What is the best pre war design?

[oldphil]

Here's another vote for the T205s. Always liked the NL version better.

[itjclarke]

I think from pure aesthetics, I gotta go with N162 (wish the baseball set was bigger)
Goodwin%20Champions%20Anson%2022%20legendary%202004.jpg
N162 Tim Keefe.jpg

... but from the cool and unique category, I love the triple folders. There's so much great stuff going on, including multi player cards (many ideal matches like Speaker/Wood or dual HOFer), nice color portraits, great actual (not just posed) action shots, and the great period write ups.
T202 Cobb Jennings HA.jpg
T202 Speaker Wood SGC50.jpg
T202 Cobb Moriarty, Cobb Steals Third SGC.jpg

[triwak]

T204 Ramly

[VoodooChild]

I think E97's are underappreciated:

[seanofjapan]

I like the T202 triple folders. You get the brilliance of the T205s on the end panels, alongside a beautiful in-action photograph in the middle.

The T3s are in a category of their own and I love them.

The T201 double folders don`t get as much respect owing to the simplistic artwork, but I find them very visually appealing too. The background imagery - mostly simple fences and grandstands - is pretty neat.

And the 1935 Diamond Stars are my favorite 1930s set, the art-deco style artwork is just perfect for evoking that era.

[aljurgela]

What about these

[GasHouseGang]

Do you actually like the design of these? They seem rather crudely done, but each to his own.

[Louieman]

I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be posting those Cabanas if he didn't think they looked good. I like them a lot. Definitely not crude to me.

My other submissions would be the 1913 Zeenuts, because sepia and baseball cards are a match made in heaven. And also the D381 Fleischmann Bakery series, because I'd argue there's no set that did a better job of capturing the personalities of the players like this set. The photography seems way ahead of its time