You see, the thing about these Chromium cards is that you get something of a two-fer on these. Not only do you get the cards, but what's ON the cards can be construed as fodder for TDTC (Things Done To Cards)! Allow me to elaborate and demonstrate:
Here are two normal-looking cards. They are "chromium" and colorized. Some people think there's too much 'foil' on cards today, but long before Topps Chrome (well, maybe not LONG before), there were these gems. All Chrome, All the time. The cards feel a lot like Topps Chrome, in fact. They have that same slick 'covering' to them. Pictured above are Forbes Field (Pittsburgh) and Briggs Stadium (Detroit).
The next card has a blue back. The other cards have a 'vintage' back, kinda like sepia maybe. This card is also devoid of the 'coating,' which gives it a whole different feel, almost like a map relief. The card depicts "Bunting," in case you couldn't tell what was happening here. Though, you can see the batter clearly missed the bunt big time. ooops.
Here is an example of a two-fer. We have the card itself, chrome except for the black background. But ON the card is a picture of a baseball plate. According to the back, these are "ABC" plates because children in the 1860's learned their alphabet from these, as the letters were printed around the outside edge of the plate. Oh, the things done to baseball cards....
Here's another two-fer: A baseball card that features baseball on a cover of "Sport" magazine (I feel the need to reference "Con Air" here and specifically to the "Define Irony" scene). The back talks about the magazine publisher and the 'zine itself.
Here, we have Yank Robinson. He is a die cut used in a children's game. Basically, kids would hurl balls or bean bags at these stand-ups and try to knock them down. What that has to do with baseball, I have no idea...
Okay, this one was included because, well, she's a cutie. Funny thing about 'cuteness' or 'beauty' is that it really is timeless. This is a picture of an unknown woman in the 40's who played in the pro women's league for the Ft. Wayne, Indiana, "Daisies."
This weird freak of all things baseball card is an advertisement for CLOTHING of all things. The guy gets beaned in the eye with the ball, but his clothes are tough and can withstand the punishment. Yes, that was what the clothier was trying to get across. Frankly, I think it was the launchpad for the "Child's Play" Chucky movies...
And, finally, I leave you with another type of die-cut on a card. These were developed by/for the Spadling sporting folks - yes, as in the Spalding gloves, balls, etc. According to the back of the card, there were also football, golf, tennis, and cycling die cuts. Cycling? Man, how big was THAT thing!?
The other cards in the packs include vintage ads for BVDs (yes, the brand BVD), cigars, Currier and Ives, tobacco cards, and all kinds of other weird (some of them VERY weird) oddities that used baseball as the foundation. I suppose I'll try to find any Cleveland-related items in the set... Then again, it could be too far into the realm of oddball, even for me....
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