Quote:
Originally Posted by Metsfan0507
To me, it's my T206 cards. When i look at them I'm not so much thinking about the players that are pictured, but I think about the previous owners of the cards.
What was their life like in 1909? Were they a little kid begging adults for cards outside the newspaper shop, or were they an adult buying the cigarettes for themselves? Did they live in a city or a more rural setting?
Had the owners ever gone to an mlb game themselves when they were collecting? did they live near a team, could they afford to go? or did they follow the sport through the newspaper and radio?
How did these little pieces of paper survive all this time- did the previous owners keep them in a shoebox? glue them into an album? display them? how did they get passed through the generations while they were basically worthless? did the middle generations appreciate them, or were they a burden inherited from grandpa?
I'll never know the answer to any of these questions, but it is fun to speculate.
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Ah... fellow Mets fan! I 100% agree. This is why I don't care so much about 'who' is on old cards strictly speaking and look more for printer marks, wear, or other distinguishing signatures that speak to that kind of accumulated history you're talking about.
One of my favorite cards is a T206 Addie Joss with tape marks and a ton of creases but is deeply, deeply worn. It almost looks like an entirely different card but it glows with a different aura than anything else. Can't be replicated, precisely because it acquired another density as an artifact through time an engagement. And of course Joss' impact on baseball history can't be overstated. Addie Joss day is one of the most important events in baseball history IMO.
There are multiple ways to look at cards or other aspects of baseball history; it sounds to me like we look at them similarly. As historical artifacts; something that remains from a time long gone. It's easy sometimes to get distracted by images and forget the multidimensional backgrounds like you are discussing.
Thanks for sharing this insight!! LFGM!!!!