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E, DanielJust because a sports related item has appeal, you don't automatically catagorize it to be something its not. I understand the temptation, but truthfully I believe it sells the item's actual identity and association short.....ie. "what, is the item too good to be merely memorabillia of an alternate category simply because a baseball player adorns it?"
Postcards aren't baseball cards, at the closest they're baseball ephemera. Their primary intent was as a vehicle to send a message to someone that could be read and enjoyed. Giving it artistic quality or interest value simply was meant as a way to differentiate the company and sell more postcards, not for the benefit of collectors - of whom there were some no doubt, but who were collectors first and would have collected anything they had interest in. I don't believe for a minute the printing companies produced postcards with the collector of the time in mind and for the purpose of creating an ongoing series of interest that could be traded and enjoyed and would have material value based on limited production and far greater collector demand. Supposing otherwise is really a wishful daydream by todays collectors to justify their current position on this topic - I believe. I also believe most postcards with sports themes (especially baseball) have really only been 'discovered' in recent times because of their jump in value, and were kept originally by the owners because of the message on the back - not the picture on the front. It is today's collector who has turned the vast majority of such postcards into 'baseball cards'. Rose company blurr the distinction because of the beauty and full color rendition, but one great example does not a category make.
Pins aren't baseball cards, because of the piece of metal on the back called a pin. They are in fact universally called pins. That's exactly what they are and could be included with baseball or sports related memorabillia.
Leathers and pennants are memorabillia, some sports related and others differently adorned. But cards they are not.
Exhibits are baseball cards. They are made of card stock and produced purely for the collector of the time to purchase and keep or trade.
Premiums - which are really just photos, and photographs aren't cards. The second you see one it is obvious that the intent was photographic and artistic in nature, not advertising, not trading, not the formation of teams and players to checklist and collect, but an example of rewarding its circulation with a novelty item - in this case an attractive picture, that is more accurately labelled mass produced art.
Zeenuts, they're cards.
Candy box cut outs, cards.
And I've definitely written too much, so I'll stop.
Daniel