J.J. Nissen & Company was a publisher of baseball cards located in Chicago, Illinois that operated from around 1887 until the 1930s. While they were never as prolific as some of the major card manufacturers like Topps, Bowman, or Fleer, Nissen was still able to produce sizable runs of quality baseball cards during the early 20th century that are highly collectible today.
Nissen got their start in publishing during the 1880s when they produced various types of trade cards as promotional items. One of their first forays into baseball cards likely came around 1887 when they created a set of lithographed cards showing players from that season. Samples of these early Nissen baseball cards are extremely rare, but they helped establish the company as a provider of sports-related memorabilia.
In the early 1900s, Nissen began ramping up production of baseball cards as the hobby started to take off nationwide. One of their most substantial early releases was a 350+ card set issued between 1907-1911. Known as the “Large Size Nissens”, these cards measured approximately 2.5” x 3” and featured single current players from that era. The photographic quality and detailing on these oversized cards was superb for the time. Subsets within the release highlighted star players of the day like Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and Nap Lajoie. Near-complete original sets from this early Nissen run can fetch over $10,000 today.
J.J. Nissen continued cranking out baseball cards consistently through the 1910s and into the 1920s. Their standard size issues from this period pictured single current players on a thick card stock approximately 2” x 3” in size. Notable Nissen releases during this “Golden Age” of card manufacturing included a 260 card “Championship Ticket” set from 1912 and a 144 card “Middle Size” set from 1919. Sought after stars of the era like Babe Ruth, Rogers Hornsby, and George Sisler routinely appeared in Nissen packs. Remaining in near-mint condition, examples of cards from these classic sets can be valued anywhere from $100 up to $1000 or more depending on the player depicted.
In addition to stand-alone baseball sets, Nissen was also known for mixing in baseball cards with other sports into multi-sport packages. This included combinations of baseball, football, and boxing memorabilia cards assembled together. While less collectible than dedicated baseball issues today, these early hybrid sets provided a novel way for sports fans of the early 20th century to acquire memorabilia cards covering multiple passions at once.
During the late 1910s and into the 1920s, J.J. Nissen seemed to ramp up distribution through tobacco stores, drug stores, and specialty shops across the country. Baseball cards crafted from thinner but still durable paper stock became a booming business. Nissen took advantage by cranking out smaller 59 card “Flag Ticket” and 88 card “Diamond Stars” sets during this boom period of the early 1920s. Players appearing during their peak included future Hall of Famers like Eddie Collins, Home Run Baker, and Dave Bancroft. Unopened packs or intact original sets from these classic early 20th century Nissen releases are true prizes for dedicated vintage baseball card collectors.
Into the later 1920s, J.J. Nissen stayed active producing baseball cards alongside such heavy-hitters as American Caramel, Caramel, and Goudey Gum Company. One of their final great stand-alone baseball releases was a 144 card set issued circa 1926 under the nameplate “Diamond Kings”. Measuring a standard 2”x3”, photo quality remained top-notch as stars like Lou Gehrig, Herb Pennock, and Earle Combs took center stage. As newer photographic techniques came online, Nissen was among the manufacturers slower to adopt innovations like color lithography that competitors like Goudey and Play Ball embraced in the early 1930s.
With ownership changing hands in the late 1920s, the once pioneering J.J. Nissen Company seemed to lose some of the vigor that had sustained high quality baseball card production for decades. They remained in business manufacturing other candy store specialty items, but did not issue any new dedicated baseball card sets after the mid-1920s. Nissen had helped blaze a trail as an early innovator in sports memorabilia trading cards. But newer manufacturers employing bleeding edge printing technologies of the 1930s ultimately pushed them to the sidelines of the booming baseball card market they had helped pioneer.
Nevertheless, existing Nissen baseball card issues from the early 20th century remain highly prized by dedicated vintage collectors. The large size pre-1910 sets, early 20th century “golden age” issues, and final 1920s releases all provide a look at the game’s biggest names from that transformational era rendered in high quality card stock. Condition is always key, but nicely preserved examples of stars like Cobb, Ruth, Gehrig, and others in their Nissen cardboard glory continue to excite collectors with their combination of quality craftsmanship and rich baseball heritage every time they change hands. Over a century since their founding, J.J. Nissen baseball cards retain an honored place in the Origins of the modern trading card Phenomenon.
