My 19th Century Custom Quarantine Project!

[mouschi]

My 19th Century Quarantine Project!

First, I'll give it to you short and sweet. If you want to read the entire article, keep scrolling, but if you don't care about the labor pains and just want to see the baby, here you go!

I was alerted to an Iowa find that unearthed an 1889 Goodwin A35 Round Album - each Round has more in common with baseball cards than they do album pages. They are considered to be the most premium baseball issue to come out of the 19th century and had been lost to the hobby for about 130 years! Typically sold as singles, the A35 Rounds rarely make it to market. I have been looking to add some to my collection, because I *LOVE* 19th century color lithography. The Iowa find came to market and I WON THEM! Here is a pic:



They are huge. Check out the sizing.



Simply putting each in holders wasn't doing them any favors aesthetically (this is just a cheap computer print out) ...



...so to standardize them, I spent the last few months inventing, designing, and constructing a new screwless holder with a slide out tray for each Round. Think: Allen & Ginter rat bone or tarantula ... but with 19th century lithography! Here are some examples of Topps doing it (though, Topps doesn't have pull out trays ... these are permanent):



The artwork I designed was printed on the back side of acrylic, so it gives it a deep, rich, high end feel.



The top of the inserted tray that slides in has a lip, so it seals off the top flush with the edge. The best of both worlds - an entirely new collectible with an embedded 19th century art relic that isn't just a frame, but it also isn't permanent!

Here is one of the singles. Each piece is 5/8" thick!



and the back. It is like a massive, jumbo Allen & Ginter back, but with the Old Judge mascot.



Here is another. The artist of the 1888 N162 Goodwin created a stormy background to match King Kelly's personality, so I did the same.



FULL STORY with many more pics are below ....