Posted By:
Hal LewisRhys:
I see your points about the "cabinets" vs. "cards" argument...
but what if someone at Duffy's Bar drew charcoal sketches of the ballplayers as they sat at the bar, and then sold them on the street with an ad for Duffy's Bar on the back??
Would these be baseball "cards"??
Not to me.
Or in modern times, what if someone at Duffy's bar took photos of the players and sold them to customers with a "Duffy's Bar" ad on the back. NOT "trading cards" to me.
They might be baseball ITEMS or baseball ADVERTISEMENTS...
but just not "trading cards" to me.
I understand your position about the photographers making BUNCHES of these "cabinets" and then giving them out to the public as a way to ADVERTISE for their photography business...
but I still don't think that a kid in 1890 could have walked up to the photography studio and collected a whole set of these cabinets.
I think it was probably somewhat expensive to make each one, and they were probably given out JUDICIOUSLY to certain people more as "business cards" for the photographer.
But hey, to each his own!