Several questions about 19th century baseball cards & collectibles

[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.

[mouschi]

Originally Posted by 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.

That's cool! I need to find me an album with nothing but baseball stuff

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by mouschi

That's cool! I need to find me an album with nothing but baseball stuff

That could be tough.

[trdcrdkid]

Originally Posted by mouschi

That's cool! I need to find me an album with nothing but baseball stuff

REA just sold a 19th-century album of tobacco cards that included a complete set of N28s (trimmed) and over 1000 cards total. It went for $6900:

https://bid.robertedwardauctions.com...e?itemid=60257

[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

[oldjudge]

Barry--You and Judy still do that, don't you?

[drcy]

I had a Victorian album with the completre set of 1896 Spalding die cuts including baseball and football

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Barry--You and Judy still do that, don't you?

We actually still have a small trade card collection, although Judy has sold most of them off.