The turn of the calendar to 2020 really got me to thinking about baseball cards from the 1920s. It's hard to believe some of the issues from the era of Babe Ruth will be turning 100 over the next decade. The 1920s was really sort of a golden era for baseball. The sport had already achieved popularity thanks to the century's earliest stars like Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Nap … [Read more...]
Freshly Graded 1921 American Caramel Set Takes Over Top Ranking, Heads to SCP Auctions
The finest 1922 American Caramel E121 set of all-time is coming to auction April 10 courtesy of SCP Auctions. But don’t let its seemingly pedestrian 4.66 set rating fool you: the classic black-and-white E121 series is one of the most elusive pre-war sets in the hobby, boasting multiple variations of Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and other hardball legends that romanticized America’s … [Read more...]
The Wayback Collector: It’s Time to Update the American Card Catalog
The American Card Catalog is the most important book in the history of card collecting. I'll listen to the argument that publications such as price guides really brought collecting to the forefront and helped establish it as a lucrative venture. But for my money, the American Card Catalog is tops in terms of importance for, particularly, older cards. First created in 1939 as … [Read more...]
Hal Chase E93/E98 Source Photo up for Auction
Finding the original images that artists used to create pre-war caramel and tobacco cards is always interesting. The unique items are rarely are seen or made available to the public. The majority of those early cards utilized lithography with artists using real pictures to depict a particular athlete. While we don't the source of many of those pictures, sometimes, the actual … [Read more...]
1933 Rittenhouse Candy Had Collectors Searching for Letters
The 1933 Rittenhouse Candy set is an intriguing one. This somewhat obscure set of candy cards from the 1930s offered cards and a special promotion to collectors. Here's more on this interesting set. 1933 Rittenhouse Candy Cards Overview The 1933 Rittenhouse Candy cards featured some of the top baseball stars of the day. To say the cards were printed inexpensively is probably … [Read more...]
5 Pre-War Caramel Baseball Card Bargains
Caramel cards, in general, are much rarer than tobacco cards. Millions and millions of tobacco cards were stuffed into cigarette packages while caramel cards were usually printed in smaller quantities. As a result, caramel baseball card issues are often more expensive despite the fact that tobacco cards are more popular. Even though caramel cards aren't all that inexpensive, … [Read more...]
Little-Known 1909 Niagara Baking Set a Scarce E101 Parallel
The E101 Anonymous Set of 50 is an interesting candy issue produced in 1909. While theories abound, no confirmed distributor is 100% known for the set. The cards were, however, used by Niagara Baking to promote its bread products. 1909 Niagara Baking Basics The 1909 Niagara Baking set was a spinoff of sorts for the E101 issue. Cataloged by Jefferson Burdick as D355 in … [Read more...]
5 Bargain Hall of Famers in the 1909 E90-1 American Caramel Set
Issued around the same time as the T206 issue and looking somewhat similar, the 1909 E90-1 American Caramel set is one of the most popular early candy/caramel issues among pre-war collectors. With numerous short prints and tough cards as well as expensive cards including the Joe Jackson rookie, it isn't an easy set to complete. There are several Hall of Famers in … [Read more...]
Blurred Lines and Misclassifications Exist Between E-Cards and R-Cards
In his American Card Catalog, author Jefferson Burdick categorized candy, gum, and caramel baseball cards. These issues spanned several decades and in an effort to better classify them, he broke them out into two sections - E-Cards for early candy and gum cards and R-Cards, later candy and gum issues. While the two classifications exist, however, the line is somewhat blurred … [Read more...]
Evolution of E-Cards was Apparent in Pre-War Era
While tobacco cards may be king of the pre-war era, early caramel and candy cards aren't far behind. E-Cards, as they're known to us today, included a variety of important sets from manufacturers such as the American Caramel Company. Over time, these cards evolved significantly. Here's a brief look at that transformation. First E-Cards The earliest E-Cards are often … [Read more...]