The mystery of those Springfield minor league 1908-09 Rose Postcards

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Posted By: RobertS

Remember those odd Springfield minor league postcards that sold on eBay a few months ago? The cards prompted an interesting discussion here about their derivation and authenticity (see previous thread: http://www.network54.com/Forum/message?forumid=153652&messageid=1077948429).

This past weekend at a postcard collectors club meeting in New York, an odd Rose postcard surfaced that appears to answer all the previous questions about the Springfield cards.

The newly-discovered postcard appears to be a blank "do-it-yourself" kit, of sorts, issued by Rose for individuals or businesses to insert their own photos and seal-up. One of this card's previous owners has penciled in the words "PERSONAL PHOTO POSTCARD (UNUSED)" on the postcard's reverse.

An in-depth analysis of this aspect of the Rose set is available here, http://www.vintageball.com/rose.html, complete with photos of a major league subject, several Springfield examples and the new "blank" postcard.

It seems, these Springfield cards were probably not offically issued by The Rose Co., as they appear to be identitical to this blank. If anyone has any additional info, please post it and I will be happy to add it to this Rose page.