1929 New Yorker article on card collecting in the 1880s

[trdcrdkid]

In addition to collecting baseball cards, I'm interested in the history of the hobby, and I've amassed a pretty decent collection of old hobby publications dating back to the 1950s. Among the convention programs I have is one from the 1974 Baseball Nostalgia Expo, run by the Chicagoland Collectors Association. Among the several articles reproduced in this program is one by Arthur H. Folwell from the May 4, 1929 issue of The New Yorker, called "A New York Childhood: Cigarette Pictures", in which the author reminisces about collecting tobacco cards, including Old Judges and Buchner Gold Coin ballplayers, as a child in the late 1880s. It's illustrated with pictures of Old Judges, N28s, an N284, an N162, an N300, and an N690, though I'm not certain whether all of these illustrations are from the original article or whether some were added for the program. Anyway, I scanned the article and thought people would be interested in seeing it. I did a search of the archives here and see that this article was mentioned back in 2007 by someone who e-mailed Leon a copy, but I don't think it has been posted.

[MVSNYC]

Now, THAT, is really cool! Thanks for sharing.

[Vintagecatcher]

David,

Thanks for sharing this fabulous article!

Patrick

[Jay Wolt]

David, good stuff, thanks for posting

[Kawika]

What a terrific article! Really takes you back to another world.
I looked up the original article at the New Yorker archives. Just as you suspected the baseball cards were added in after the fact. Only the A&G Glasscock on the first page was in the original. The Caruthers was actually a card of "Black Eye - Blackfeet Sioux" and the cards on the bottom were all non-sports types. On the other three pages rather than cards there were your typical New Yorker cartoons in the spaces. All the same a delight to read. Thanks for posting.

[Hot Springs Bathers]

Thanks for sharing David, I think all of us enjoy reading these stories!

[brianp-beme]

Great article...thanks for posting.

In the article the author alludes to his belief that the Brooklyn Old Judge cards with the bleachers in the background were not actually taken outside, but instead that the bleachers were a part of a painted backdrop. Has anyone else heard of this assertion before...I always thought the bleachers looked real (and made them some of the more special Old Judge cards).

Brian

[sayhey24]

Great read. To put it in a time perspective, this would be the same as someone today writing about collecting 1975 Topps, Hostess and Kellogg's cards.

Greg

[Huysmans]

Amazing article! Its very interesting that the author was concerned with the condition of his cards, and was against "shooting" them. I wish he would've elaborated on where his "thousands" of cards ended up.

[barrysloate]

He even mentioned one could send in coupons and receive a cabinet card of a favorite player. Fantastic article!

[trdcrdkid]

I looked up Arthur H. Folwell in the 1900 census and found that he was born in November 1877, so he would have been nine years old when the first Old Judges came out in 1887, the same age I was when I started collecting baseball cards.

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSN8-8J7

[ullmandds]

great article...he even mentions western league players being issued by OJ!

[williamcohon]

Thank you for posting. This was really fun to read!

[ullmandds]

I also did NOT know that in the Gold Coin cards similar positioned players all had generic poses...interesting.

I'm guessing collectors back then would shun "freaks" like I/we all did until very recently!

[Louieman]

Thanks for sharing! Good to know if I time travel to the 1880s I don't have to hold back on saying 'dude' all the time

[prestigecollectibles]

Here is another article about that issue

http://www.oldbaseball.com/refs/First_Article.pdf

[trdcrdkid]

Robert -- I hadn't seen that article, but I see that he cites me as the source of the 1973 SCD column from which he tracked down the 1929 article. I know George, who also lives in Chicago and is a fellow collector of old hobby publications, but it's been a while since I saw him.

[Sportsguy20]

Thanks for sharing. Great to always be learning about the history of our great hobby.

[1880nonsports]

the time travel shares. Thanks for posting!

[tjb1952tjb]

Thank you for posting..............a very interesting read.

[kkkkandp]

Fun read.

I, too, found the comment about the Brooklyn card a little odd. Many collectors today gravitate to those for the added element of reality.

[glynparson]

very cool thank you for sharing

[Piratedogcardshows]

A time machine and a few rolls of nickels would do a man good.

[tim_uk]

In your introduction Dave, you mention you are not sure the article hasn't been adjusted. You are correct, the original article did contain a variety of cards, not just baseball. See snapshot below.

[prestigecollectibles]

I made a copy of the original article from the New Yorker website. The text seems to be the same, but the images were mostly changed.

[tim_uk]

Thanks - good to see the two versions (original and baseball updated) side by side!

[h2oya311]

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

Great article...thanks for posting.

In the article the author alludes to his belief that the Brooklyn Old Judge cards with the bleachers in the background were not actually taken outside, but instead that the bleachers were a part of a painted backdrop. Has anyone else heard of this assertion before...I always thought the bleachers looked real (and made them some of the more special Old Judge cards).

Brian

Not exactly. He said they were fake bleachers (and grey grass) for Brooklyn. He then talked about the fake city backdrop for the Chicago players. It remains to be seen if the bleachers and grass were outside or inside, although the author implies that they were taken inside if the grass was grey. But how would you know the color of the grass when the pictures are all black and white/sepia toned?