Portraits of America
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Tobacco Baseball Cards

Studio portraits of ballplayers issued as cigarette-pack inserts between the 1880s and the 1910s. Source archive and rights statement on every image.

49 portraits · free to download

Tobacco companies began issuing baseball cards in the 1880s as promotional inserts in cigarette packs, printed either as small black and white photographs or as colour prints, with premium sets such as Old Judge Cabinets and Turkey Red Cabinets issued at larger sizes. Many surviving examples come from the Benjamin K. Edwards Collection at the Library of Congress, some 2,100 cards dating from 1887 to 1914, covering more than a thousand major and minor league players from thirteen leagues and seventy-five cities across the United States and Canada. Edwards' daughter gave the albums to the poet Carl Sandburg, who donated them to the Library in June 1954.

[Charlie Duffee, St. Louis Browns, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Charlie Duffee, St. Louis Browns, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Shorty Fuller, St. Louis Browns, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Shorty Fuller, St. Louis Browns, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Ben Sanders, Philadelphia Quakers, baseball card portrait], 1887 (Library of Congress)

[Ben Sanders, Philadelphia Quakers, baseball card portrait]

1887

[Jim O'Rourke, New York Giants, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Jim O'Rourke, New York Giants, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Monte Ward, New York Giants, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Monte Ward, New York Giants, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Icebox Chamberlain, St. Louis Browns, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Icebox Chamberlain, St. Louis Browns, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Yank Robinson, St. Louis Browns, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Yank Robinson, St. Louis Browns, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Red Ehret, Louisville Colonels, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Red Ehret, Louisville Colonels, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Phil Tomney, Louisville Colonels, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Phil Tomney, Louisville Colonels, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Fred Merkle, New York Giants, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Fred Merkle, New York Giants, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Red Ames, New York Giants, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Red Ames, New York Giants, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Ed Walsh, Chicago White Sox, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Ed Walsh, Chicago White Sox, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Jake Stahl, Boston Red Sox, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Jake Stahl, Boston Red Sox, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Bill Carrigan, Boston Red Sox, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Bill Carrigan, Boston Red Sox, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Wild Bill Donovan, Detroit Tigers, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Wild Bill Donovan, Detroit Tigers, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Billy Sullivan, Chicago White Sox, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Billy Sullivan, Chicago White Sox, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Boss Schmidt, Detroit Tigers, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Boss Schmidt, Detroit Tigers, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Frank Baker, Philadelphia Athletics, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Frank Baker, Philadelphia Athletics, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Ira Thomas, Philadelphia Athletics, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Ira Thomas, Philadelphia Athletics, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Harry Krause, Philadelphia Athletics, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Harry Krause, Philadelphia Athletics, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Addie Joss, Cleveland Naps, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Addie Joss, Cleveland Naps, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Kid Elberfeld, Washington Nationals, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Kid Elberfeld, Washington Nationals, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Bob Groom, Washington Nationals, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Bob Groom, Washington Nationals, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers, baseball card portrait]

1911

[George Mullin, Detroit Tigers, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[George Mullin, Detroit Tigers, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Sam Crawford, Detroit Tigers, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Sam Crawford, Detroit Tigers, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Hughie Jennings, Detroit Tigers, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Hughie Jennings, Detroit Tigers, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Tris Speaker, Boston Red Sox, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Tris Speaker, Boston Red Sox, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Walter Johnson, Washington Nationals, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Walter Johnson, Washington Nationals, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Nap Lajoie, Cleveland Naps, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Nap Lajoie, Cleveland Naps, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Gabby Street, Washington Nationals, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Gabby Street, Washington Nationals, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Cy Young, Cleveland Naps, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Cy Young, Cleveland Naps, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Chief Bender, Philadelphia Athletics, baseball card portrait], 1911 (Library of Congress)

[Chief Bender, Philadelphia Athletics, baseball card portrait]

1911

[Art Whitney, New York Giants, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Art Whitney, New York Giants, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Mike Slattery, New York Giants, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Mike Slattery, New York Giants, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Danny Richardson, New York Giants, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Danny Richardson, New York Giants, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Roger Connor, New York Giants, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Roger Connor, New York Giants, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Jack Boyle, St. Louis Browns, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Jack Boyle, St. Louis Browns, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Tim Keefe, New York Giants, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Tim Keefe, New York Giants, baseball card portrait]

1888

[George Gore, New York Giants, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[George Gore, New York Giants, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Buck Ewing, New York Giants, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Buck Ewing, New York Giants, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Silver King, St. Louis Browns, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Silver King, St. Louis Browns, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Pete Browning, Louisville Colonels, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Pete Browning, Louisville Colonels, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Paul Cook, Louisville Colonels, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Paul Cook, Louisville Colonels, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Scott Stratton, Louisville Colonels, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Scott Stratton, Louisville Colonels, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Harry Lyons, St. Louis Browns, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Harry Lyons, St. Louis Browns, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Bob Caruthers, Brooklyn Bridegrooms, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Bob Caruthers, Brooklyn Bridegrooms, baseball card portrait]

1888

[Doc Bushong, Brooklyn Bridegrooms, baseball card portrait], 1888 (Library of Congress)

[Doc Bushong, Brooklyn Bridegrooms, baseball card portrait]

1888

Schriver, Catcher, Philadelphia, from the series Old Judge Cigarettes, 1888 (Internet Archive)

Schriver, Catcher, Philadelphia, from the series Old Judge Cigarettes

1888

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