Japanese Menko UPDATE: JCM 2: 1948 Baseball Back

 Set size: 19+ cards (10 baseball), 1-1/2" x 2-3/8"

Front Design: A color cartoon depicting actual players or a generic team member is on the front, with Japanese text identifying the player and/or the team.

Back Design: The blue ink backs have a solid baseball with three crossed bats behind it, containing a mitt, trophy, and the words "BASE BALL". A menko number (math equation) is in a rectangular box at the bottom.

Parallels and Similars: This menko is easily distinguished from other menko issues by the large blue baseball and text on the back.

Distribution: It's unknown how these menko were distributed, but most menko were packaged in hanging bags, usually sold in uncut sheets of 2, 4, or larger. Most cards were hand-cut by someone along the way - the manufacturers, shop owners, or collectors.

Thoughts: These are wonderful, colorful cards. There will be many more to come. I have a record of 178 unique menko sets, and while I'm in Japan I hope I'm able to acquire and show most of them to you. This particular issue is not really scarce, other than a few cards. Using the math equations on the back, I'm able to determine that the card with the 7521x10 menko is either Testuharu Kawakami or Michinori Tsubouchi, while the other menko (6465x39) is either Torao Ooka or a generic Kyuei player (my guess: it's the generic player). It's always good to have a bit more information on the unknown cards in my collection! (And, 1 menko set down, 177 to go!) The set is given the designation JCM 2 (similar to T for tobacco/etc) which means to me: Japanese Classic (rectangular) Menko.

Additional Images:

1948 Topps Magic Photos

Set size: 252 total, 19 baseball subjects, 7/8" x 1-1/2"

Front Design: The vertical card fronts have a black and white photo with the subject printed over the photo.

Back Design: The horizontal black and white backs indicate which "series" it was from (in this case, "Aviation Pioneers"), as well as a trivia question relating to the subject on the front of the cards. The cards are numbered as part of each series. Baseball players feature a -K card number suffix.

Parallels and Similars: 1955 and 1956 Topps Hocus Focus cards feature the same concept and similar card front designs, though the backs of each issue are unique.

Distribution: Cards were issued in packs/wrappers with instructions on how to develop the photos. The photos were originally blank, and would need to be developed by spitting on them.

Thoughts: Gross. Really gross. Totally cool, but incredibly gross. Let's hope this is one concept Topps never brings back as a retro insert set. This issue contains the first baseball cards issued by Topps - four years before the iconic 1952 set. Not only is this the first baseball issue, it's the first card issue from Topps. Well-developed near-mint cards are worth $60 (and can easily bring more), but non-sport subjects in lesser condition with poorly developed photos are thankfully easier to pick up.


From Wikipedia: The subsets by group letter are: A Boxing Champions, B All-American Basketball, C All-American Football, D Wrestling Champions, E Track & Field Champions, F Stars of Stage & Screen, G American Dogs, H General Sports, I None issued, J Movie Stars, K Baseball Hall of Fame, L Aviation Pioneers, M Famous Landmarks, N American Inventors, O American Military Leaders, P American Explorers, Q Basketball Thrills, R Football Thrills, S Figures of the Wild West, T General Sports.

1948 Smiths Oakland Oaks

Set size: 25

Front Design: A black and white posed photo fills most of the 2" x 3" card, with a small white bar at the bottom containing the player's name, position, and the card number.

Back Design: Red ink provides a short career biography and a Smiths clothing store advertisement.

Parallels and Similars: You're not seeing double, and I haven't posted the same set twice. The 1947 Smiths set looks identical, though the card stock on the '48 series is better and has a glossier finish.

Distribution: Unknown, though like the 1947 version it was probably given away at the stadium.

Thoughts: The '47 Smiths set was the second set I reviewed here, and now by post 14 I'm reviewing the other Smiths issue. It's all about the luck of the draw (or scanning order). See the 1947 set description for some more thoughts, but you have to admire the text on the back, describing what looks like some I'm-just-glad-to-be-here rookie as "rugged." Billy Martin and Casey Stengel (as manager) are the lone highlights of this team set.

Additional Links: Of course, Number 5 Type Collection beat me to this set by several months, and his card is in much better condition than mine.