1863 Jordan and Company Set and Checklist

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Jordan and Company
Year	1863
Size	3 1/2″ x 5 1/2″
Images	Sepia
Type	Miscellaneous
Number in Set	4

1863 Jordan and Company Overview

The debate over the 1863 Jordan and Company issue and their claim as actual baseball cards has raged since their discovery. They are often cited, in fact, as the first baseball cards in the hobby. While many consider them to be cricket cards, they are included here simply because they are sometimes mentioned as the first baseball cards.

In actuality, the 1863 Jordan and Company cards are not actually cards. They were actually tickets, which is evident from the back that states the bearer was admitted to events on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (two cricket matches and a baseball game).

The second, perhaps more damaging, blow to the ‘first baseball card’ talk comes from the fact that many of the cards clearly depict cricket with cricket bats being pictured.