Anyone know what these cards are?

[bcbgcbrcb]

Like Hank said, obvious fakes.

[UnVme7]

Thanks for the info

[Exhibitman]

You'd have to check them to be sure of age. Not saying they are vintage, only that to be definitive you need to see them.

Assuming they pass the age tests, I don't think they are cards--those simply did not exist--but they could be cutouts from a broadside. I've found them sporadically from 1930s posters for boxers like Joe Louis. Here is an example:

[Hankphenom]

Nothing like having them in hand, of course, but I'd bet my house these are fakes. Like most such attempts, there's a uniform yellowing/browning that comes from the baking or chemicals or whatever they do to try to make them look old that just doesn't capture the look of real old photos. It's an attempt at a sepia look, when in fact very few actual old photos have a sepia tone. I've seen many of these negro league team fakes over the years on eBay and elsewhere, but curiously when I tried to find a picture of one on Google I was unsuccessful.

[Runscott]

I'm with Adam on this one.

If they were 'aged' recently, the ager did a much better job than do most.

But that opinion is based on the scans - minimally I'd need to see hi-res scans of the roughed-up edges.

[Hankphenom]

Fakes today, fakes yesterday, fakes tomorrow.

[Leon]

From the scans they look like they were cut from a book and pasted on the cardboard. You can see them wrinkle a bit in the borders, as paper would.

[Runscott]

....

I meant to re-write this post, but accidentally created a new one...sorry.

[Runscott]

Nate, if you feel like mailing these out for any opinion, I would be happy to look at them. There are others here who I am sure would make the same offer.

[Runscott]

I guess my definition of 'obvious' differs from that of Phil and Hank.

I think that with items that are either 'too good to be true', or, like Negro League pieces that are forged often, there is a tendency to reject them out of hand;i.e-you look at such items through 'not-rose-colored glasses'.

These don't look at all like the obvious fakes that we've seen in the past, and even less so now that you have provided more detailed scans.

As Hank mentioned, even though he thinks they are fakes, he can't find examples of these images anywhere on the internet. That's a good thing.

But having said that, if they showed up on ebay and I couldn't see them up close or have the option to return them, I wouldn't bid.

[bcbgcbrcb]

Trust me, you can do all of the research you want, handle them in person, high res scans, etc., a fake is still a fake..........

[Exhibitman]

That's a bit of the cart before the horse, Phil. If there is a way to examine the items there are ways of determining when they were made that cannot be ascertained from a scan. Unless you have specific information that these items are fakes, which it doesn't sound like you do, it seems more sensible to evaluate them if possible before concluding about them. Would I pay big bux for them without a firsthand examination? No. But I'd at least want to check them out first before writing them off.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by bcbgcbrcb

Trust me, you can do all of the research you want, handle them in person, high res scans, etc., a fake is still a fake..........

Really? If I handled these in person and determined that they were real, they would still be fakes?

You are probably right about them being fakes, but you also had the percentages behind you when you responded to my original post about the early Stengel postcard. In fact, yours was the first negative response posted in that thread, and, as with this one, you posted before doing any research.

I don't believe in taking stupid chances with things that have a high likelihood of being fakes, but Hank's original post that he couldn't locate these images anywhere was kind of a clue in favor of these possibly being real (like my not being able to locate images of the Stengel postcard). The next step was higher-res scans, which the OP provided...still looking good.

The next step is to examine them in person. If the OP is unwilling to let anyone do that, then end of story. If he is, then we look at them and we probably find that they are fakes. But perhaps not.

[Runscott]

And by the way, I frequently disagree with Adam.

[jerseygary]

Did the matting come with that Gibson photo? If it did I would be seeing red flags because of the even wear and damage on the photo which shouldn't be there on the edges because they would have been saved by being protected by the matting.