1943 M.P. & Co. cards based on M114 photos
 

Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but recently I was researching on the internet and discovered the linked article below (by Net54 member Jason...again!) that provides visual proof that at least 19 of the 24 cards of this set are based on photos that can be seen in the M114 Baseball Magazine issue. I always thought they were mostly generic images (good golly they are poor pieces of artwork), but the article certainly makes me appreciate them more.

https://sabrbaseballcards.blog/2019/...ery-79-solved/

They still suffer aesthetically. Too bad others in the set weren't more like the Hubbell card, which is tolerably decent to look at.

Brian (not mine)

I like the Hubbell (and Ott) in this set the most because they feature larger images, and thus the artwork is a little more detailed, looking almost like some of the strip cards from the 1920's (the W515 set is the one the comes closest to a match in my mind).

Over time I have gotten used to and even somewhat appreciate the W515 set, so maybe some of this R302-1 set will be more to my liking in the future, when I get used to it, much like my growing appreciation of brussels sprouts over the years.

Brian (eat them...they are good for you, but only in moderation)

I have the same feelings that you have. Thanks for sharing. I think I could finally own some of these cards after reading this.

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I always like to expose less desirable sets for what they are...in this case a mostly crude attempt to depict players based upon photos.

Not even close to my favorite set, and probably in my bottom 5%, but the M114 photo connection makes them at least more interesting, and worth a follow up post to attract a few more eyes.

Make sure you check out the article link in the first post. It is quite informative.

Brian

In 1943 all the good artists were working on War Bond posters.

Fun article btw, I love that kind of research.

Also discussed in this thread :
https://www.net54baseball.com/showth...light=novikoff

Nice...missed this 2019 thread.

Brian

Thanks so much for pointing this out, Brian. I am irrationally enthusiastic about this - I'd never seen this article before, but I've been fascinated with this set since I put it together about 15 years ago or so, because I think they're the ugliest baseball cards ever made. I cannot BELIEVE that the illustrations were actually modeled after the actual players they're purported to be (in 1943).

When I built this set, I tried like anything to make it present in an attractive way, so I put them in an album, one card to a page, in front of an 8x10 photo of the player. They're still ugly. Now I feel like I need to collect the M114s and complete the set right!

Thanks for sharing this - I realize it's been online for a year, but I am not sure that I ever would've stumbled onto it.

-Al