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Collection Photo, Print, Drawing Software, E-Resource Baseball cards from the Benjamin K. Edwards collection Baseball cards, 1887-1914.

About this Item

Title

  • Baseball cards from the Benjamin K. Edwards collection

Other Title

  • Baseball cards, 1887-1914.

Summary

  • Cards depict major and minor league ballplayers (in portraits and action poses), from teams in fifteen identified leagues and seventy-five cities in the United States and Canada. Includes U.S. major league teams from Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. Minor league teams from the cities of Birmingham, Little Rock, Memphis, Norfolk, Oakland, Providence, Richmond, Shreveport, and Toledo are also represented, as well as Canadian teams from Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Victoria. Stars from the major leagues account for more than three-quarters of the images with such notables as Cap Anson, Dan Brouthers, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, Ed Delahanty, Buck Ewing, Walter Johnson, King Kelly, Christy Mathewson, Joe McGinnity, Rube Waddell, Smoky Joe Wood, and Cy Young. The LOT also includes cards depicting managers of U.S. major and minor league teams, including among others, Connie Mack, John McGraw, and Charles Comiskey.

Names

  • American Tobacco Company, publisher

Created / Published

  • 1887-1914, bulk 1887-1912.

Headings

  • -  Baseball players--United States--1880-1920
  • -  Baseball players--Canada--1880-1920
  • -  Baseball managers--United States--1880-1920
  • -  Baseball--United States--1880-1920
  • -  Baseball--Canada--1880-1920

Headings

  • Baseball cards--1880-1920.
  • Chromolithographs--1880-1920.
  • Cigarette cards--1880-1920.
  • Group portraits--1880-1920.
  • Halftone photomechanical prints--1880-1920.
  • Photographic prints--1880-1920.
  • Portrait photographs--1880-1920.
  • Portrait prints--1880-1920.

Genre

  • Portrait photographs--1880-1920
  • Portrait prints--1880-1920
  • Group portraits--1880-1920
  • Baseball cards--1880-1920
  • Cigarette cards--1880-1920
  • Photographic prints--1880-1920
  • Halftone photomechanical prints--1880-1920
  • Chromolithographs--1880-1920

Notes

  • -  Arrangement: Organized by issue date and publisher into thirty-six subdivisions representing published card sets (LOT 13163-1 through LOT 13163-36).
  • -  Digitized images of baseball cards (both fronts and backs) along with their associated identifying information are available through the Prints & Photographs Division Online Catalog.
  • -  Baseball cards were first issued by tobacco companies in the 1880s for distribution in cigarette packages. They served to promote sales and provide advertising.
  • -  LOT title devised by Library staff.
  • -  LOT includes thirty-six card sets issued by fourteen publishers. The American Tobacco Company is most heavily represented with over 1,400 cards.
  • -  Formats include: 536 photographic prints (albumen and gelatin silver); 261 halftone photomechanical prints; 1,303 chromolithographs (95 hand colored).
  • -  Most cards measure ca. 2.6 x ca. 1.5 in. The following larger card formats are also included: Turkey Red Cabinets (T3), ca. 8 x 5.75 in.; Old Judge Cabinets (N173), ca. 6.5 x 4.25 in.; Kalamazoo Bats (N690), ca. 4 x 2.25 in.; Allen & Ginter World's Champions (N43), ca. 3.25 x 2.8 in.; Mecca Double Folders (T201), ca. 4.6 x 2.25 in.; and Hassan Triple Folders (T202), ca. 2.25 x 5.5 in.
  • -  Gift; Carl Sandburg; 1954.
  • -  Finding aid is available online https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/eadpnp.pp023002
  • -  Benjamin K. Edwards collected and preserved the baseball cards in albums with more than 12,000 other cigarette cards on various subjects. After his death, Edwards' daughter Elizabeth Erickson gave the albums to the poet Carl Sandburg, who donated them to the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division in 1954.
  • -  Forms part of: Benjamin K. Edwards Collection.

Medium

  • ca. 2,100 items (chiefly color photomechanical prints).

Call Number/Physical Location

  • LOT 13163 (H) (Locked) [P&P]

Source Collection

  • Benjamin K. Edwards Collection (Library of Congress)

Repository

  • Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 98803276

Rights Advisory

Access Advisory

  • Restricted access: Please use the online digital images. Materials in LOT 13163 (Locked) are extremely fragile and cannot be served. A small selection has been made available in LOT 13163 (H) that can be served by appointment. The material requires special handling. For more information, see: Materials Designated "Served by Appointment Only (https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.info.apptonly)"

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress generally does not own rights to material in its collections and, therefore, cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material. For information about assessing rights, see the Rights and Restrictions Information page.

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication. For more information, see "Baseball cards ...," https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/620_base.html
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: LOT 13163 (H) (Locked) [P&P]
  • Access Advisory: Restricted access: Please use the online digital images. Materials in LOT 13163 (Locked) are extremely fragile and cannot be served. A small selection has been made available in LOT 13163 (H) that can be served by appointment. The material requires special handling. For more information, see: Materials Designated "Served by Appointment Only (https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.info.apptonly)"

Obtaining Copies

Generally, catalog records for Groups of Images in High Demand describe multiple items, from which a selection must be made. The individual items in the group may or may not be represented online.

  1. 1. Determine whether the desired materials can be retrieved online.
    • Select the "About this Item" tab
    • Select the "Check for online items from this group" link
    • Select the "Obtaining Copies" tab for any retrieved items that are of interest.
  2. 2. If the desired material cannot be retrieved online:
    Select images for reproduction through one of these methods:
    • Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). OR
    • P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (but many original items are too old or fragile to make such copies). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page. OR
    • Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers is available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).

Access to Originals

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.
  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

American Tobacco Company, Publisher. Baseball cards from the Benjamin K. Edwards collection. to 1914, Bulk to 1912, 1887. Software, E-Resource. https://www.loc.gov/item/98803276/.

APA citation style:

American Tobacco Company, P. (1887) Baseball cards from the Benjamin K. Edwards collection. to 1914, Bulk to 1912. [Software, E-Resource] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/98803276/.

MLA citation style:

American Tobacco Company, Publisher. Baseball cards from the Benjamin K. Edwards collection. to 1914, Bulk to 1912, 1887. Software, E-Resource. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/98803276/>.