Pre-War Card Collector

I know of a few people who have done all three sets. I'd love to know the actual number of folks that have them intact today. T207 is such a slog.

Minus my graded cards, here are the 928 cards that comprise the 520-card T206 set and the basic/non-error 208-card T205 and 200-card T207 sets. Out of the binder for scanning and photo ops today. #Cardsky

No problem, anytime!

I'm not sure that I'm actually collecting P.T. Barnum stuff, but I look out for his cards when I can. Here are some early cards and an original ticket from 1887 for a Madison Square Garden show. #cardsky

Took me a while but I finally found a suitable upgrade for the Chief Bender card in my T207 set. #Cardsky

Ha -- hard to tell if it's intentional or a stray print mark

These 1885 Lichten Bros. trade cards featured child boxers. While most variants of these cards do not provide names, a rarer variant includes the names of heavyweight champion John Sullivan and Paddy Ryan, as a depiction of one of their fights. #Cardsky

The basketball cards in the T51 Murad College Sports set have taken the recent attention as they're oft-recognized as the first true cards of the sport. But the Michigan football card has always been a popular one. Here's the rare 'Number on front' 1st series variation. #Cardsky

Ha!

It's a great one! Though, his E95 is probably my favorite.

Hall of Fame Native American pitcher Chief Bender led the league in win-loss percentages three different times. Here's his card in the 1909-11 E90-1 American Caramel baseball card set. #Cardsky

Same!

1912 Fry's Cocoa!

Among the earliest cards of legendary inventor Thomas Edison are these pair of c1879-80 advertising trade cards for Edison's Polyform medication, which used his name and likeness to promote their product. Edison later took the distributor to court for using his likeness. #Cardsky

Ice baseball? No, I have not! I have an ice soccer card from a polar expedition set in 1915 and an ice yachting card in a Lambert/Butler set. But besides the common sports (skating, hockey, etc.) those are the less common pre-war ones that come to mind. Post-war I'm sure there are many.

There are conflicting dates on when exactly this set of six winter sport cards was issued by Diamantine Schuhputz, a German shoe polish brand. Here are four of the six cards, including the highlight, which is the ice hockey card. #Cardsky

I'm sorry but this card was too pretty not to buy. #Cardsky

That's awesome -- and I'd never given the idea of uncut ones any thought.

I've had thousands of Stollwerck Chocolate cards & know how difficult it is to find ones not in low-grade. Majority of graded ones I see are no higher than a 3 as many have indented corners from being stored in albums for decades. Couldn't pass up this SGC 4 of Ben Franklin. #cardsky

Athletics and Red Sox star Jack Barry appeared on the membership cards for the Rovers Junior Baseball League, likely in Canada, in 1919 and 1920. While we don't know exactly how Barry was linked to the league, here are examples of the front of both foldout cards. #Cardsky

The Original Relic Cards: 1889 Duke Postage Stamp Set - Pre-War Cards This American tobacco card set featured actual postage stamps on the fronts

The original relic cards! prewarcards.com/2020/02/13/1...

1889 N85 Duke Stamps cards picturing -- card collectors in the 19th century. Love these. #Cardsky

19th Century Fredericks CDV Touts Baseball ‘Founder’ and Civil War Officers Yikes, it’s been nearly two months since I’ve written anything. Time flies. So I’d first seen this 19th century carte de viste (CDV) featuring Civil War officers a few years back …

Been a little while since a new article on the site, but here's the latest on a Civil War CDV with ties to baseball, professional pedestrian (walker) Edward Payson Weston, and a U.S. President not named Abraham Lincoln. prewarcollector.com/2025/09/16/c... #Cardsky

I can't get excited about a 1960s Topps miscut or missing ink error but stuff like this on pre-war cards has always been a favorite of mine because of the rarity. I've got about 3,000 Stollwerck cards and have had/sold thousands more, and these are the first scraps I've seen.

Here's a nice pickup in today's mail. A total of 18 Stollwerck Chocolate cards all missing ink. These all have only red and yellow ink applied and are hand cuts. While I've seen miscut Stollwercks before, these are the first that amount to scraps that I've seen. #Cardsky

One of the few big cards left in my 1887 N184 Kimball Champions set is in today's mail -- this card of legendary sharpshooter Annie Oakley. This makes 39/50 on the set. I doubt I get to the finish line by the end of the year, but I'd like to be close. #Cardsky

Yes, a few www.google.com/search?q=cai...

I love these 1893 N259 Types of the Stage cards of circus performers. The set mostly features actresses and theater stars, and also includes a handful of performers you'd see in a circus. #Cardsky

Not pre-war but I started collecting the 1991-93 Pro Line Portraits pack-inserted certified football autographs set this year. With 370 of the roughly 525 total cards, I just passed the 70% mark. #cardsky

The 1890 N353 Consolidated Cigarettes "Ladies of the White House" may be the first card set dedicated to First Ladies. Martha Washington got two cards -- one picturing her as a young bride, and a second as the elderly wife of George. #Cardsky