W-Cards (Strip/Exhibit)

Introduction

w519-05-ruthStrip cards were generally given with purchases or sold by retailers. Hence the name, they mostly came in a long strip where merchants could cut or rip off a certain amount for customers. For this reason, strip cards often have uneven or rough edges. Also classified as W-Card issues were Exhibit postcards and those are included in this section as well.

The hand-cut nature of the cards has given grading companies fits over the years. Some graded strip cards are all deemed as ‘Authentic’ grade since they were hand-cut instead of being factory cut, regardless of what the actual card may look like. Others have been graded based on the rest of their appearance and have earned numerical grades.

Putting it politely, strip cards have a mostly poor reputation in the trading card industry. Unlike some of the artwork in the gorgeous T205 and T206 sets, the depictions in strip card sets are often poor and without any real quality. Early strip cards used colored drawings while later ones, like other cards, went to real black and white images once that became more widely used. Some, too, also had a gaggle of printing gaffes, such as the W552 Mayfair Drawings set. Strip cards, in general, just were not done all that well.

One of the pros in the strip card category, however, is that since sets were relatively scarce at the time these were printed, often they include players that may have only a few cards from their playing days. In addition, it is generally much cheaper to buy strip cards of stars than it is other issues such as tobacco and candy cards.

Also identified in the W-Card category are Exhibit cards. These are larger, post-card like cards. Some have a formal postcard backing on them which collectors could use to send greetings in the mail. Others have different backings that are blank or contain things like special offers. Here’s a closer look into the world of Exhibits.

Uncatalogued issues are listed at the bottom in alphabetical order.

Here’s a little more about strip card collecting.

Sets

BH Johnston.jpg
1920s Big Heads Strip Cards
Cubs Team Photos - Riggs Stephenson (1932).jpg
1931-59 Chicago Cubs
Pictures/Postcards (W709)
W711 Joost
1938 Cincinnati Reds
Team Issue
W711 Joost.jpg
1939 Cincinnati Reds
Team Issue (W711-1)
W711-2 Lombardi
1940 Cincinnati Reds
Team Issue (W711-2)
1921 Exhibit Tris Speaker
1921 Exhibits (W461)
Home Run Baker 1922 Exhibit
1922 Exhibits (W461)
Ruth 1922 Eastern Exhibit Supply.jpeg
1922 Eastern Exhibit
Supply Postcards
23ex-05-clark
1923-24 Exhibits (W461)
1925 Exhibit Lou Gehrig
1925 Exhibits (W461)
Babe Ruth 1925 Exhibit Champions
1925 Exhibits Champions
1925-31 Exhibit PC Back.jpg
1925-31 Exhibit Postcards
4 in 1 Postcard Backed Exhibit.jpg
1925-31 Exhibit 4-on-1
Postcards
1926 Exhibit James Cooney
1926 Exhibits (W461)
1927 Exhibit Grover Alexander
1927 Exhibits (W461)
Babe Ruth 1928 Exhibit
1928 Exhibits (W461)
28PCL Fenton.jpg
1928 Exhibits –
Pacific Coast League (W465)
Ruth Star Picture Stamps.jpg
1929 Exhibit
Star Picture Stamps
1929-30 Four-on-One Exhibits Cardinals
1929-30 Four-on-One Exhibits
(W463)
1931-32 Exhibit Cubs
1931-32 Four-on-One Exhibits
(W463)
Ruth 1931 Movie Stars Exhibit.jpg
1931-32 Babe Ruth Exhibit Postcard
1933 Exhibit Braves
1933 Four-on-One Exhibits
(W463)
1934 Exhibit Reds
1934 Four-on-One Exhibits
(W463)
Babe Ruth Braves 1935 Exhibit
1935 Four-on-One Exhibits
(W463)
1936 Exhibit Indians
1936 Four-on-One Exhibits
(W463)
1937 Exhibit Yankees
1937 Four-on-One Exhibits
(W463)
1938 Exhibit Dodgers
1938 Four-on-One Exhibits
(W463)
pafko-exhibit
1939-46 Exhibits –
Salutations (W462)
w515-1
1923 Fleer (W515)
W515 Little Wonder
1923 Little Wonder Picture
Series (W515-2)

1940s Mutoscope Exhibits
  W753 Browns Sewell
1941 St. Louis Browns
Team Issue (W753)
W754 1941 St. Louis Cardinals Enos Slaughter
1941 St. Louis Cardinals
Team Issue (W754)
Universal Toy and Novelty Red Background 2
Universal Toy and Novelty
Strip Playing Cards
Hofman 1910 W-UNC.jpg
1910 W-UNC Strip Cards
Stanage 1912 W-UNC.jpg
1912 W-UNC Strip Cards
Christy Mathewson 1915 W-UNC
1915 W-UNC Strip Cards
1921 W-UNC Self-Develop Strip.jpg
1921 W-UNC
Self-Developing Strip Cards
W502 05 Hartnett.jpg
1931 W-UNC Strip Cards
Shoulderless Strip Card.jpg
1920s W-UNC
Shoulderless Strip Cards

W-UNC Universal Toy and Novelty
Strip Cards
W501 009 Vitt.jpg
1922 W501 Strip (G-422)
W502 Game Backs.jpg
1928 W502 Strip
(Game Backs)
W503 01 Bush.jpg
1922 W503 Strip
W504 123 Ruth.jpg
1925 W504 Strip
(Universal Toy and Novelty)
W511.jpg
1926 W511 Strip
w512
1925-27 W512 Strip
w513
1928 W513 Strip
w514
1920-21 W514 Strip
w515-1
1923 W515 Strip
w516-1-2-07-hornsby
1920-21 W516 Strip (IFS)
W517 10 Klein.jpg
1931 W517 Strip
W519 05 Ruth.jpg
1920 W519 Strip
W520 15 Rapp.jpg
1920 W520 Strip
W521 Frankie Frisch Strip Card (1921)
1921 W521 Strip
W522 34 Gonzales.jpg
1920 W522 Strip
W529 Rogers Hornsby Strip CardW529-8 Uncut Sheet
1920s W529 Strip
Wagner Pinkerton Scorecard
1913-15 W530
(Pinkerton Score Cards)
w542-strip
1920s W542
(Sports Drawings)
W551 06 Pipp.jpg
1921 W551 Strip
W552 Mayfair Novelty Strip - Shortstop Backwards 'P' Error (1919).jpg
1919 W552
(Mayfair Position Drawings)
W553M O'Doul.jpg
1929 W553 Strip
W554 09 Klein.jpg
1930 W554 Strip
W555 Clarke.jpg
1909 W555 Strip
w560
1927 W560 Strip
W565 3 Lazzeri.jpg
1928 W565 Strip 
W572 Strip.jpg
1923 W572 Strip
v61-alexander
1922 W573 Strip
W574 04 Averill
1933 W574 Strip
e121   pw5752schedule2players001.jpg
1922 W575 Strip
W590 Hornsby.jpg
1925-31 W590 Strip
W600 Abstein.jpg
1902-11 W600
(Sporting Life Cabinets)
W601 1903 Boston AL.jpg
1902-11 W601
(Sporting Life Composites)
W602 037 Berra
1947 W602 Sports Exchange Miniatures
W603 Sports Exchange Miniatures Joe DiMaggio
1946-49 W603 Sports Exchange
All-Stars
W626 Goodman.jpg
1931 W626 Sun Pictures
W754 Cardinals Metropolitan Studios.jpeg
1931 W754 St. Louis Cardinals /
Metropolitan Studios
W9316 09 Schalk.jpg
1921 W9316 Strip
   

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