Posted By:
mikePerhaps someone else can help you, as I didn't have any luck finding much...
BUT I AM GLAD YOU ASKED!! It inspired me to find out more about pre-war in general, and I found a few very interesting sites on the history of baseball card collecting...
http://www.oldbaseball.com/refs/burdick.html
http://www.geocities.com/chrisstufflestreet/history.html
http://members.tripod.com/TheSportsCardBroker/CH2.htm
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ALthough I couldn't find any sites specifically on "w" cards, I did find the following "blurbs", which you may or may not have known already...
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During the years just before and after World War I baseball cards were not issued with either candy or tobacco, but were sold in strips. These strip cards were of low quality on cheap paper and of inferior color. However, almost all of the baseball stars of the era appeared on these cards such as: Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Babe Ruth, Rogers Hornsby, and Walter Johnson. Collecting these sets can be highly challenging and enjoyable, moreover, they are fairly inexpensive.*
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W514 Strip Card, 1928
The letter "W" is the baseball card designation for strip cards. Strip cards were one of the first baseball cards actually sold as such and not given away as a premium when purchasing another product. These cards were usually sold in sheets or strips of 8, 10 or 25 cards for a penny and were designed to be cut apart along the dotted lines by the purchaser. Since most of the purchasers were kids, it is hard to find these cards with straight cuts. The cards were also generally of low quality with poor artwork and printed on inferior paper stock which tends to discolor easily.
Even though Babe Ruth had been already been playing in the major leagues for 14 years when this card was made, few baseball cards of any kind were produced during that time, so this is actually one of his first cards.
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When the United States entered the second World War, there was widespread rationing of goods necessary for war materials. Since these rationed goods included paper, printing ink, sugar and rubber, and because industrial printing presses and chewing gum manufacturing plants were converted to military use, it was not economically feasible for gum companies to issue baseball cards until after the end of the war. Additionally, most of the biggest names in baseball had left the field to serve in the military. Few baseball card sets appeared, but in 1943 MP & Co. issued a set of 24 cards.
The 1943 set, designated as R302-1 in the American Card Catalog, was issued in strips and sold in candy stores. Interestingly, these cards have been given an "R" designation in the ACC, rather than the "W" given to most strip cards; perhaps their late issue date was a factor.
Thanks to the shortage of paper and printing supplies, the cards show a definite loss of quality when compared to 1930s gum cards. Card fronts feature a crude drawing of a player (which doesn't even closely resemble the player featured), with his name inside a baseball in the lower corner. On the back of the 1943 cards, there is a brief write-up of the player's career. Above the write-up is the player's full name, position and team. None of the 1943 cards are numbered. Along the bottom are two items: "Mp & Co., N.Y.C." and "Made in U.S.A."
In 1949, MP & Co. issued another 24-card set. While only six of the players in its 1943 set remained, many of the pictures were recycled. The 1949 card fronts feature the same design as the 1943 set, the backs are different. In the 1949 set, the player's commonly-known name is used instead of his full name, most cards are numbered, and the two copyright items found along the bottom are missing.
Despite their historical significance, these cards aren't widely collected. Since the quality of the paper and printing was low, they have been prone to damage; few cards exist today in top condition. Although many Hall of Famers can be found in each set, many collectors stay away from cards where the drawings don't resemble the featured player. Since a lot of collectors don't know much about these cards, they can be found at great bargains and offer a great opportunity for average collectors to pick up cards of Hall of Fame players.
MIKE (AKA YOUME)
12-16-2003, 03:02 PM
Strip cards
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