Earliest Baseball Postcard

[insidethewrapper]

Postcard Experts etc . : What is the earliest Baseball Postcard ? Any from the 19th Century ? Also earliest Postmark on a baseball postcard ?

[Bicem]

Are you including all one-off RPPC's or just postcards from known sets?

[dbrown]

Fun question. First thought is that the earliest possible would be 1898, the birth of the "private mailing card," the precursor to postcards.

But here's a 2013 net54 thread about an 1888 "postal card." It'll be hard to beat 1888 but maybe not impossible.
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=171578

[jchcollins]

What are the Peck and Snyder team cards from 1869? Those aren't considered post cards? I remember seeing them described as "trade cards."

[Leon]

CDV or trade card but definitely not postcards. I was thinking mid 1890s for the first postcards and I don't know about the first baseball set of postcards. The one shown in the link above, from a deceased member, is the oldest I think I have seen.

Originally Posted by jchcollins

What are the Peck and Snyder team cards from 1869? Those aren't considered post cards? I remember seeing them described as "trade cards."

[barrysloate]

I have photocopies of three postally used postcards, issued by the Troy B.B. Association, inviting stockholders to a meeting of the club, and sent by the secretary of the Troy BBC.
One is dated Oct 8, 1878; one Dec 9, 1878, and the third looks to be Mar 30, 1878 but the ink is a bit smudged. These were all pre-printed with blank lines to fill in pertinent information in ink. I can scan these later if anyone is interested in seeing them.

[ksfarmboy]

I’d be more interested in the first baseball postcard that features a player or team photo. Has anyone seen any predating the 1904 Astoria Giants card?

[Leon]

I would love to seen them, Barry. If you need help posing the pics just let me know. I have mostly mastered it after 25000+ posts.

Originally Posted by barrysloate

I have photocopies of three postally used postcards, issued by the Troy B.B. Association, inviting stockholders to a meeting of the club, and sent by the secretary of the Troy BBC.
One is dated Oct 8, 1878; one Dec 9, 1878, and the third looks to be Mar 30, 1878 but the ink is a bit smudged. These were all pre-printed with blank lines to fill in pertinent information in ink. I can scan these later if anyone is interested in seeing them.