N172 question ?

[trdcrdkid]

Gary --

To answer your question briefly: all four of your cards are 1887 OJs, which have the Old Judge logo at the top of the card. The ones with the hotdog-style logo are type A, and the one with a rectangular logo in the upper left (second from the left in your picture) are type B. (At least I think that's right, off the top of my head.) OJs from 1888, 1889, and 1890 have "Old Judge" at the bottom of the card below the picture, and can be distinguished as follows:

1888: "Cigarettes" on line below "Old Judge"
1889: "Cigarette Factory" on line below "Old Judge"
1890: "Cigarette Factory" on line below "Old Judge", and "(N.L.)" or "(P.L.)" after team name.

There are more complexities that that, but those are the basics. If you want to know more, you should definitely get the Old Judge book, which has everything you could possibly want to know about these cards.