Looked a long time for a presentable example of QE2's 1952 Felix Potin.

Two different backs of the tough short printed T70 triple folder, featuring Adams, Franklin, Jefferson and more in a card version of Trumbull's painting.

That's a cool ass card. Didn't know there was a triple folder in that set. Don't think I've ever seen so much text on the back of a tobacco card.

What's the story behind that card, for us uninitiated with that set, if you don't mind...and how much bigger is it then a regular card from that set?

The story is largely a mystery. It's taller than a T202 triple folder. T70 has 25 cards that aren't the easiest but aren't really difficult (gallery is here, it's a set of great images in my opinion, heavily weighted to the Revolution: http://www.moviecard.com/gallery/tcards/t70.html). There are several backs, one of which is a physically smaller card and appears to have never produced the triple folder and so only has 24 cards.

The triple folder card here was certainly short printed. They are pretty rare to even find a separated panel from. It doesn't appear that, being triple the size of a normal card when printed, that it is 1/3 as common as a normal card just because it took up more space on the sheet. They're definitely tougher than that, I would guess they were probably printed on their own sheet to make the folding feature easier in production than mixing with non-folding normal cards. A normal card in the set is the size of one of the panels. So the card folded up could have fit just fine in a pack of cigarettes. It's unclear to me if they were ever issued in packs, or if they were distributed some other way as a kind of premium item.

It's one of those cards I really like independently from its set and wish was a super printed common, because it's a really cool and unique idea and execution. Off memory, I believe it's the only triple folder card from the ATC related sets outside of the T202 classic. I'd like a reprint for daily desk display

Thanks for the explanation. Makes me very curious how it was distributed. Chase card, or maybe even a sample given out to vendors who carried the brand.

I love this card, I have a new goal.

The totally official rules are that you must come back and post a picture of yours when you get one :D

update* I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner, I do have this one to show off - I know it's not much of a looker, but until I happen on a nicer one...

Ha, perfect! I don’t think mine is any better. I love this set, any of its 3 renditions. I’ve got one card to go for the 1956 issue, been picking up a lot of the 52’s lately when I see ‘em for a buck or so. Really wish Topps would do a Heritage style history set in this design and ‘bring it back’.

McClellan might have been outmatched by Lee, but he also has a cool Goodwin card. This is the Red Magician parallel, serial numbered out of 14 copies. Need the other 7 now.

Historical figure, and legendary badass:

Historic Autographs has some pretty cool base sets of history cards that are available cheaply.

Stollwercks German Composers

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...posers%201.jpg
https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...posers%202.jpg

A board member sent me not one, but TWO Monet cards as a Christmas gift... He has refused payment for these, and I am absolutely blown away.

Thank you so much, Scott!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FkdiKCiW...pg&name=medium

Now you need Renoir.

For purists who want first cards, even if not the greatest issue, the 1991 Face to Face game is a gold mine..

Just picked this one up for my E6 set, with the more common ad back.

Perhaps an unlikely place to find the first card of the famous newsman.

Three more and I'll have Seven Gables. Oh never mind.

anyone have some da Vinci for me before the 1952 Topps set?

A Christmas Miracle
 

Fun story with these. So, I won the full 1937 Coronation set on September 10th. The seller shipped within a couple of days from Australia. Weeks go by and the cards never show up, until November 16th when the seller contacts me to tell me the cards came back to him. After verifying my address, he sends them back out. After a few weeks go by I give up hope of getting the cards for the 2nd time and decide that if they end up with the seller again, I will tell him to relist them. On December 23rd the cards finally arrived, a Christmas miracle.

Bought a full tan back set at a show today after my main local dealer offered me a happy price. Mao is the funniest card in the set, the depiction is so over the top it's hard to take serious. I'm not even sure what the red ape holding Aladdin's sword has to do with the propaganda of Mao here. It's a pretty popular card, probably for the absurdity of it. Usually only beaters go under $50. The yellow lines are regularly recurring in those two spots.

Mao is a similar color to the Wicked Witch, yes? I think the animal is just symbolic of violence and bloody aggression, but I dunno. As you say, an absurd card.

Eisenhower is a little less absurd, with the propaganda restricted to the background, where the threat of a red world from the communist takeover is literally depicted. Makes more sense than arab-sword wielding apes.

MacArthur is a normal card on the front. I love the backs, with state propaganda boiled down to a very young target audience. "The United Nations pitched in to help the South Koreans, like your dad would help the folks next door if some bad men were beating them up."

Well, there is that burning tank.

Seems like a normal background picture to have for a General in the era of the tank, picturing a battle scene.

In full dress uniform, a few feet away, casually giving a salute?

Battle scenes as backdrops for portraits of generals have been used many times. Many, many cards use the portrait + image related to what they are famous for in the background format. Look N See, T68, T118, on and on and on and on. This isn’t an unusual or unique type of card. That’s all I said.

I could say the sky is blue and someone would try to argue it here lol.

Here's a MacArthur with a different sort of background.

N76 Duke Sons & Co Great Americans
 

Just begun dabbling in non-sports cards and these were my first two pickups.

At last, a Brando "rookie"

Here’s a pre-1900 da Vinci from the German Stollwerck ser, along with Michaelangelo.

(Oh, and sorry for bidding you up on the Brando, Peter)

History T cards are a lot cheaper than athletes. These are T175's, cut from the packaging of the cigarettes in between the 2 great tobacco card periods. Fitzhugh Lee was the nephew of R.E. Lee, and lived a fascinating life in his own right. Lodge was one of the more significant figures in the senate for decades. Sampson and Schley appeared in T68, and Schley in T118 as an arctic explorer for his relief expeditions as well. Admiral Schlei of the baseball issues received his nickname from this Schley. Chang is a clue that the "Heroes of the Spanish War" title this set goes by today is not exactly correct. Some of the subjects seem to be from the Boxer Rebellion. Some of the cards have commas after their names, but no subsequent title listed. Oops.

Since the thread began with Einstein I’ll add his 1939 Palestinian issue. Part of a complete “History of the Jewish People” set.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...3a49f9100f.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...8968be87d3.jpg

French postcard of Bob Dylan from the 60s, as the image is the same as his known "rookie" cards from 1965, I would guess this is from 65 as well.

Debatable whether this is a "card" I suppose, it's an educational flash card, but I believe this is the first US issue of JFK, from 1962.

Ed-U Cards had a boxed set of Kennedy cards in 1961.

Will I be able to find one do you think?

Not too rare. There are a few on ebay in the $50-60 range.

we get them from time to time. Our next non-sport is in June.

https://thecollectorconnection.com/b...x?itemid=21970

This says 1964 not 1961?

I bought a set with the box on eBay for like $20 a few years ago. I see them labelled as 1961 and 1964 frequently. The cards in my box could not possibly be from 1961 as they contain photographs from long after that.

Thanks. I'm going with the Geddes Witmer as his first "card" still, other than the 1961 Chocolates Simon I posted a while ago.

Pulled fresh from a box.

I've wanted this for a long time, Meryl's "rookie" which is part of a two card 1980 Telepop thing.

"That Meryl Streep is such a phony baloney"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueL6amOwCwo

New card I got in a lot I bought for another set in it. Kit Carson, from the E50 Dockman Wild West Gum series, who lived one of the more interesting lives in American history. I like the artwork, even if its fairly simple, a lot more than the similar American Caramel issue of the period.

Rare 1954 Sir Edmund Hillary.

I know I am playing fast and loose by including this recent pick up in a thread of "great historical figures," but I really like this pick up in a card format of the iconic Bob Jackson photo of Lee Harvey Oswald being killed while handcuffed to James Leavelle.

I am not much of an autograph guy, but this is one of America's most famous images. I am a JFK assassination buff, and there are really not any LHO card options other than a few modern cards that can be had for $1-2.

Leavelle was an extremely willing through the mail signer for decades, but it is not often you see his autograph without a personalization. I will say I have always found it at least somewhat odd how receptive both Leavelle and Secret Service agent Clint Hill have been to sign anything related to the assassinations of both Kennedy and Oswald.

What set is this card from? Love the 50’s Topps styling

It is a custom card that I bought off eBay already slabbed. The back is blank. I thought the design was neat myself.

Thank you; I really like it. I was hoping this is was from a full set I could go pick up. Looks like a slightly modernized Topps Scoops card.

2005 phone card of women's chess champion and probably GOAT, Judith Polgar.

Nice card, Peter. Here’s something similar, some sort of Spanish issue I think.

Never seen these 1979 CBS playing cards before.

Happy to get this back from SGC. Early Mark Twain.

Small pickup for my Look N See set. The back is about the surrender of Lee and makes no mention of his presidency, even though Grant is in the Presidents subset instead of being included as a General. He was better at the later than the former.

The great Caruso.

An obscure tenor with very few cards.

She was astonishingly young when she became the first woman in space. And she remains the only woman who made a solo flight. She's still among us at 86.

I believe she's still active today, and currently has a seat in the Duma.

It took the Americans until 1983 to put a woman in space.

Another card from the 1988 set of 40 women, plus another great American soprano.

Picked up a full set from my dealer at a local show this weekend (he knows what I want before I do!). I had ~50 or so of the cards sitting around, think I want to build it with both backs now. A bit less extreme version of Red Menace. The set clearly isn't a 1950 issue reading the backs. No Soviet or Korean leaders appear but several US Generals do. Marshall was Secretary of Defense at this time. Marshall doesn't have many cards, R18, War Gum, Look N See and this Freedoms War is about it for vintage.

...

A great American.

Another QE2

Very rare blank back cards from T68. The Nero is the personal catch for me, as I grew up with Tacitus.

I bought 2 boxes of Bar's Pieces of the Past Super Premium Whatever edition. Each box has a 1/1 card and a relic. Each of the base subjects comes in a few different colors to produce enough 1/1's to have more than 107 boxes. You can get them for like $35-$40, so I spun the wheel and tried it.

First box on the left, a win. JFK 1/1 and the relic is from the real Messrs. Smith & Wesson, so perfect for my interests. Who knows what the relic item is from, probably a random newspaper clipping or letterhead. Not a fan of these relics, but I understand the hobby expectation of relics in modern and the difficulty in doing 'true' relics of old-time history figures without a massive budget and resulting huge cost of a box.

2nd box is a dud, this Hamilton is fugly. Hopefully I can trade it for a Sullivan or Jeffries boxing card from the set. The Seabiscuit relic is a piece from a horse saddle, kind of cool in an odd way. I support history cards and creativity

2 of the 4 plates of the most popular general of late 1861 and early 1862. Highly controversial performance in his time, Lee considered him his greatest adversary and sung his praises. Few others did as time went on.

Recent add of Teddy Roosevelt.

4 great men of history additions for my cheapo set build. One of the best history sets

$13.55 for a 1/1 of a founding father. This is the first card of John Hancock I have, I think.

Got a couple fun things back from SGC. Particularly like the 1967 space cards with Neil Armstrong.

The 'historical' part is debatable, but definitely a great figure.

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...ize/Newmar.jpg

Here are 1949 Bowman Wild West cards of Buffalo Bill and Chief Joseph. I love the artwork!

The definitive Catwoman.

2 more cabinet cards I recently picked up of Wilhelm I from the end of his life. There is little interest in German history before the World War's and cabinets were quite popular in Germany, so there is not much demand and quite a supply of a large number of different images. Considering his great historical significance, I think he is one of the best bargains in cabinet cards. The one on the left cost me a whopping $1.25.

I only know a bit of German but I believe the caption reads

Our Emperor
In the 90th year of life
[Berlin photographer] Copyright 1886.

The card itself is presumably from 1887, using the 1886 photograph, to be for his 90th year of life.

The black card bears an 1888 tag in the photo, but there is a stamp on the bottom right corner that seems to bear a copyright for 1889 and a word above that is just too faintly pressed into the card to make out.

Decades before his magnum opuses.

What set is this? The Ten Commandments is probably my favorite movie but I’ve never thought to get a DeMille card before.