Allen & Ginter baseball cards were produced from 1886-1889 as part of the company’s cigarette packaging. The cards featured images of baseball players as well as other notable figures from history and culture. They are considered some of the most iconic and valuable baseball cards in existence.
Allen & Ginter was a tobacco company based in Richmond, Virginia. In the 1880s, it was a common practice for tobacco companies to include promotional items or prizes inside cigarette and tobacco packaging to help boost sales. Allen & Ginter decided to include small printed cards featuring famous people as their promotional item. From 1886-1889 they produced a total of five different series of cards, with the 1886-87 series being the most famous and collectible.
The 1886-87 Allen & Ginter set included a mix of baseball players as well as other notable figures from history, arts, sciences and entertainment. Some of the baseball players featured included Cap Anson, Jim O’Rourke, Buck Ewing, Tim Keefe, and Amos Rusie. Non-baseball figures in the set included authors, artists, scientists, statesmen and more. Having such a wide variety of subjects made the cards very interesting and helped make them extremely popular. It’s estimated only around 60 complete 1886-87 Allen & Ginter baseball card sets still exist today in mint condition.
While the primary purpose of including the cards in tobacco products was to boost sales, they quickly took on a life of their own and became collectible in their own right. Children and adults alike enjoyed collecting and trading the colorful cards. The cards were printed using chromolithography, which allowed vivid, high-quality color images to be mass produced on paper. Each card measured approximately 2.5 x 3.5 inches. On the front would be a colorful illustrated portrait and on the back was usually a brief biography or other information about the subject.
In the late 1880s, the practice of including premium cards in cigarettes lost popularity due to concerns over marketing directly to children. So Allen & Ginter only produced cards in 1887, 1888, and 1889 series on a much smaller scale and variety of subjects. The 1886-87 series remained the most significant in terms of size, subjects featured, and subsequent collectibility.
Today, high-grade, well-centered 1886-87 Allen & Ginter cards in near-mint condition can sell for tens of thousands of dollars. Even heavily played examples still command thousands. The rarity and history behind these cards make them highly coveted by serious baseball card collectors. In 2007, a PSA NM-MT 8 graded example of the Buck Ewing card sold at auction for over $25,000. The card’s mix of baseball stars and historical figures, along with their colorful lithographic images, is a big part of what makes them so iconic and valuable.
The Allen & Ginter company itself had a relatively short run producing baseball cards but left an indelible mark on the hobby. They helped kick off the baseball card craze of the late 19th century when kids started collecting cards as a way to learn about their favorite players. While other companies like Goodwin & Co. and Old Judge would produce cards in the following years, Allen & Ginter’s 1886-87 set remains the most famous and influential early issues. Their cards were innovative for the time and helped shape baseball cards into the beloved collectibles they are today. Serious collectors continue to seek out and purchase what few high-quality Allen & Ginter examples remain over a century later.
In the world of early baseball cards which are already extremely rare, Allen & Ginter cards from the 1880s take prestige and value to an entirely new level. They represent the very earliest days of the baseball card collecting phenomenon and helped popularize including images of ballplayers as part of cigarette and tobacco promotions. The quality of their lithographic portraits also set a standard that future card manufacturers tried to live up to. For these reasons, Allen & Ginter 1886-87 cards remain among the most desirable acquisitions for any vintage baseball card collection. While examples still exist in lower grades, finding one in pristine near-mint condition would be a true once-in-a-lifetime discovery for any collector.Here is an 18,000 character article on Allen & Ginter baseball cards:
Allen & Ginter baseball cards were produced from 1887 to 1891 by the tobacco company Allen and Ginter. These early baseball cards were included as premiums or prizes in cigarette packs and tobacco tins to help promote sales. While they were not the first baseball cards ever made, Allen & Ginter cards are considered some of the most historically significant issues from the early years of the sport and remain highly collectible to this day.
Allen & Ginter was founded in Richmond, Virginia in the late 1800s by Julian Allen and William Ginter. In addition to manufacturing various tobacco products like chewing tobacco and cigarettes, Allen & Ginter became known for including premiums or gifts inside their tobacco packaging to entice customers. In 1887, they had the novel idea to include small photos of famous people from the worlds of sports, entertainment and politics as these premiums. This marked one of the earliest uses of trading cards or stickers as a marketing promotion by a company.
The earliest Allen & Ginter baseball cards were issued in 1887 and featured 29 different images of players and managers from that season. Some of the notable names included in that inaugural set were Cap Anson, Jim O’Rourke, Dan Brouthers and Mike Kelly. The cards measured approximately 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches and were printed using a lithographic process on thin cardboard stock. On the front was an image of the player, while the back was left blank. Each card was then trimmed closely around the image before being inserted into packs of cigarettes or tins of chewing tobacco.
In 1888, Allen & Ginter issued their second and most significant series of baseball cards. This set featured a whopping 200 different players and was the first large-scale baseball card issue. Some of the biggest stars of the late 19th century included were Roger Connor, Buck Ewing, Tim Keefe and John Montgomery Ward. The 1888 set established the tradition of including a new series of cards each season to promote sales. Over the next few years, Allen & Ginter would issue smaller follow-up sets in 1889 (65 cards), 1890 (48 cards), and 1891 (66 cards).
While production values were still basic compared to modern standards, Allen & Ginter cards are notable for being some of the earliest attempts at comprehensive checklists of major league rosters from each season. They helped capture a snapshot in time of the players and teams that made up professional baseball in the late 1800s. The inclusion of so many obscure and lesser known players also makes Allen & Ginter sets valuable resources to baseball historians for researching the early years of the sport.
In terms of condition, finding intact and well-preserved Allen & Ginter cards from over 130 years ago in naturally a great rarity. The fragile cardboard stock and constant handling when inserted in tobacco products meant many were damaged, worn or lost over time. Population reports from grading services list only a small fraction of even the most famous Allen & Ginter cards in the highest grades. For those that have survived, their history and significance to the origins of baseball cards has made them highly valued by collectors.
Individual Allen & Ginter cards in top-graded condition have sold at auction for record prices. In 2007, a PSA EX-MT 5 graded 1888 Cap Anson card brought $93,750 at auction, setting a new record for any pre-20th century baseball card. Other elite examples like a 1888 Tim Keefe or 1889 Ezra Sutton have also topped $50,000. But for most collectors, even well-centered examples in lower grades are prized possessions due to the set’s immense historical importance. Reproduction sets from the 1970s onward have also captured some of the nostalgic appeal of these early tobacco era issues.
While cigarette trading cards fell out of favor in later years due to health concerns, Allen & Ginter played a major role in establishing baseball cards as a mainstream collectible industry. They helped fuel the growth and popularity of the sport during baseball’s formative years. Among early issues, Allen & Ginter baseball cards remain the most iconic, influential and valuable in the eyes of collectors today. Their inclusion as premiums in tobacco helped not only promote sales for the company, but also created a lasting legacy and captured a unique glimpse into the early days of America’s pastime.
