Posted By:
Judson HamlinI believe that the cross hairs were used to ensure that the varius color prints were aligned as the card sheets went through production.
Dave - I think that you are right about there not being artist involvement for the most part, some cards really suggest it- Shannon and Hannifan come to mind. Also, I've always thought that one could detect the hand of different engravers in the set. If you look at the backgrounds, the more intracate designs (like stadium backdrops) come in the later issues, but the 150 and 150/350's have a more refined use of shading (e.g. Lobert)