1922 E120 American Caramel Series of 240 Baseball Forum

I have not branched too far into the serious older cards as of yet. I only go back into the 50's. The oldest and 2nd most important card in my possession is my '52 Bowman Mickey Mantle

This is a pretty old thread, but I've knocked two years off my previous answer with my 1909 E95 Solly Hoffman. I'm starting to really focus on getting a 19th century card now and suspect I'll procure one -- any one -- by year's end. They're not sooooo expensive if one is willing to leave world of baseball. But I think I want baseball. And that gets pretty steep, in any condition. There is an 1884 DeWolf Hopper card I'm eyeing. He's the guy who got famous going around performing the poem "Casey at the Bat," so that might be close enough...

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I've settled on what 19th Century card to chase. The first die-cuts, 1888 HD Smith & Co. Die-Cut (formerly known as Scrapps Tobacco).

I've since gotten back into the 1800s. I have 1 card from the 1880s and 2 and a half from the 1890s. I was so excited to find a card from the 1800s that I could afford, that I bought it instantly...without realizing that there was total paper loss on the back. DUH. When I posted about it on Carboard History a friend sent me one from the 1880s and a different card from the same set with the back intact.

from 1888 Kinney Brothers Novelties.

It looks much better in hand than it does in the scan. I had no idea diecutting cards was around in the 1880s. I thought it was an invention of the 1990s. Everything old is new again!

From 1890 Duke's Holidays:

The second one is the one with total paper loss on the back.

This one I just got in from COMC in January, and had a thread in the Mystery card forum: 1895 Arm & Hammer Beautiful Flowers

I have also upped my oldest sports card, to 1933.

I know it's low grade but this is such a rare set I didn't mind. It's all there, just wrinkly. For Mult-Sport sets this is the king, and is the first set to have professional basketball cards...they are out of my price range. This set is to multi-sport that T206 is to baseball and 48-49 Bowman is to basketball.

Interestingly, shortly after I made the original post I upped my oldest sports card to 1934, when I got two cards from the Player's Cricketers set in a lot, but I didn't think to update the thread.

The Lambert & Butler Motor Cars set is still my oldest completed set. Not sure if that will ever change to be honest, but then again I never imagined I'd ever have that...I didn't even know it existed until I found it for sale!

Pretty sure I just saw that card on eBay a little while ago, Chuck.

Billy, them's some pretty nice cards. Condition is close to irrelevant to me for that age, as long as it's not altered. Those are all beautiful.

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T206 Germany Schaefer. Then a 1941 Play Ball Barney McCusky

1776 Topps #1: George Washington.  J/K.  I've got the '41PB Barney McCuskey too. 

I have an 1887 Allen & Ginter (N28) John McKay, 1888 Allen & Ginter (N29)  W.E. Crist, 1892 Kinney Brother's Leaders (N222) George Washington and a 1892 Kinney Brother's Leaders (N222) Martha Washington. 

I've got one T206 card  so at least one card over the century mark yeah !!

My oldest is T206 White Border George Mullin. My other Pre-war Tigers include an E120 American Carmel (Ira Flagstaff), 1932 W574 (Harry Davis), and 1936 National Chicle Fine Pen Premium (SchoolBoy Rowe). I did possess some T205s at one point, but traded them long ago.