212. Buffords Boy with Bat and Brown Uniform (626) Trade Card

Posted on September 10, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	212. Buffords Boy with Bat and Brown Uniform (626) Trade Card
Year	Unknown
Size	3 1/4″ x 6 1/2″
Images	Color
Type	Trade
Number in Set	4 (?)

212. Buffords Boy with Bat and Brown Uniform (626) Trade Card Overview

212 Buffords Boy with Bat and Brown Uniform Trade Card 626 This is a trade card that features a young child. Pictured is a boy wearing a brown, dress outfit. No other players are seen and he is merely holding a bat towards the ground, as if preparing to hit.

The card is further identifiable by a small printed ‘626’ in the lower right corner as well as the lithographer name, Buffords, in the left. The card also has a brown border around the edge, though it is not always shown when trimmed. These cards are often found trimmed. Thus, the Bufford name or the 626 is sometimes missing, as is the case of the shown trimmed card.

It should also be noted that at least two examples of this card exist, a smaller one and one that is slightly larger. Only the larger one is believed to have the ‘626’ numbering. in addition, some cards are blank on the front with only the picture and others have a printed or stamped advertiser name.

While many believe this to be a singular, standalone card, that is not the case. Others with different numbers in the 600s are known. While other sports cards may exist, others I have seen thus far have been non-sports cards. Cards identified to date appear in the checklist below. There are potentially two different sets. Both have the same look with the beige borders, however some cards have a No. 626 printed on them and others have a No. 619. No. 626 cards have the Bufford name at the bottom of the white space in the pictures and No. 619 cards have the Bufford name embedded into the background of the image. Bufford was a popular lithographer of trade cards.

The baseball card was numbered separately by noted trade card collector Frank Keetz in his book, “Baseball Advertising Trade Cards, 3rd Edition.” It was a trade card he identified but did not have a printed title on it. Because of that, he catalogued it with a number instead, which is the number in the title shown here.