Most Important Cards of Each Decade

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Posted By: Seth B.

Yeah, "important" is a tough word, and I grant you that the Nettles had a uniquely immediate effect, but I do think that certain cards can also be looked at retrospectively as having been important or innovative for the hobby. Certainly the Peck and Snyder cards are examples. The 33 Lajoie is an example of this as a sort of premium card, the altered image of the 1914/1915 Mattie is another example of series-innovation. An error card like the Magie is another, and so on and so on. I'd also include the eulogy on the back of the T205 Joss in this class of "important" cards, and the T202 Tinker/Evers/Chance has to be a reference to contemporary pop culture (Franklin Pierce Adams published his poem in 1910, shortly before). All these individual cards stand out as cards, unrelated to their sets, and as historically important examples, I think. In this way certain rookie cards of "important" players can have importance outside of their sets (like the T210 Jackson, maybe, or the Just So Young).
BUT...I agree that trying to pick a card out from the N172 or E107 sets, or making a card important because only 60 or 5 or even 1 survived, that's maybe where using "important" slips into judgements of value or beauty.