 1915 Denison Railroaders Team w/ Rogers Hornsby
> c1905 Ty Cobb w/ George Parquette (guess which one is Cobb)

http://photos.imageevent.com/derekgr...MG_0001331.jpghttp://photos.imageevent.com/derekgr...5%20Cobb_1.jpg

I also have minor league team PC's of B. McKechnie, S. Coveleski, G. Weiss, and D. Vance, among others. But the most iconic of them all you ask? Well obvioulsy, it's got to be the c1940 RPPC of the future president of the National League and HOF executive, Warren Giles:

http://photos.imageevent.com/derekgr...0s%20Giles.jpg

excluding 1920's-40's negro league postcards and the 1907 Team PC w/ Joe Jackson, the two that I would like most to add to my collection are the following:

http://photos.imageevent.com/derekgr...20-%201952.jpg http://photos.imageevent.com/derekgr...eiser%20PC.jpg

I love any and all postcard threads. Now if someone had a rppc of Ten Million by himself, that would be something.

That Campanella PC is spectacular.

Thanks Jeff - that means a lot coming from you and your incredible collection!

The Hubel is my favorite. Iconic of both Cobb and Detroit. I seem to recall a couple of other players in the series. Jeff, am I correct in my recollection?

Max

Very subtle, Max....
 

...as usual.

awesome 10! That is fantastic!

That pc is certainly the Honus Wagner of minor league postcards, in my view.

Yes: Cobb, Donovan, Willettt, Ralph Works: http://imageevent.com/bicem/hubel;js...qd3ru2.camel_s

A new entry
 

Wouldn't the Honus Wagner of Postcards be a Rose Greenfield's?
Makes sense