Was this the first baseball postcard?

[BeanTown]

Originally Posted by steve B

Well, that made me take a closer look, and to look up some Canadian postal history. And that led some interesting places.

The stamp is correct for 1893, there are finer points to that whole series involving papers and colors to determine when and where it was printed, but While my wife collects Canada, I haven't really gotten into most of that.

The interesting bit is the rate described on the piece itself, Book post, printed matter only. That would be very unusual for a postcard, which went at the same 1c rate
From the 1893 Canadian postal rates

3rd Class Matter.—Addressed to Canada.—1. Transient newspapers and periodicals. Rate, 1 cent per 4 oz.; prepayment compulsory; limit of weight, 5 lbs. A single paper weighing not more than 1 oz. may pass for ½ cent.
2. Book packets. Rate, 1 cent per 4 oz.; limit of weight, 5 lbs., except for a single book, in which case the limit is 7 lbs.
3. Miscellaneous matter. (a) Printed pamphlets, printed circulars, etc., and also seeds, cuttings, bulbs, etc.; rate, 1 cent per 4 oz. (b) Maps, lithographs, photographs, circulars produced by a multiplying process easy to recognize, deeds, mortgages, insurance policies, militia, school and municipal returns, printed stationery, etc.; rate, 1 cent per 2 oz.
Circulars, Prices Current, etc., to pass at 1 c. rate must be ENTIRELY PRINTED. Any insertion in ink is not permissible, except the name and address of the addressee, the name of the sender and the date of the circular itself.

So 1 cent was pretty much the minimum. (Regular newspapers were carried free to other cities!)

Here's an example of a different photographers wrapper for photographs from the same era.


It's possible that the piece is from either a brochure, or a similar wrapper, and happens to have part of the advertisement for that picture on the back.

Steve,

I thought it looked like an 1870 stamp. But I'm no stamp expert whatsoever. And by chance the postmark does not hit postcard (that can happen but more often both stamp and postcard or envelope are “hit” by postmark and (in stamp collecting terminology) are “married”.

Less concerned about postmark than... "IF" this stamp is from 1870, who would use to mail 24 years later?

Also, small dimension woodcuts with player portraits often appeared as illustrations in some sporting newspapers. Here’s a cut out pasted onto a scrapbook cover I remembered from Hunt (top right pic).

If any of these that are cancelled were still attached to postcard or envelope, the post mark would hit the postcard or envelope.

1870 Canada S#37 orange/red Queen Victoria stamp lot all used Varieties? This image and description came from eBay (bottom right)

The font is also different on both front and back. Good disccussion as the mystery continues.

[aquarius31]

Originally Posted by BeanTown

Steve,

Also, small dimension woodcuts with player portraits often appeared as illustrations in some sporting newspapers. Here’s a cut out pasted onto a scrapbook cover I remembered from Hunt (top right pic).

If you have small dimension examples other than this one, I'd like to see it as they're not common at all and rare if it depicts an entire team. The one you posted looks more like it came from a sports guide and not a newspaper. The original item in question is a woodcut and it's either from a newspaper, part of a larger item that was cut out or came in that original format. I guess we can't state definitely any option unless someone does find an 1893 newspaper with this exact woodcut. It's a neat item regardless.

[BeanTown]

Hi George,

Unfortunately I have no way to lookup up woodcuts from scrapbooks or old newspapers - these story illustration woodcuts (unlike Harpers woodcuts for example) are not checklisted and documented. Even woodcuts from early Sporting News and Sporting Life are not checklisted and can’t be looked up except if a woodcut appears on the cover and happens to have been auctioned.

[BeanTown]

Surprised more are not looking at postcard and at least asking “hey is this really what it is presented as printed this way or a created.

Here’s another red flag: look at the edges of the postcard. WHY is it not perfectly machine cut rectangularly? If you look at the edges, it looks to have an irregular imperfect cut especially obvious in a few places along the edge. No machine (obviously) cuts like this. Another red flag that this is not an as-made machine-cut mass produced postcard. Why would the edges not have the quality and uniformity of a machine cut postcard. I know that anyone can theoretically take a scissors and do anything to a postcard but is that the explanation for the cut?

But at bottom border the black line can only be seen on left side of bottom border. It’s hard to tell if the black border does not appear on the right due to the hand cut, OR if it is on the same plane (as the black line to the left on bottom border) in parts on the right and it is just missing. If that is the case. Then if is missing because if wasn’t printed there. And the reason could be as simple as the bottom black border separates a newspaper story from the illustration above.

Postcard appears to be sent to “?” S.A. Pierce of Glafton, Mass. just looking online this appears to be a prominent family in Glafton. I guess foreign stamps were ok to use going from Canada to US in 1893 (i have no idea how these things work)

Looking at edges: on right side a black border is easily seen.

[BeanTown]

Interesting that this same item is back again in Huggins and Scott from their previous auction. Looks like a new description with it being folk art. Plus a lower starting bid.

https://www.hugginsandscott.com/cgi-...l?itemid=43718