Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

1890s-1900s Keystone View Stereoviews Set Overview

The Keystone View stereoviews / stereoscopes series is one of the more common issues of stereoscopic cards. Spanning several years, these cards were created by the Keystone View Company.

Like most stereoscopic issues, these include primarily non-sports subjects. However, at least a few major sports cards were also produced.

One card features two young children depicting a boxing match between greats John Sullivan and James Corbett. It is numbered 77 in the set and carries a copyright date of 1892 on the front. It is important to note that the children shown are not actually the two fighters themselves from earlier times. However, the card is still quite desirable among boxing fans as it recounts that fight and names both Sullivan and Corbett.

The fight took place in September 1892 and was possibly used to promote the fight. It is one of the most famous early boxing matches as Corbett dethroned the great Sullivan, giving him his only career loss. Sullivan would later fight in exhibition contests but that was his last true fight.

A football card produced in 1897 is also known, though the teams/players not identified. Players are wearing uniforms so it does not appear to be a generic issue. That card is No. 8020 in the set. Other sports cards likely exist.

Stereoscopes (sometimes called stereoscopic cards or stereoviews) are cataloged as Q-Cards in the American Card Catalog and typically have two images printed on them. When looked at using a viewer, they appear as one three-dimensional image.

1890s Keystone View Stereoviews Checklist

A complete checklist for this set is not known. While other sports cards likely exist, the only ones I have seen to date are listed below:

No. 77 – Sullivan and Corbett
No. 8020 – Football — Ready for the Signal