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For over 45 years, the Exhibit Supply Company of Chicago produced oversized cards which were sold in penny arcade vending machines. These cards are far less expensive generally than other cards produced at the same time, in part because of a lack of awareness or appreciation on the part of collectors everywhere. I enjoy these cards and wanted to devote a page to them.
The cards, which always measured 3 3/8 inches by 5 3/8 inches, featured black and white or tinted photos on the front and usually had blank backs. The designs changed over the years, but they were generally simple: no border, and simply the player's name. Sometimes it was type set, other times it was in script. At times it has the player's team or position.
The first of these sets was a 64 card issue produced in 1921. An example of Hall of Famer Red Faber appears above. The Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards lists each year of the 1920s as a separate set. In my opinion, these are by far the nicest cards that were produced during an otherwise unimpressive decade. The styles changed slightly from year to year, but often the same photos were used.
Starting in 1929 and continuing for a decade, Exhibit began producing Four-on-one cards. As the name implies, each card featured four players who were generally teammates. The example above is from 1936 featuring four Pirates - Hall of Famers Paul Waner, Pie Traynor, and Arky Vaughan along with pitcher Guy Bush. During the Depression, the styles changed from year to year and they often featured color combinations.
In 1939 and continuing for the rest of their run, the Exhibit Supply Company went back to single player cards. The 1939 through 1946 cards came to be known in the hobby as Salutation cards because the players name appears in script as if it were a personalized facsimile autograph. "Sincerely", "Truly Yours", and "Cordially" are among the salutations that can be found during this run. The Ott, Boudreau, and Williams examples above are examples of Salutations. There are several variations in this set, often whether the "Made in USA" designation was in the lower left or lower right.
In 1947, Exhibit dropped the salutation but continued to have a facsimile autograph on the front. This same style was produced over a 20 year period until 1966. Exhibit did produce team cards of the 1948 through 1956 pennand winners with the exception of 1953. As in the past, the same photos tended to be used year after year, although like the Salutations, the 1947-66 series contains many variations. These variations tended to be different poses or uniforms.
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