Can someone tell me the big fascination with Caramel cards...

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Posted By: mark

I'm not posting to bash them at all but to me the pictures don't even look like the players and they are crudely drawn. The M116 Sporting Life cards are the ones that most resemble the players, they are beautiful portraits of all the ball players of the time but don't get the respect they deserve. I love all vintage cards and i don't mean any disrespect to those who love the caramels. Also the prices for the caramels are unbelievable. I guess it comes down to supply and demand. Correct me if i'm wrong but back then they had an artist draw the pictures and then they would copy them to a proof and then print them out. Does anyone know who did the M116 cards.

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Posted By: dennis

their charm is age,scarity,player poses and selection,vivid color, and their simplicity.they really fit the era. the caramels have it all! too bad i didn't get into these when i stared collecting. yes the e91's are awful but most collectors ignor them except for the HOFer's.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Caramel cards are extremely colorful, while M116's are uniformly gray or blue. Also, the crude illustrations may in fact be part of their charm. But in the end it's hard to generalize why one set is more popular than another. It's just a matter of taste.

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Posted By: Bruce

I think much of the fascination with caramels is their scarcity. It can take years to complete a set of 30, even in poor condition. Also, my particular favorites, the 93, 94, 97, 98 groups actually shows action photos of the players with color backgrounds. However, I do agree the prices are getting out of control.

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Posted By: warshawlaw

For years you could not give away caramel cards compared to T cards. Then, a few years ago, people discovered them. Now they are even more expensive than their T contemporaries. Personally, I find the images to be crude compared to the T cards and I don't care for them. I bought a lot when I saw the prices rising and have mostly gotten rid of them for more T cards and for other stuff I actually like. I agree that the M116 set has really nice images but it is kinda boring. 300 portraits with the same background, ugh.

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Posted By: Dan Koteles

answers all youe question by the variance in responses as......

I like e91's and their unique lettering. At least unlike the
19th cetury Gold coins ,they have just "FAT" and boring script.

Also, I dont like e93 -e96, 97 ,98's as much as the other "E"
cards because I think the color are drab ,boring and the action
shots dont much look anything more then someone farting.But, I
will challenge all when necessary to buy any of them.

Most know me as a color collector and the rest of the caramels,
especially the e90-1's definetely have that !

Good day !

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Posted By: dennis

adam what about boxing e77's???? aren't those great!

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Posted By: MikeU

I think the low number of cards in the set and the relatively cheap prices noted in the general price guides makes the set attractive to new people. Obviously the price guides are a little dated for this issue and those 30 cards are a hell of a lot harder to find than the number would suggest. A person beginning to collect this set does not nessesarily know those facts.

Summary, the sets look very acheivable to complete to an outsider to give a try at. Particular when comparing to the T sets.

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Posted By: Lee Behrens

If you like the M116 set and you feel the prices are reasonable, buy them up because they will get found by the vintage card collectors the prices will get out of hand.

I personally also thought the caramels were and are crude and have never been much of a fan of the M116's either, one of the few type cards I have never owned of the early 20th century vintage.

Lee

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Posted By: Bruce Babcock

It's the colors, IMO. Same reason I like Obaks, D311s and many of the E92s.

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

Cracker Jacks are kinda nice. There is no surprise regarding what color each player has for his background, you can get cards of some Federal Leaguers shown in their FL uniforms, you have about all of the really big names of the period in this set - with strikingly bold portrayals, the manager cards are fantastic Comiskey looks pompous in his fancy hat and coat, theres McGraw, Rickey (who doesn't appear in many sets), Jennings, and Mack - who I didn't believe actually looked like many of his cards - but he did!

But Cracker Jacks are for getting some of, not all of. You can get Owen Wilson who hit 36 triples one year, Armando Marsans, a tremendous study in himself, Slim Sallee - who would wind up one season surrendering less walks than his games won, and many others, most of whom I don't even know.

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Posted By: Brett

The e93,e94,e97 and e98 Caramel sets are the best looking in my opinion. Other than those 4 sets, i'd say the e90 set has some neat looking cards in it, and a cool looking back.

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Posted By: JimB

Beautiful cards. Managable size to complete the sets (though some are quite difficult). High % of Hall of Famers. I just wonder what took so long. I agree that E93,94, 97, and 98 are the best looking in my opinion.

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Posted By: JimB

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Posted By: Bob

I am a M116 set collector but also a caramel card guy. You can be both. M116s are the place to be because they haven't shot out of the stratosphere in prices.....yet. No action shots and only 3 guys with hats but hey, beautiful cards. As far as caramel cards, I used to turn up my nose at them as I collected the tobacco card sets but suddenly one day I purchased a blue background Honus Wagner in the E94 set and was hooked. To me the great looking smaller sets of caramel cards with colorful backgrounds are superb. I'll take any E94s, E97s or E98s off your hands that you want to get rid of!

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Posted By: cmoking

How could anyone not like those E93 cards that JimB posted? Amazing cards, brilliant color, great shots of the players.

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Posted By: JimB

Thanks King.
JimB

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Posted By: warshawlaw

don't buy them. ever.

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

Elvis is often associated with the beginnings of Rock & Roll. This is correct, hewas there in the beginnings. And it is also correct that Rock & Roll was important, in part, because previous to Rock & Roll teen kids did not have their own music at all. Imagine that for a minute: teenagers with no music.

It is hard to imagine.

But try to imagine kids with no baseball cards of their own. That is what existed prior to e-cards. Yeah, kids may be able to wrangle some cards from adults who got them, when the adults remembered. Or maybe they could find them discarded. And other sources which I don't even imagine. But no cards genuinely of their own.

E-cards hold as important a place in history as Rock & Roll, to some. But e-cards aren't limited to those sets which were available around the pre-WWI - Roaring 20s era. One historic set reached into the Tobacco dominated 19th century arena.

Although the attractiveness and lack of such, is disputable depending on each viewers opinion of e-cards, their historical significance to card collecting is interesting to those who find it to be so.

Personally, I bought some e-cards prior to the craze, because they were cheaper than t-cards, and I wanted specific players, however, since the craze hit, Ive only purchased CJs - 'cause they are like OJs - you can never have enuff.