Posted By:
Frank WakefieldThis last half of my life I've been doing a better job of learning from my mistakes. I think one day you'll think of this purchase as a mistake. And a $25 lesson is an affordable one... if you learn from it.
Spalding issued several books each year about sports. For baseball, among others, were their Guides (kinda greenish yellow) and their Records (red). The guides seem to have more photos, the records more stats, for most of the leagues, major and minor. I'm partial to the Records, the Guides seem slightly more popular.
For $25 to $45 you could buy a 1908 Guide without its cover, in rough shape. The page with that Giants photo would have been ok. I'd suggest you buy a guide, either on eBay or ABE books or Alibris, or from some card or book dealer. Then you'll see what they are. They're helpful if you try to read up on what players were doing way back when. Looking at a 1908 guide would help you understand why some cards are in T206, and why some players lack cards...
So in a way, this could eventually be $25 well spent... for what you'll learn, not for that Giants picture.