Small Cracker Jack find - my first

[mullinsm]

Last month I flew to central Montana for a family visit. While we were all together, my aunt and mother in law were going though some of my grandmother's old albums. My MIL, who knows I like old baseball cards, called me over and said "Here's something you might want to see." She showed me one page from the album:






Then another:






And then:



I was dumbfounded. I've always read about cards in scrapbooks but never had the fortune to see any first-hand. And nice cards too! Not the top stars from the set, but a couple Hall of Famers, and a hall of shamer too...

I was especially thrilled that they were something from the family. I don't have any other family cards, unless you count my brother's 1977 Eddie Murray rookie... We're not totally sure who put the scrapbook together, but it spans the teens through the 50s and mostly contains recipes, news articles, etc. These are the only sports cards. I'd love to know their story - this part of Montana 100 years ago was very rural and remote, so a box of Cracker Jacks would have been a real treat.

Condition-wise, I was impressed by how clean and new some of the cards look, almost like they went straight from the box into the scrapbook. Four are crease free. On the downside, they're securely glued to the pages, and someone penciled in other names on the tops of each card. I was thrilled that my aunt and uncle let me take them home, but they aren't going to win any grading contests.

I don't know much about the Cracker Jack sets. Please enlighten me! Someone snuck a peek at the back of Rickey and it's printed upside down, so at least that one is from 1915, right? I assume the rest are as well, but they slightly wrinkled the card in the process and I almost died. Someone else dinged a corner on the Maranville as well - people stop picking at them! - so I put them away before anyone else got any bright ideas.

I would appreciate opinions and advice on how best to preserve and protect these. I won't mess with the pencil marks, but I would consider removing the cards from the pages. I have soaked scrapbook paper off a few t-cards with good success before, but not Cracker Jacks. Has anyone had luck removing these? Did I read that soaking makes the red bleed into the borders? I know different glues react differently to water, and I thought I could test the glue by trying to soak off one of the non sports cards first. Is it worth contacting a professional conservator for help? Any recommendations?

Or maybe I'll just leave the cards on the pages. They do make a nice display, and keeping them together preserves their history as a group. Either way, I have no intention to sell them. They are special and I'd like the cards to stay in the family.

Thanks for your input and expertise. I always learn something when I come here. Have a great day and happy collecting. Cards are still out there!

Mike

[trdcrdkid]

You've got 4 Hall of Famers plus Cicotte out of the 8 cards. Nice!

You should be able to soak those cards off the pages, if you know what you're doing. I would start with the Evans, since it's a common and in the worst shape of the lot, and see how it goes. Here is a post I made a few years ago about how to soak cards: http://net54baseball.com/showpost.ph...70&postcount=7

[seattlerainiers]

What a great story and find for you, congrats. The family element certainly adds a glow to it!

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Very cool!

[Huysmans]

Cool!

I would suggest not soaking the cards and keep and display them as is, maybe having the pages added together in a large frame. This is the way they were originally kept by your family for over a century, keep that heirloom intact for future generations.


Brent

[RollieFingers]

Personally, me...I would make money off that/those.
Just saying

[Anish]

Originally Posted by Huysmans

Cool!

I would suggest not soaking the cards and keep and display them as is, maybe having the pages added together in a large frame. This is the way they were originally kept by your family for over a century, keep that heirloom intact for future generations.


Brent

Agree. That's such a unique item.

[ruth_rookie]

Originally Posted by Huysmans

Cool!

I would suggest not soaking the cards and keep and display them as is, maybe having the pages added together in a large frame. This is the way they were originally kept by your family for over a century, keep that heirloom intact for future generations.

This is what I would do since you have no desire to sell. I’d frame them all together in a nice professional display, along with the family photos glued to the same page. It would be something you pass to your kids, and hopefully something that would stay in the family for generations — a window into your family’s history. Very cool and IMO more “valuable” just the way they are.

[Michael B]

Originally Posted by trdcrdkid

You've got 4 Hall of Famers plus Cicotte out of the 8 cards. Nice!

You should be able to soak those cards off the pages, if you know what you're doing. I would start with the Evans, since it's a common and in the worst shape of the lot, and see how it goes. Here is a post I made a few years ago about how to soak cards: http://net54baseball.com/showpost.ph...70&postcount=7

As with just about every post about soaking this one neglects the important fact that if you are going to do it you should use DISTILLED water. Tap water can contain many impurities which can damage a card including chlorine. You can find distilled water in many chain drugstores and some supermarkets, Target etc. and it is usually less than $2 a gallon

[trdcrdkid]

Originally Posted by Michael B

As with just about every post about soaking this one neglects the important fact that if you are going to do it you should use DISTILLED water. Tap water can contain many impurities which can damage a card including chlorine. You can find distilled water in many chain drugstores and some supermarkets, Target etc. and it is usually less than $2 a gallon

I've soaked many, many cards over the past 25 years using tap water and have never had a problem. But I'm sure it can't hurt to use distilled water.

[Michael B]

Originally Posted by trdcrdkid

I've soaked many, many cards over the past 25 years using tap water and have never had a problem. But I'm sure it can't hurt to use distilled water.

Long before I moved to Virginia the water in D.C. had enough chlorine in it that you could taste it. It may not be found in drinking water these days, but you cannot be sure what is added. Some people may also use well water which can have minerals which may affect the cards. Glad to see that you have had no problems, but from an archival point of view distilled is always better than tap water.

[JollyRoger]

I'd imagine a good soaking would loosen the glue and they would detach easily from the scrapbook pages. I'd leave them the way they are if they were mine though. Great find!