Writing on cards?

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Posted By: leon

This is not a thread about whether to erase writing on cards or not. My thoughts are that if you erase something that wasn't supposed to be there in the first place then no harm no foul. I know others have different opinions. However, I also believe that some writing on cards gives them character. Often writing on cards can help identify their provenance too. Ever see a PCL card with "Carl" written on it? I would be much less prone to erase writing on cards if it adds to the character. Here is one I got recently in which I feel the writing adds a lot of character to an otherwise boring blank back. Anyone else care to show any cool writing on cards?

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Posted By: Steve Murray

I have a number of "Carl" zeenuts. Some with his full name "Carl Ewert" some just "C.E.". I can't think of any other issue where this type of writing is so prevelant. While SGC is very rough on these I don't mind them (as long as they're dups )

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Posted By: Brian Weisner

Hi Leon,
I think a little writing on the cards adds to the character of the card. Here are a few of my favorites:














Be well Brian

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Posted By: Steve Murray

is one of the big differences between SGC and PSA with grading standards. Your T206 likely would not get better than SGC 10. Some of my very nice zeenuts would grade as yours. (the ones pictured above are not among that group )

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Posted By: Phil Garry

In my humble opinion, writing on the front of cards severely detracts from the overall presentation and writing on the back does so to a lesser extent. However, I actually prefer writing on the back of many baseball postcards as that is what they were originally intended for.

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Posted By: Brian

Here is my "Carl" card along with a couple of the Gilliam Squires stamps:

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Posted By: Brian Weisner

Hi Steve,
No question about it; that's why they are in PSA holders. I don't plan to sell the cards, as I like the initials, but if something happened to me, I think that would sell for more in these holders.

Be well Brian

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Posted By: Cat

What about the N172s? Here are two that I have. Wasn't there a famous collector or scout or someone who commonly had writing on the back?

Mickey Welch front (not yet received from recent EBay purchase):





Pud Galvin front:

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Posted By: Bruce MacPherson

Just sold this N172 Dailey, but from what I have been told, Buck Barker notated team changes on the back.

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Posted By: Brian

I do not mind writing on a back, but on this one they got the player name wrong:

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Posted By: S Gross

Couldn't agree more............great character !!!!!!!!!!

Now, here's a "true" Recruit collector:

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Posted By: JK

Actually, given how nice Brian's cards are otherwise, I think they would grade a 30 with SGC. Regardless, Im not sure I agree that they would sell for that much more in the psa slab - personally, I think that the MK grade for something like that is a farce as the writing is far too distracting to simply be noted as a MK (heck, what if someone had scribbled all over the front - would they still only be designated as MKs? At some point, writing has to factor into the grade as something more than a footnote.

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Posted By: Lee Behrens

I personally don't mind writing, it's all about the presentation for me. I thought it was pretty cool a couple of years ago when a group came up where the original owner must have followed the players for quite a few years, he had team changes, position changes and if they happened to be deceased on some of them.

I also have some T202's, OJ's and a Gypsy Queen that has writing of catalog designations on the back, even collectors wrote on the cards at one time.

Lee

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Posted By: Zach Rice

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Posted By: Brian Weisner

Hi JK,
I don't disagree... But, I do think people that buy "holders" instead of cards do pay more sometimes for a 6 MK than they do for a 30.


Hi Lee,
How's it going? Hope all is well.


Hi Zach,
Nice cards!!! And, very nice hand writing.



Brian

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Posted By: DMcD

Zach: For cool writing on cards I think yours take the prize! Do you have any idea who penned that wonderful prose (keystone cushion, Ty's noble brow, crude as a hippo, etc)?

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Posted By: barry arnold

My fav is a 206 JJ Clarke that states in pencil on the back 'Sallie read
Psalm 39 one hour.' Seems to me this might be something that one might
be saying 'round 1909 or so. The handwriting sure looks that 'ancient'.
This is a card given to me in '82 by the great,great niece of the original owner of the card.
all the best,

barry
the card

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Posted By: Mike

I wonder what card would be the most expensive card to have writing on it? Anybody seen a Wagner or 52 Mantle with writing? I don't have any but would be interested to see what the most expensive ooops is.

Mike

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Posted By: Scott Mosley

Another neat thing about your card is that it appears to have "Orem 63" on the bottom of it.

Preston Orem was another one of those hobby pioneers from Barkers day so, perhaps he received this card from him or traded it to him in 1963?

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Posted By: T206Collector

...this was a thread about autographed pre-war cards.

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Posted By: JK

Brian,

I agree with respect to people who buy the holder rather than the card.

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Posted By: leon

This Weaver came from the Trucker Boy find a few years back. I know it was from an original collection collected near the time of issue. Trucker Boy's (Bob Smith....truthfully that is his name) dad was born in 1903, in Grass Valley CA, so he would have been about 8 yrs old. Somehow he got this card with Carl on it and some stats. The Seaton I got on ebay for $18.00 3-4 yrs ago...little did I know it was a very desirable one....regards

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Posted By: Ken W.

I've never understood what this was all about!

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Posted By: bill

the two backs are willards hoyt and hornsby

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Posted By: brian p

I am of the camp that actually appreciates interesting writing on the back of cards. Zeenuts seem to be a magnet for back writing, perhaps because of all of that available blank space--it is glorified scrap paper. Over the years I have picked up cards with business addresses, grocery lists, a part number from Sears Roebuck, columns of numbers, etc.

Buck Barker also used the back of these cards to gather information on PCL players at the Sporting News headquarters. One of my favorites has a strip like caricature of James Cagney that has been transferred to the back of a Zeenut, and Buck was still able to squeeze all his hieroglyphic notes along the remaining 1/4" blank borders. Another special card is of a player Haughy of the 1925 Seals that Buck was unable to locate at The Sporting News, and he wrote a list of other possible spellings of the name that he checked but could not find a match "Hughes, Haugh, Hough, Haughey, Haughee, Huguey, Hughie, Huheey, Hughie, Hugh" It shows what length Buck was willing to go through to track down this information, and what we collectors should be grateful for--this player has still not been identified by first name. Without his work we would still be in the dark on countless other cards.

I also think that because these cards were used in a gambling type game called 'shooting' (kind of like pitching pennies, but with cards, if I remember the description of the game correctly), certain sayings would be penciled in on the back. A very common one is 'Good Luck'. Some of the interesting variations on this I have encountered are one that is directed to an individual "Good Luck to Meyer Kapler'. Another reminds me of the modern day 'Where's George' on dollar bills--'This Zeenut was got by Harold Hague and I am trying to see how far it will go'. A contrary to normal message would be one that says 'Bad Luck'. Another fun one is 'Good luck to me be but no bute ells (sic)' Someone who probably ended up with the card latter added in different handwriting 'Rotten' before Good luck. Then there is the ever romantic card that states 'Good luck--kiss me'.

My favorite cards are ones that present commentary about the player. I ended up with a bunch from the late 1920's from a budding young sportswriter with a flair for imitation of the puffed up sports writing of the period. Most of them just say something along the lines of 'Joe Smith-a good outfielder for the Acorns', but below are some of the more special ones:

"Art Kopp--a darn fast man and a good Texas League Hitter'
"Al 'Pudgy' Gould--a flossy twirler on the Oaks"
"Lyn Lary-- Oakland shortstop only 16 years old and a regular"
"Gus Staley is holding down second base for the Angels sucessfully"
"Bobby Jones--a coming youngster"
"Sam Agnew--an old ballplayer who has hung on-39 years old"
"Gus Suhr--just a kid with a great future"
"Louis Vinci--a dependable hurler for the Sacs"
"Evar Swanson--watch him run"
"Al Bool--one of the best caters to a mask on for the Acorns"
"'Big' Ed Bryan--a good pitcher and sticker and hitter"
"Bud Teachout--a fair pitcher due to have a great year with the Cubs in 1930"

A couple of fun ones are cards of Wolfer and Hudgens that both state 'Fired for drinking' and have drawings of bottles with XXX on them.

But my all-time favorites are the insult cards. Sometimes this collector could give stark commentary about the player's abilities--such as 'A mediocre pitcher', sometimes handled creatively "Manager Picther of Seattle--not much at either", or even like the writer had some personal beef with the player "A punk relief pitcher on the LA staff"

But my all time favorite would be from another writer/collector who penned the following put-down on a 1928 Zeenut card of Emil Muesel--"Muesel is nothing but a old flat lunch"

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Posted By: Mike

I'm not getting into the "Whether we should leave it, take it off" But in short, I have thousands of cards from the late 50's and early 60's that I collected as a tot. Some child hood friends wrote their names on a few of them. When I see them, it brings back very pleasant memories. So I guess there is an up side to writing on cards. I have an all school reunion coming up, and with any luck I will bump into some old collector friends...