[doug.goodman]

Here we go...

According to my Standard catalog of Baseball Cards (17th Edition, printed in 2008) the first m113 posters were released by the Baseball Magazine Company in 1910.

The players released that year were : Ty Cobb, Johnny Evers, Hughie Jennings & Honus Wagner.

However, taking a look at the ads printed in the magazine, the first poster was advertised in August 1909 issue of the magazine, and for that reason I am going to use August 1909 as the release date for the poster.

This is the earliest advertisement I could find, and based on the wording my opinion is that it is the first. I have the July 1908 issue which does not have an ad for the posters in it, and every magazine after the August issue has at least one poster ad for the next few years.

Also, the August 1909 issue is the only issue I have that announces the poster ad on the cover, so I think that is a very strong chance that my opinion is actually fact. I only have a few issues prior to July 1909, so if any of you have the issues prior to that, and have the time to check, let us know if there are any earlier ads.

The "Tyrus Cobb" poster would be the one advertised, as it's caption says "Photogravure Series No 1".

The "Ty Cobb" poster would have been released later, I'm thinking in 1910 or 1911 when they ran out of the initial printing. Both of mine measure 12 1/2 by 21 inches, slightly larger than advertised.