Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

1925 A.C. Company Stereoview Set Overview

The 1925 A.C. Company stereoview set is one of the more common later issues of stereoscopic cards. 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.

This set, like most stereoscopic issues, includes primarily non-sports subjects. However, it also includes a few sports cards.

One, shown here, pictures a Yale baseball player making a sacrifice hit. While the card is sometimes described by others as a bunt, the player isn’t in a typical bunting pose. Numbered 61 in the set, the exact phrase on the card is also ‘A Sacrifice Hit.’ Yale did field a team in 1925 but the exact player is not identified. It would be great to identify this player but I have never seen any research on the matter. According to Baseball Almanac, no players from that 1925 team reached the major leagues. But that’s about all the information we have. In fact, we can’t even say definitively if this was a real Yale player or merely someone dressed in a Yale uniform.

The baseball player typically warrants the most attention from collectors but a few others are noteworthy, too. No. 52 features an unknown boxer with the caption, ‘A Long Reach.’ A golf card is also included titled, ‘The Embryo Golfer.’ And while it is not a sports card, No. 51 pictures Charlie Chaplin with the caption, ‘Oh! You Lemon Cream Pie.’

More Than Baseball

The boxing card is No. 52 in the set and features a close-up of a fighter in blue trunks. It’s a really fantastic image with him throwing a punch and, if you are familiar with stereoviews, it’s clear to see why such a picture was used. In 3D, it would be a really great image with the glove at the front of the card, really making it appear as if he was throwing a punch at you. This one is titled, ‘A Long Reach.’

The third major sports card in this set comes to us from the world of golf. It is probably the most intriguing card for social reasons. Pictured is a black golfer along with a black caddy and a white woman as a spectator/accompaniment. Now, you don’t need me to point out the racial issues such a scene would have caused in 1925. But it is such an intriguing image and a really nice card given the times.

Two other sports cards are also included that are for the sports of swimming and diving.

Non-Sports Cards

This series of random subjects seems to run from No. 51 through No. 75. But other cards seem to exist. From what I can tell, these cards make up the A.C. Stereoviews:

• 1-50 (U.S. Landscape Scenes)
• 51-75 (Random Subjects with Sports)
• 76-125 (International Landscape Scenes)
• 126-150 (Biblical Scenes)

1925 A.C. Company Stereoview Checklist

A complete checklist for this set is not known but below is a checklist for the mixed subjects series, which runs from No. 51-75. Sports cards are identified with the sport in parentheses after the title.

No. 51 – Oh! You Lemon Cream Pie / with Charlie Chaplin
No. 52 – A Long Reach (Boxing)
No. 53 – All Dressed Up and No Place to Go
No. 54 – Have a Ride in My Baby Lincoln
No. 55 – There She Goes on Her Toes
No. 56 – Come Hither
No. 57 – The Shiek’s Adviser
No. 58 – Look Out!
No. 59 – The Light Fantastic
No. 60 – Hitting the Bull’s Eye
No. 61 – A Sacrifice Hit (Baseball)
No. 62 – Some Feet
No. 63 – Nothing for his Trouble
No. 64 – Ready! One, Two (Diving)
No. 65 – Talk About Looking Into a Barrel
No. 66 – A Modern Mermaid (Swimming)
No. 67 – Have Some Tandy
No. 68 – That Pesky Garter
No. 69 – Near Beer
No. 70 – Stolen Sweets
No. 71 – Making a Good Impression
No. 72 – Wouldn’t This Stump You
No. 73 – The Embryo Golfer (Golf)
No. 74 – Good-Bye Radio
No. 75 – TBD