Several questions about 19th century baseball cards & collectibles

[drcy]

Some CDVs and cabinet cards were sold commercially, but most were just normal photos. The ones that were most likely sold commercially will be of famous subjects and well known commercial galleries such as Sarony, Mathew Brady, Carl Horner, J.Wood and others.

Most non-commercial CDVs and cabinet cards are unique or close to. Most other cabinet cards and CDVs are rare, perhaps a handful at most at most. Some CDVs of obviously commercial subjects such as Abe Lincoln and Queen Victoria are fairly plentiful.

Offhand, I can't think of a non-baseball card CDV or cabinet card that has more than a few tens in existence.

Harper's and Leslie's woodcuts were very much collected-- that was almost the point of the magazines--, but are pretty plentiful.

Most well known lithograph trade cards are as plentiful as normal baseball cards, but there are rare ones.

A post I wrote for SABR's Baseball Cards Research Committee a year or two back: Are CDVs and Cabinet Cards Baseball Cards? Yes, No and Maybe

[mouschi]

EXCELLENT information, thank you, David! In my head, I'm trying to figure out what was attainable by the average baseball fan. I see some pics/cdvs of teams that include King Kelly, Cap Anson, etc. or even the Creighton single CDV and just don't see all that many kids back then having them. It seems to me as though the closest thing to a collectible as a baseball card for them would be the woodcuts (pre old judge, allen & ginter, that is) - at least from the perspective of things that were fairly readily available like cards are today. If cards weren't available when I was a kid, I'm sure I'd flock to newspapers/magazines myself with a pair of scissors in hand!

Originally Posted by drcy

Some CDVs and cabinet cards were sold commercially, but most were just normal photos. The ones that were most likely sold commercially will be of famous subjects and well known commercial galleries such as Sarony, Mathew Brady, Carl Horner, J.Wood and others.

Most non-commercial CDVs and cabinet cards are unique or close to. Most other cabinet cards and CDVs are rare, perhaps a handful at most at most. Some CDVs of obviously commercial subjects such as Abe Lincoln and Queen Victoria are fairly plentiful.

Offhand, I can't think of a non-baseball card CDV or cabinet card that has more than a few tens in existence.

Harper's and Leslie's woodcuts were very much collected-- that was almost the point of the magazines--, but are pretty plentiful.

Most well known lithograph trade cards are as plentiful as normal baseball cards, but there are rare ones.

A post I wrote for SABR's Baseball Cards Research Committee a year or two back: Are CDVs and Cabinet Cards Baseball Cards? Yes, No and Maybe

[drcy]

Lithograph comic trade card collecting was a huge hobby in the 1800s. You can still find old albums at antique stores with them pasted in. Scaps-- die-cut pieces--, were similarly collected with trade cards.

A Look At Victorian Sports Trade Cards, Scraps and Die Cuts

[mouschi]

I have watched a few youtube videos of a guy going through some albums. So fun to see that stuff. It is funny to think about a person nowadays collecting modern advertisements for cough syrup, rope, etc.

Originally Posted by drcy

Lithograph comic trade card collecting was a huge hobby in the 1800s. You can still find old albums at antique stores with them pasted in. Scaps-- die-cut pieces--, were similarly collected with trade cards.

A Look At Victorian Sports Trade Cards, Scraps and Die Cuts

[trdcrdkid]

Originally Posted by mouschi

I have watched a few youtube videos of a guy going through some albums. So fun to see that stuff. It is funny to think about a person nowadays collecting modern advertisements for cough syrup, rope, etc.

I collect trade cards and have probably 10,000 different in my collection. (Haven't counted them lately.) I also have some intact albums from the period, mainly to show how many of those cards were preserved. Victorian albums like that typically go for a couple hundred dollars on eBay, depending on what they contain. Some of the cards are pretty amazing, both in terms of their graphics and the ad copy on them.

[drcy]

Lot of other interesting types of 1800s items to collect as well. Tintype photos, product labels (tobacco, food crate labels), stereoview photos, booklets, tickets, annual guides, etc.

[barrysloate]

Back in the 1880's, it was common for families to head to the parlor in the evening and spend their leisure time gluing trade cards and scraps into their albums. It was a bit of a craze while it lasted.

[trdcrdkid]

I should also mention that there are numerous trade cards depicting trade card collectors (“card fiends”) gathering cards and gluing them into albums.

[mouschi]

Originally Posted by trdcrdkid

I should also mention that there are numerous trade cards depicting trade card collectors (“card fiends”) gathering cards and gluing them into albums.

Ha! So that is cool. I wonder if there are any out there depicting people collecting woodcuts