There are two types of blotters in this category, really. And unfortunately, they’re the most rare and generally the most expensive. The most popular type of blotters among collectors are those that feature real players. Some that feature bigger collegiate programs and certainly pro teams, however, are more desirable. But for the most part, that isn’t the case and those will be less expensive. The exception would be, perhaps, if a star athlete that went on to do great things professionally was a part of the team. Blotters for high schools or small colleges are usually less valuable. Once the season was over, they were likely to be discarded. The key thing here is that these certainly had a limited shelf life. Sometimes they will be accompanied by a picture of an athlete or some other sports-related image. Some professional ones exist but most of the ones you will see in this category will be for high schools or colleges. I’ve seen some sell for more but that is not the norm.Īnother type of blotters were used by schools and athletics departments to promote the schedules of a particular team. But the prices are often pretty low mostly in the $20-$30 range for ones in decent shape. Generic blotters, like generic cards, have value and people do seek them. Thomas Murphy produced several of these blotters with a similar look and they can be considered as a set to some degree. These were printed by the Thomas Murphy Company in Red Oak, Iowa and this specific one, as is evident by the calendar, is from 1925. Take this one shown here of a football player, for example. While most were standalone issues, some could be considered part of a set. In either case, these were pictures of subjects that were not recognized as actual athletes. Most of these were drawings of some sort but some featured real images. Generic Athletesīy far and away, most sports ink blotters feature generic, unnamed athletes. Here’s a look at some of the types that exist. However, quite a few of them did actually feature sports. You’ll also see some that contained a desk calendar for a particular month. I imagine they collected way more advertising ‘impressions’ than many trade cards did. They were even better than trade cards because people would keep them on their desks and the advertiser’s message would always be in front of them. Specifically, they often included advertisements and, like trade cards, were a good way to get in front of potential customers. But manufacturers, of course, dressed them up quite a bit. To serve the purpose for which they were intended, ink blotters could have been entirely blank. But many give little indication of just how old they are. And some others will have calendars or years added to them. Some, like the Blue Valley Butter blotter at the top of this page have a clear copyright printed on them (that one is from 1934). The fountain started to die out by the 1960s and blotters weren’t nearly as common by then. Most blotters are from the 1920s through the 1950s. They vary in size but are generally somewhere around 4″ x 6″ or 4″ x 8″. I’m generally surprised at how few actually seem ‘used.’ That speaks either to the fact that blotters weren’t really being used all that much or that large quantities were produced. But for some reason, plenty have escaped that kind of damage. Because of that, you’ll find these often with splotches of ink on them. They are typically thicker than your standard trading card and they were used to help wipe the excess ink from the tips of pens. In short, ink blotters were popular in the days of fountain pens. One of the more unique types of cards I collect are ink blotters and, to be honest, there are more than a few collectors that don’t even know what they are. But I also collect all sorts of other things, including trade cards, strip cards, food cards, postcards, and generally anything that’s flat and smaller than an 8X10 photo. Like many do, I collect tobacco and caramel/candy cards, which are really my focus. My collection is pretty varied and, while I generally ‘just’ stick to cards, the types of those cards I collect has a wide range.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |