My "History of Baseball Cards" update. What's next?
 

A few weeks back I posted my project to assemble a type collection displaying the history and vagaries if baseball cards prior to World War 1.
I asked for, and got, some great ideas for new additions. I've added four new cards and I'm looking for more suggestions. I want cards that tell something interesting about the hobby.

Here are the four new additions and why

1888 Scrapps Tobacco - now that we know these are actually H.D. Smith, they were the first cards issued with gum

1893 Talk Of The Diamond - shows the high interest in baseball as well as the humor of the times

1912 C46 - among the first international baseball cards showing the growth of the sport

1918 Zeenut - the only cards issued during the height of World War 1

What should I add next? I want interesting stories behind the cards.

Thanks for posting these pics and letting us enjoy your collection. Those are fun to look at.

I had suggested the M101-2 Sporting News Supplements in your earlier thread. I know you're looking for just pre-1920 issues, and those are something you don't seem to have in the collection yet. There were other periodicals, like the Boston Herald, that also issued inserted premiums/supplements like these M101-2s as well, so these supplements are not entirely unique, but definitely another type of collectible from the time period you're interested in. The M101-2 Sporting New Supplements just happen to be one of the largest and most prominent such sets from this particular era. Plus the photographic images and variety of players, owners, managers, teams, and even umpires, included in it are second to none. There have been past threads on here about them, go check them out for yourself.

They'd be a lot more reasonable price-wise than going for an M101-1 or a National Copper type supplement, and with the variety of in-action and other poses, would be a great replacement for those two modern pictures hanging on the wall right behind your pre-war collection. Nothing wrong with either of the two faux bubblegum wrapper pictures/prints you have on the wall now, but they honestly do not go with the great pre-1920 theme. Good luck.

I really like that idea. I don't have much more horizontal space left, so going to the wall makes sense.

I don't see many of those available on the bay right now. I'd be a bit worried about authenticity if they're not graded, but graded ones won't work well on the wall unless I crack them (which I'm willing to do for low grade). I'll post over at BST and see what's out there.

Maybe a supplement or cabinet card or two could do the trick. Other ideas?

I've never really seen someone fake these M101-2s, unless they are stupid enough to just make a copy of them on a copy machine. If you see one in person it is pretty easy to tell if it is real, and old. Most of the ones out there are going to be raw, as they really don't get faked, and they are large, so a lot of people don't really like getting such large things in slabs. Plus, PSA apparently hasn't always graded them, and only started grading them maybe a couple years or so ago.

They are on thin paper, and therefore fragile, but for presentation purposes you want to try to make sure you get one without any folds or creases, and hopefully no tears or rips on any of the edges. There are a ton of great poses.

There are always some on Ebay, but a majority of them are way overpriced. You should get some hits from your BST post, but if no one on here has something right now, look for common player M101-2 supplements on Ebay at $100 and less. There were some recent posts and talk on the forum about some of the very first PSA graded M101-2s going for ridiculous prices in an auction last year. They were of several of the superstars from the set, including Joe Jackson, and were only getting grades of like 1 or 1.5, which is ridiculous for the prices they got. That is why you'll see a BVG graded 7.5 Ty Cobb M101-2 sitting on Ebay for $75K. Someone actually paid around $8K for a PSA 1 Cobb M101-2 in that auction I mentioned. Based on that you would think the BVG 7.5 would be reasonably priced, if not even a possible bargain. But no serious collector in their right mind will pay that much for one. There are so many much better condition ungraded M101-2s out there than those PSA ones that were auctioned, in collector's hands, that it isn't funny. So don't overpay. Just look for an image you like. Good luck.