Your Information Resource for Vintage Baseball Cards
eNews Issue #60 (April 2009)      www.oldcardboard.com

Please Note: If images are not loading in this email, click here. Welcome to Old Cardboard, the most complete reference resource for information about collecting vintage baseball cards and related memorabilia.  More information about this eNewsletter and its companion website and magazine are found at the bottom of this page. Contents: 1. Updated Auction and Show Calendar 2. Featured Vintage Card Set: 1895 N566 Newsboy Cabinets 3. Latest Updates to the OldCardboard.com Website 4. Old Cardboard Magazine Issue #19 Set for Distribution This Week 5. News Briefs (A Digest of Recent Hobby Happenings) 1. Updated Auction and Show Calendar The following is a summary of vintage card events coming up in the next 30-45 days. For the most current listings on additional vintage card shows and auctions, see the Show and Auction Calendar on the Old Cardboard website.

OC eNewsletter Sponsor

April 2009
21	Phone/Internet	Prestige Collectibles Auction (see website for details).
22	Phone/Internet	Andy Madec Auctions (see website for details).
23-24	Phone/Internet	Heritage Signature Sports Auction (see website for details).
23-25	Rosemont, IL	Premier Collectible Conference & Exhibition (see website for details).
29-30	Phone/Internet	Legendary Auctions (see website for details).
May 2009
2	Phone/Internet	Robert Edward Auctions (see website for details).
7	Phone/Internet	Goodwin & Co. Auction (see website for details).
7	Phone/Internet	Collectible Classics Auction (see website for details).
15	Phone/Internet	Leland's May Catalog Auction (see website for details).
27-28	Phone/Internet	Huggins & Scott Auctions (see website for details).

2. Featured Vintage Card Set: 1895 N566 Newsboy Cabinets N566 Ward (Standing with Bat) Although it is part of a massive issue that contains well over 500 cards, this set has only 14 cards that feature baseball players. The other cards include popular actors, actresses and other entertainers and public figures of the period. Some even depict landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge, the White House or Statue of Liberty. The cards were distributed by the National Tobacco Works of New York City to promote their Newsboy brand plug tobacco. The series of numbered cards is designated as set N566 in the American Card Catalog. All cards are cabinet size, measuring approximately 4-1/4 by 6-1/2 inches. The sepia-toned real photographs are mounted on a cream-colored cardboard backing. The subject's name and the card number are printed on the lower part of the photograph on most cards. The Newsboy logo and the words "NEW YORK," are printed in the lower left and the lower right of the mount, respectively, in red ink. The vast majority of all N566 cards were distributed with blank backs although a few, including those with baseball player subjects, have been found with a sponsor's message printed or stamped on the reverse. Ten of the fourteen baseball cabinets in the N566 set fall within the number sequence from 174 through 183. The other baseball cards are numbered 201-202, and 586-587. Tin tag used to identify bags of Newsboy brand tobacco is shown here at approximately 2 times actual size. Such tags were used in the tobacco trade between about 1875 and 1925. While all cards follow a similar design, there are a few distinct differences, especially in the two cards of Hall of Famer John Ward. All except the Ward's two cards are chest-up portraits or a head-only vignette inside a circular frameline. Some are shown in uniform and some in street clothes. Twelve of the fourteen cards picture players from the 1894 New York Giants team. The two others (Michael Griffin and player-manager Dave Foutz) played for the Brooklyn Grooms. Ward's two cards picture him in an earlier striped jersey. His are also the only cards with a caption printed in the bottom border below the photo. The design of the two Ward cards (see example "leaning on bat" pose above) is also different in that the player name is not printed on the photo itself and there are two thin red framelines (rather than one) around the perimeter of the photo. There are also very slight differences in the "Newsboy" logo and the type used in the "New York" labeling at the bottom of the cards. A profile for the N566 Newsboy Set is also provided on the Old Cardboard website along with a complete Checklist and Gallery of cards. OC eNewsletter Sponsor 3. Latest Updates to the OldCardboard.com Website We are continually expanding the Old Cardboard website with more set profiles, checklists and card galleries. Recent (past 30-40 days) additions include: Set Profiles have been added for: 1889  The Stage Supplements 1949  R406-3  Bowman Gum (PCL) 1951  R406-5  Bowman Gum 1952  R406-6  Bowman Gum 1953  R406-7  Bowman Gum (Color) 1953  R406-8  Bowman Gum (B&W) 1954  R406-9  Bowman Gum 1955  R406-10  Bowman Gum (Color TV) Set Checklists have been added for: 1889  The Stage Supplements 1909-13  E254 & E270  Colgan's (combined checklist for all Colgan's sets) 1932  R328  U. S. Caramel 1933  E285  Rittenhouse Candy 1934  R310  Butterfinger 1932  Giants Schedule Postcards Set Galleries have been added for: 1889  The Stage Supplements 1909-11  E254  Colgan's Chips 1932  R328  U. S. Caramel 1933  E285  Rittenhouse Candy (organized by player last name) 1933  E285  Rittenhouse Candy (organized by card rank and suit) 1934  R310  Butterfinger 1932  Giants Schedule Postcards Updating the website with checklists and full set galleries for additional vintage sets is an ongoing project, so check back often to check out the latest additions. There are now many thousands of card images on the Old Cardboard website and the list continues to grow. We welcome and encourage feedback with checklist additions, card images, error corrections and suggestions. Please send all input to editor@oldcardboard.com. 4. Old Cardboard Magazine Issue #19 Set for Distribution This Week Issue #19 (Spring 2009) of Old Cardboard magazine is currently being distributed. If you haven't received yours yet it should be delivered in the next few days. The cover (shown at right) highlights the featured article in the issue: "1909-1913 Colgan’s Baseball Sets: Packed with 'The Gum That’s Round'" by John Spano. With input from leading collectors of the Colgan's sets, second-time Old Cardboard author John Spano compares the three Colgan's baseball card sets: the E254 "Stars of the Diamond," the E270-1 "Red Borders" and the E270-2 "Tin Tops." Side panels on the life of John Colgan and the eight variations of the Colgan's round tin containers are also provided, along with examples of period advertising and promotional premiums. The kick-off article in the issue, "1889 The Stage 'Stars of the Diamond:' A Rare Large-Format Set of 14 Players" by Lew Lipset expands on an article Lew published twelve years ago in VCBC. Here, Lipset describes in detail the baseball portraits provided as a weekly "bonus" between May 25 and August 31, 1889. All fourteen of the weekly supplements are listed in a set checklist and pictured in a gallery, along with summary information about the newspaper, the photographers and the player bios that originally accompanied each image. Another article, "'Chicago Cubs’ Story,' A 1929 Perspective" by S. O. Grauley, originally appeared as a supplement distributed in 1929 by the Philadelphia Inquirer. The oversize supplement--a colorized team photo of the Chicago Cubs--is reproduced on the centerfold of the magazine. The Grauley narrative found on the back of the supplement is reproduced in article format and provides a 1929 perspective of the Cubs road to achieving the National League pennant that year. Grauley was a longtime Inquirer sportswriter, and charter member of the Baseball/Writers' Association of America. The final article in the issue, "1887 H804-21 Tobin Lithographs: The 'Cadillac' of BB Trade Cards" by Old Cardboard Staff describes a series of nineteenth cards considered by long-time collector Frank Keetz to be the "Cadillac" of baseball trade cards. The set is unique in that it labels the caricature subjects with names of actual players of the period. A gallery of all 10 cards in the set is provided along with examples from two sister "Tobin" sets printed in black and white. The above articles are in addition to the magazine's regular Editor's Notebook, Collector's Dugout, and Old Cardboard Crosswords sections. Issue #19 can be ordered on-line (either as a single issue or as the first of a one-year subscription) from the Subscriptions Page of the Old Cardboard website. 5. News Briefs (A Digest of Recent Hobby Happenings) Whiz Bang Gum Set Uses Exhibit Images. After reading the March issue of the Old Cardboard eNewsletter, reader Adam Warshaw has pointed out that two of the three baseball cards found in the recently discovered Whiz Bang Gum set use the same images as those used in the "Postcard Back" Exhibit set. The poses can be compared from Galleries of the two sets found on the Old Cardboard website: 1932 Whiz Bang Gum and 1925-31 "Postcard-Back" Exhibits Thanks to Adam for "connecting the dots" and sharing his observations. Baseball Card Mystery Geared for Young Readers. If you've been looking for a way to introduce your children (or grand-children) to vintage card collecting, you may want to get a copy of "Safe at Home," written by Robert Skead. The part-fact-part-fiction mystery is based on the 1915 M101-5/4 major league rookie card of Babe Ruth. First printed in 1997, a 10th anniversary edition was recently announced by Cross Training Publishing, P. O. Box 1874, Kearney, NE 68848. The book is available for $6.99 at bookstores or by contacting the publisher at 1-800-430-8588. Old Cardboard eNews Reaches Five Year Mark. This issue of the Old Cardboard eNewsletter marks the completion of five years of uninterrupted monthly publication. From its modest beginning in May 2004, OC eNews has now grown to a significant hobby resource distributed to more than 7,000 subscribers each month. In addition to hobby calendar updates and links to newly added Set Profiles, Checklists and Galleries on the Old Cardboard website and News Briefs of Recent Hobby Happenings, each issue also routinely includes articles covering selected vintage card sets, book reviews, reader comments and feedback, abstracts of articles in Old Cardboard magazine and much more. If not already a subscriber, you can sign up to receive the FREE monthly eNewsletter as well as review past issues by selecting the free eNews sign-up icon on the home page of the Old Cardboard website. More than one hundred selected articles from Old Cardboard eNewsletters have also been indexed in the Old Cardboard Article Index--a searchable database of articles on vintage card sets from several leading hobby publications both current from the past. We appreciate the continued support of all readers, contributors and newsletter sponsors. With your continued support, we hope to continue uninterrupted publication for another five years and beyond. Thanks again to all! Lyman and Brett Hardeman Old Cardboard, LLC. Old Cardboard, LLC. was established in December 2003, to help bring information on vintage baseball card collecting to the hobbyist.  Produced by collectors for collectors, this comprehensive resource consists of three components: (1) Old Cardboard Magazine, (2) a companion website at www.oldcardboard.com and (3) this eNewsletter. The Old Cardboard website contains more than 500 pages of descriptive reference information for baseball card sets produced fifty years ago or longer.  Each of these set summaries has a direct set-specific link to auctions and a similar link to 's powerful search engine for further research.  The website also includes a Show and Auction Calendar, an eBay Top 50 Vintage Sellers List, and much more.  As a result, the Old Cardboard website makes a great "Alt-tab" companion for vintage card shoppers and researchers.  Old Cardboard eNews provides current hobby news, upcoming shows and auctions, and updates to the website and the magazine.  It is published around the middle of each month.  For a FREE subscription to the eNewsletter, or for subscription information on Old Cardboard Magazine, please visit the website at www.oldcardboard.com.  If you find this information resource helpful, please tell your friends.  We need your support and your feedback. Thank you.