1939-46 Exhibits Salutation

Set size: 83 cards, 3-3/8" x 5-3/8"

Front Design: A full-bleed black and white photo is accompanied by a personal greeting and signature by the player. The greeting can differ from card to card, such as "Yours truly," "Best wishes," "Cordially," etc.

Back Design: The backs are blank.

Parallels and Similars: There are several issues of Exhibits from 1921 through the 1960s, additional issues in the 1970s and 1980, and an unauthorized reprint set of 16 reproduced in the 1990s. It does not appear that any of the reprints are from the Salutation set. The 2004 Leaf set also contained an Exhibit insert set (of normal card size) reproducing most of the variations seen throughout the Exhibit sets.

Distribution: Exhibit cards were distributed in vending machines, usually for a penny each. Each year, the set would be reissued, adding or removing players or changing photos as the Exhibits company saw fit. While most cards were issued in the 1939-46 time period, some of the most popular players were reissued every year, possibly as far as the 1960s.

Thoughts: While I don't have many in my collection, I've always enjoyed the Exhibits sets for their simplicity and beauty. Like the Zeenuts issues, they have only a small amount of writing over the picture, allowing the collector to enjoy the image. Because of their large size, these would be great for use in a display with memorabilia or souvenirs.

Additional Links: Old Cardboard has basic information on all the Exhibits issues through the 1960s. Adam Warshaw's site looks at some of the more "Interesting Exhibit Cards" (his title not mine).

1932 Zeenuts PCL

Set size: 120 cards, 1-3/4" x 3-1/2".

Front Design: A player photo fills the card front. Instead of "Coast League," the player's last name, and team city are on the front. Starting in 1931, the year of issue stopped appearing on the card, making it difficult to identify the year of issue without a coupon. Based on a limited number of scans examined, it seems that there are some text differences from year to year to help - 1932 cards seem to have this small type font instead of hand-written information, and only the player's name appears in all capital letters.

Back Design: Backs are blank.

Parallels and Similars: As mentioned above and in previous posts, Zeenuts cards are similar in design from year to year.

Distribution: Issued in San Francisco by the Collins-McCarthy Candy Co., the cards were inserted into boxes of Zeenuts, Ruf-Neks, and Home Run Kisses. Cards originally had coupons attached to the bottom, but it is tough to find intact issues.

Thoughts: This is the third Zeenuts card featured on this blog, and there are a few more I'll be showing this month. Addison Read played in for the Oakland Oaks in the Pacific Coast League for 12 seasons, mostly as catcher. It appears that is all he did in professional baseball - I don't see any additional statistics or information to indicate he was traded to other teams, moved up or down in the minors, or was promoted to the major leagues. While he didn't get much love, this card sure did. It was most likely rounded off and then pasted into an album by an owner.

Additional Links: See Old Cardboard for the Zeenuts set run.

1990 Alaska Goldpanners Team Issue

Set size: 16 standard-size cards

Front Design: A color photo is in a gold border. The player's name appears at the top along with the team logo of a man panning for gold. The team name, abbreviated "Panners," is at the bottom.

Back Design: The black text-only back contains the player's name, vital statistics, and a career writeup inside a thin black frame. The cards are numbered in the upper-left corner.

Parallels and Similars: None known. Previous team issues have different designs, and this was the last team issue until 1999.

Distribution: These would have been sold by the team through the years. Five thousand sets were produced.

Thoughts: First, I apologize for the blurry scans. Some of the modern cards you'll see this month are graded (this card) or encased (sets like Topps Pristine), and while I prefer my cards out of holders, for integrity's sake I'm leaving them in... for now. The set is similar in quality and content to most minor league sets. This is a collegiate summer team.

Additional Links: The Goldpanners team website has a list of all team sets they've issued (at least the ones still available for sale). Most sets are $10; this one sells for $30. I picked up this card for $1 or less at a show.

Additional Images: Card back:

2010 Giants Topps Levi's Workshops

Set size: 12 standard-size cards (apparently)

Front Design: A black-and-white photograph (with orange accents where appropriate) sits inside a baseball motif involving a diamond, bats, and a ball over a woodgrain-style background. The player's jersey number appears in a home plate, and the team logo is in the bottom right. There are two Junior Giants cards featuring kids on a similar horizontal design. Black and orange are the only ink colors used.

Back Design: The player's name and jersey number is repeated on the back along with vital statistics. The player's chosen charity receives a write-up, and a quote appears at the bottom, just above the Levi's Workshops logo banner.

Parallels and Similars: While this set is fairly unique in design, it has hints of the 1951 Topps red and blue backs.

Distribution: Cards were given away at AT&T Park on July 27, 2010 in packs of 12. In my limited research I have not found any cards other than the 12 I pulled from my pack.

Thoughts: This is a very attractive set, designed by Shepard Fairey's Studio No. 1; Fairey designed the famous/infamous Obama "Hope" poster. The set reminds me of the efforts manufacturers went to in the early 1900s to create interesting designs. I would collect more sets that had unique retro or modern designs. See this post at The Mojo Beard.

Additional Links: Offy's Sports Site has a lengthy write-up with scans of the entire set. Levi's Workshops produced a video about the event:

Additional Images:

1969 Milton Bradley

Set size: 296 cards, 2" x 3"

Front Design: The player's name appears in all capital letters above a black and white player photo. Team logos are airbrushed from the photos and team affiliations do not appear anywhere on the card.

Back Design: The player's name is repeated on the back, along with some vital statistics. The remainder of the card has outcomes for a game.

Parallels and Similars: The 1972 issue is exactly the same, with one exception. If you look at any red-ink number "1", the 1969 version has a base, while the 1972 version has no base.

Distribution: The cards were included in a board game issued by Milton Bradley. The cards are perforated, which can be seen in the scan.

Thoughts: As a complete game (see the image below), this is an attractive addition to a memorabilia collection. The cards themselves aren't very exciting as a collectible. Roberto Clemente is the key card of the set.

Additional Images: Game with cards: