The core of this CD-ROM is the
The Benjamin K. Edwards Collection
"The Benjamin K. Edwards Collection includes
2,100 early baseball cards dating from 1887 to 1914. Distributed in cigarette
packs, these cards were the forerunners of modern sports trading cards. They
portray such legendary figures of the game as Ty Cobb stealing third base
for Detroit, Tris Speaker batting for Boston, and pitcher Cy Young posing
in his Cleveland uniform. Although many of the greatest players from the
first decades of professional baseball are represented, the collection does
not include individual cards for either Honus Wagner or Babe
Ruth."
"Baseball cards were first issued during the
1880s when tobacco companies used them to promote sales. Although they also
served to stiffen soft cigarette packages, advertising was their primary
function, for as early as 1887 cards and cigarettes were packed in more rigid
"slide and shell" boxes which had no need for reinforcement. Although the
cards vary in design and format, most are 2 5/8 x 1 1/2 inches, much smaller
than today's trading cards. Two exceptions are the large format sets of Turkey
Red Cabinets and Old Judge Cabinets, produced as premiums in exchange for
coupons distributed in cigarette packs. Issued either as black-and-white
photographs or color prints, the cards portray ballplayers both in action
scenes and formal poses."
"More than one thousand major and minor league
ballplayers, from teams in thirteen identified leagues and seventy-five cities
in the United States and Canada, are represented in the collection. They
include celebrated stars playing for storied major league clubs in Boston,
Brooklyn, Cleveland, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis, along
with more obscure minor leaguers performing in Birmingham, Little Rock, Memphis,
Norfolk, Oakland, Providence, Richmond, Shreveport, Toledo, and elsewhere.
Canadian cities represented include Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and
Victoria.Rebel Oakes."
"Major leaguers account for more than three-quarters
of the images in the collection. Great pitchers from the period include Cy
Young, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Smoky Joe Wood, Chief Bender, Joe
McGinnity, Eddie Plank, Rube Marquard, and Rube Waddell, among others. Hall
of Fame field players include King Kelly, Cap Anson, Home Run Baker, Dan
Brouthers, Ed Delahanty, Eddie Collins, Buck Ewing, Wee Willie Keeler, Napoleon
Lajoie, and Zack Wheat. Researchers may also find notable player partnerships,
such as the immortal Cubs infield trio of Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank
Chance or the talented Red Sox outfield comprised of Tris Speaker, Duffy
Lewis, and Harry Hooper. Connie Mack, John McGraw, and Charles Comiskey are
among the game's outstanding early managers depicted."
"Apart from the wealth of baseball lore and
history the Edwards Collection represents, it also provides a rich resource
for the study of commercial advertising and printing processes from the period.
The earliest cards were issued either as straightforward black-and-white
photographs or color lithographs mounted on stiff cards. Reproductive printing
techniques advanced rapidly in the 1890s, however, and most cards produced
after the turn of the century were created by combining relief-printed color
with a black-and-white halftone image."
The CD contains the front of all of the collection. The reverses
(showing the advertisements) are shown if there is printing on the back.
Also included are humdreds of photos, documents and other items relating
to the game of baseball.
The images below are full size.
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