Baseball card

In the mid-19th century, baseball and photography gained popularity in the United States. As a result, baseball clubs began to pose for group and single photos, as did representatives of other clubs and associations. Some of the photos were printed on small cards, similar to modern wallet photos. Baseball became a professional sport in the late 1860s, the first collectible cards featuring baseball players appeared. They were used by various companies to promote their business, even if the advertised products were not associated with baseball. In 1868, Peck and Snyder, a sporting goods store in New York, began trading cards with baseball teams. ^[2] Peck and Snyder sold baseball equipment and cards were a natural way of advertising. Peck and Snyder cards are considered the first baseball cards. The first cigarette cards were created in 1875 in the form of inserts in cigarette packs by the Allan and Ginter tobacco company in the United States. ^[3] By the beginning of 1886, images of baseball players were often invested in cigarette packs of various tobacco companies. By the end of the 19th century, baseball had become so popular that card production had spread beyond America and even to the Pacific Islands. ^[four]

Collectible cards of that time contained an image on the one hand and advertising information on the other. Advances in color printing have increased the attractiveness of cards. As a result, black-and-white or sepia photographs began to be used on maps, as well as color illustrations that were not necessarily based on photographs.

The first baseball cards were produced in the United States; Along with the growing popularity of baseball, baseball cards began to be produced in other countries. The first sets appeared in Japan in 1898 ^[4] , in Cuba in 1909 ^[5] and in Canada in 1912 ^[6] .

On the front side (front) of the card is usually an image of a player with identifying information, including his name and team name. On the flip side, the most modern maps contain statistics and / or biographical information. Many early cards contained company advertisements or trademarks, especially on the back. Tobacco companies played the most important role in distributing baseball cards, which they used as value added bonuses and in advertising their products. ^[7] Functionally baseball cards are business cards, and in format they resemble playing cards - at least initially. There is no single standard for size or shape; basically baseball cards today are rectangular, measuring 6.4 cm by 8.9 cm. ^[8]

The most valuable baseball card in the history of collectible cards was released in 1909, it depicts Honus Wagner . In 1988, it was sold for a record amount of $ 110,000. And already in 2007, a collector from California paid $ 2.8 million for her, while six months before the deal, she was bought “only” for 2.35 million at the eBay online auction . However, the transaction was not open, and officially the price record was not fixed ^[1] . Initially, the American Tobacco Company planned to issue cards without the permission of Honus. Being a staunch opponent of smoking, Honus Wagner forbade the use of his image, but a number of cards were issued from 1909 to 1911. To date, only 57 copies of this card are known. ^[ten]