Discussion of Scarcer Postcard Sets

The recent Bregstone thread got me thinking about the scarcer PC sets out there. I'm guessing Bregstones are right up there near the top of any scarcity ranking.

Anyone willing to try a rough ranking of PC sets, in order of scarcity? That would be a great place to start.

Which ones are the toughest

Which ones are your favorites

This is nowhere near a comprehensive list, but here are some scarce PC sets to start us off:

1904-05 Rotograph
1905 Souvenir Shop of Cleveland (PC785)
1905-06 Lincoln Publishing Athletics
1906 Ullman
1907-09 Novelty Cutlery
1908 Detroit Free Press Tigers
1908-09 Rose Co.
1909 Topping & Co. Tigers
1910 PC796 Sepia
1909-16 Max Stein

Rotographs and Novelty Cutlery are awesome looking but I think my favorite of these are the ornate looking Lincoln Publishing PC's. Here's a Waddell from that set:

postcards suck. move along everyone, nothing to see here.

so... how about t206's? Those are pretty neat.

Bicem wrote:postcards suck. move along everyone, nothing to see here.
so... how about t206's? Those are pretty neat.

Hilarious, Jeff.

I think everybody should be hoarding W601 PC's

Hmm...I was sort of hoping my initial post would arouse a substantial discussion of these scarce PC sets. Anyone care to address the topic at hand? I think it's a pretty interesting niche of prewar collecting; was looking forward to learning more about it.

Monarch Typewriter
Wannamaker Photographic Store

hard to beat Novelty Cutlery in terms of beauty and player selection.

If I had the money and lack of focus it would be a fun area to get into as money poses are rarely, if ever seen. You can also find photos of players that you don't otherwise see in card sets.

Jay

The image on the PC796 Brown may be my favorite pose on any card ever issued. The angle of his windup, the clear shot of how he got his nickname...

Matt, I'm a fan of that PC796 Brown for the same reasons. Great card!

Some unique poses in the 1908 Wolverine News set. Especially "Wild Bill at the Water Wagon", gotta love it:

I've always been a big fan of the PC785 set. Of course I could be biased, though, as I have this example to constantly remind me of the beauty this set offers:



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Zach, thanks for sharing. That Moore is a special one, so clean and crisp looking. PC785's are so seldomly seen, where in the world did you find it?


Here's a Lajoie from the same set (scan from Old Cardboard):

Hi Ben,

The story regarding the Moore is bittersweet. Two Nationals ago, in Chicago, the Moore was pointed out to me by Todd S. and Tim N. Immediately, my dad and I found the table. Much to our relief, the Moore was priced at a steal, however, just before we were about to buy it, the dealer's partner walked up and more than doubled the price--putting it out of our league. The guy does two shows a year he told us, and gave us his number if sometime we would like to purchase it from him.

Fast-forward 6 months and i'm feverishly looking for this guys number. To my despair, I had lost it. I get a call from Anthony Nex right before I'm heading to the airport for the Chicago National, he was already there and saw a rare Willie Mays skateboard that I've been looking for. Long story short, I get to the National, Anthony takes me to the skateboard, and I recognize the seller--look around a second and see the Moore still in his case. Without hesitation I bought it. Apparently a collector of the set had just passed on it because of the price, even though it was the last needed for his set (I thought the price was on par with current sales).

The Lajoie is fantastic, he has an angelic appearance. I lucked out with the Moore and am glad, they're truly difficult cards.

I don't know if they get much rarer than this 1909 Atlanta PC set (the postacrds are oversized at approx. 4"x6"). I have only heard of one example of the Castleton, and have seen a scan of Dick Bayless, which I believe is also the only copy known of that player. Anyways, as I collect Castleton, I was really bummed when I saw the Castleton several years back in Lew Lipset's completed auctions, and on a whim went to his "For Sale" page and there is was for sale, I overpaid for it at the time, but I feel the price has been strengthened in the past years without another example surfacing.

Speaking of PC785's, look what made a VERY brief appearance on ebay yesterday: PC785 Joss

Wow, amazing piece. Was it you, Jeff?

WOW, Those PC785's are amazing.
They look like the PC version of Horner Cabinets.
Are they all Portraits?

Not designated a PC but many have been used as Postcards. Not sure why Pinkerton Scorecard/Blank Back/ PC's are designated with ACC of W530 while their counterpart Cabinets are T5's. Interesting Issue
My lone copy

The PC's were issued a couple of years after the cabinets and are second generation photos. Still, they are quite nice.

hrbaker wrote:Monarch Typewriter

Anyone have scans of these?

Not mine. Sold in Lipset's April 2009 Auction for $750. Sorry for the poor scan from a copy.

(not mine either)