Old Baseball Card Photographs - Obak (T212) Series - Super High Resolution (2-DVD Set)

Examine scans of over 300+ miraculously preserved antique baseball cards issued by the Obak Mouthpiece Cigarette Company in 1909. Featured in this DVD are 168 unforgettable ball players who thrilled fans in the Pacific Coast League at the turn of the 20th century. Modern day baseball owes a lot to people like Alexander Cartwright who gave the game a definitive shape in the middle of the 19th century. Much of the original code proposed by Cartwright is still in place today, and explains why he is recognized as the father of modern baseball. Despite many challenges, the game has survived and continues to enthrall fans across the country. Strangely, baseball did not enjoy the same popularity internationally as basketball or American football, but it generated sufficient interest within the country early on to ensure not only its survival but also its rise to one of America’s favorite pastimes.

Although the game itself was alluring enough to draw large numbers of paying fans to the stadium, another seemingly unrelated event at the fag end of the 19th century gave baseball an unexpected leg-up - the emergence of attractive baseball cards issued by tobacco companies in the United States. Initiated by J.B. Dukes of the famous Dukes Cigarette Company as an advertising tool, these fancy cards featured baseball‘s most popular players along with relevant information and statistics.

Strangely, Duke’s wizardry did not fetch him the desired mileage in terms of sales. Instead, Duke found every other brand following his example and issuing similarly styled baseball cards. While Duke may have spent many a sleepless night ruing his fate, the plethora of baseball cards that flooded the market gave baseball’s popularity a tremendous boost. Duke’s loss was undoubtedly baseball’s gain. The production of baseball cards nose-dived after the 1920s, but in the three decades between 1890 and 1920, these cards were issued widely by tobacco companies.

Today, specimens of these cards that survived decades of negligence and poor preservation have become priceless collectors’ items and are much sought after by baseball card enthusiasts.

Sample thumbnails taken from the collection.

CONTENTS:

This 2-DVD set contains 336 scans of original baseball cards issued by the Obak Mouthpiece Cigarette Company in 1909. These cards portray baseball action from the Pacific Coast League and feature colored images of famous west coast ball players such as Guyn, Olson (both from Portland) Jansing (Sacramento), Berry, Lewis and Tennant (San Francisco). Although the passage of time has left indelible impressions on some of the images seen here, this does little to take away either the antiquity or value of this 2-DVD set.

EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Some diehard antagonists of tobacco-based products may argue that baseball could have done without ‘outside’ help to enhance its popularity at the turn of the 20th century. Reference is made here to the seemingly over-emphasized contribution of baseball cards to the game’s popularity.

While this may be true, (baseball games across the country were almost always sold out, remember?) one cannot deny the fact that these cards - never mind who sponsored them - have helped preserve the history of the game like no other written or photographic record. Moreover, collecting these nuggets of baseball history has become a national hobby and quite a profitable means of revenue for some.

Seen objectively, these cards serve three chief purposes - preservation of baseball history, preservation of the history of the tobacco industry in the United States and not the least, as a reflection of the advances made in printing technology by 1909. The bottom line of course remains that these cards are priceless collectibles and cost quite a bit. If a novice has to start his collection today, he or she is sure to meet with frustrations. For one, these cards are difficult to locate. Moreover they are pricey and need a lot of care in terms of preservation.

This DVD set is a one-stop shop for collectors. It contains no less than 336 scans of original early baseball cards from 1909. What this adds up to is hours saved on locating and acquiring these cards. It is also available for a pittance compared to the prices of original cards. That’s not all; each image is fully printable, thus offering a fabulous opportunity to build an album of baseball cards or use the prints as enviable wall hangings.

Not many can refute an offer as beneficial as this and I think that explains the popularity of this title.

CUSTOMER'S REVIEWS:

"I have wanted to add cards from the Pacific League to my collection for quite a while and this set of DVDs came as a gift from my wife just in time. I plan to print these images and add the copies to my collection. I just have to say thanks to Annie (my wife) for this treasury."

Customer's Name: Darren Lee (Chicago, Illinois)