Of course Exhibit cards are baseball cards, or from whatever sport the athlete represents.
Are they mainstream? Yes and no. Produced in Chicago, the areas they sold to were cities and well-populated regions, counting then the likes of the Chicagoland area's huge suburbia. Think about it, the company could not supply every city in the USA with an exhibit card vending machine.
In the end, I would think many parts of the country were well fortified with availability, but then many parts were not.
In Chicago suburbia where I grew up, I remember a nice restaurant in the upstairs area of the Randhurst Shopping Center in Wheeling, Illinois in the mid-60s with a huge treasure chest for the kids to select one free toy / trinket for coming with their parents to the restaurant. A nice public relations gimmick. I was a bit too old to qualify. However, as I passed by the open chest, there were a few baseball exhibit cards spread around with the toys. The cards were not wrapped, just lying there unprotected. Just waitin' to be dinged, jostled, possibly creased, and even fingered by childrens' hands that were by then perhaps a bit moist and greasy from enjoying their meal.
Their oversize nature left them extremely vulnerable to all sorts of handling that reduced their condition. Furthermore, what would a kid back then do with a nice exhibit of say, Mickey Mantle, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, Whitey Ford, and so on? Ponder that pertinent question for an hour.
The exhibits were gorgeous, black 'n white or sepia, while the older editions had a pleasing variety of sepia colors such as blue, violet, green, red, and brown. Some collectors rate them way below mainstream bubblegum cards. I do not. Perhaps not equal, but close, very close, to them. Not third cousins, thrice removed.
I would NEVER label exhibits as oddball. They're too beautiful and elegant for that. The epitome of oddball are the 1967 Topps Who Am I set, or the 1957 Swift's Premium Franks set, otherwise known as Swift Meats. Another would be the 1969-70 Topps Basketball Rulers, that came as a free insert in a wax pack of the regular cards. A further would be the 1965 Topps "Push-Pull". Definitely oddball. MikeGarcia put up two great images today of the 1965 Topps "Push-Pull" on the POSTWAR thread regarding Oddball issues.
In this categorical matter of the exhibits, collectors try to properly place them. But, where do we put them? They're not gum. I put them in with the regional / food issues because even though they were available nationwide, it was only in selected large localities. A similar example that's always been classed as a regional are the 1954 Wilson Franks. Wilsons were nationwide, but it was a small promotion in much more limited areas across the country, wherever Wilson Franks were sold, period. Back to the Exhibit availability. A baseball card-crazy kid in Beaverton, Oregon had zilcho hopes of ever seeing an Exhibit Company vending machine. Some outlet around there might order a gross of the cards for sales purposes, as the aforementioned restaurant, but that's a pretty big "might". Remember, those proprietors in the zillions of towns around the country would have to either know about them, or his supplier of candy, gum, toys, and novelties would have to know about the exhibit cards---AND WHERE AND HOW TO ORDER THEM FOR THE GIVEN OUTLET. I probably don't need to remind you of the fact there was no internet or email back then. Then there's the ravages of handling, and what kids tended to do with their exhibits, which then drives me to put the Exhibits with the regional / food category, since they seem to share in the matter of "built-in rarity", "not that easy to come by at the time of issue", and a "severe condition rarity based on how the cards were handled, displayed, or mounted".
There was a scene I recall in the wonderful old Warner Brothers movie, "Gentleman Jim", the biography of World Heavyweight Boxing Champion James Corbett, portrayed by the dashing Errol Flynn. A youngster is seen standing up his Exhibit cards on his bedroom dresser of either James Corbett, or his famous opponent, first boxing champion John L. Sullivan. This is the sort of matter I was referring to when I encouraged you to ponder what a kid would do with an exhibit.
Ya think those beautiful Exhibits are gonna remain in MINT condition set up on the wood top? Or perhaps the dresser was covered with a cloth or mat, whereby the fragile Exhibit cards might snag on the same when occasionally being picked up to view closely --ding, corner crease, permanent finger prints!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's not all. Yeah, bub, there's more. Back then, a large pitcher of water resting on a large bowl would be on that dresser to wash his face in each morning. Don't wash too vigorously Harvey, or droplets of water will shoot out all over Corbett's or Sullivan's nice Exhibit cards! Now Buster, don't be in front of your cards when you have to sneeze. Oh no. No. Watch out! AAAAAHHHCHEWWW!
Buster didn't cover his mouth. Now there's gooey green, hairy, snot-infused hockers and spittel all over John L.'s mug. I can't look. I can't stand it. GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!!!!!!!
See ya later, guys. Have a swell weekend. Dress warmly with the onslaught of the fall weather and chill!
Remember that when you look at your raw cards. At least with a graded card, you can just wipe anything off!
Cheers. ---Brian Powell