1888 Vertical Brownies Trade Cards Set (H804-2)

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	H804-2 Vertical Brownies Trade Cards
Year	1888
Size	3 1/2″ x 5″ or 4 1/2″ x 6 1/2″
Images	Color
Type	Trade
Number in Set	5

H804-2 Vertical Brownies Trade Cards Overview

The H804-2 Vertical Brownies set is part of the baseball comic series of trade cards.

The cards feature elves in a variety of humorous positions on a baseball field. The baseball in play is an oversized one, leading to different scenes of the elves teaming up to perform a number of activities, such as picking up the baseball, etc. Each card has a specific caption that somewhat depicts the scene.

Three different types of H804-2 Vertical Brownies cards exist:

Cards featuring the players with pointed caps (shown here) – these are the most common
Cards with the same cards but larger in size and with a yellow border
Cards with the players wearing flattened, old style baseball hats. These cards also are printed without the backgrounds in the first two sets and do not have the titles printed on them. They almost appear as if they were promotional/test cards compared to the other two.

As is the case with most trade cards, these are fragile and printed on thinner card stock. For that reason, they can be torn or ripped quite easily and damaged easier than standard baseball cards.

Many trade cards were used by numerous companies. That is in part because it was easier to use artwork that was already produced rather than going through the trouble of creating your own. For that reason, the backs of the card can be blank or include an advertisement for different companies.

Yellow Border Variation

Variation H804-2B is the most unique of the variations found in this set.

The cards are printed inside of a thick, yellow border. In this specific example, the advertiser’s name and text are printed in the side of it. However, some are found with advertisements in the regular card area within the image. The cards are also different because they are significantly larger than the others, measuring 4 1/2″ wide by 6 1/2″ tall.

While that is larger than most trade cards, some trade issues are similarly sized.

This variation seems to be much rarer than the others listed above. As a result, trade card collectors would usually be inclined to pay a premium for it.

H804-2 Vertical Brownies Trade Cards Checklist

All five cards are known to be printed for each of the three sets with the exception of Card No. 4 for the third type of variation listed above. Because the checklists are virtually identical across all three issues, it is possible (even likely) that the card exists, however.