Cooperstown Plaque Postcards: Artvue B&W Postcards (1953-1963)

ARTVUE - INTRODUCTION

I'd like to present a brief guide of the B&W Baseball Hall of Fame Postcards that were sold at the Baseball Museum in Cooperstown from the early 1940's through the early 1960's. This particular guide will focus on Artvue postcards depicting both player/manager/executive/umpire plaque postcards and the non-plaque postcards (such as Baseball Museum interior and exterior photos etc.) Albertype B&W HOF Postcards- which are very similar - are covered in a separate guide found on e-bay. If this guide proves helpful to you please indicate so below - it's my only reward for presenting this material to you.

I will try to be as factual as possible, however there are some areas of speculation - which I will try to identify as such. Adding to the confusion, is my belief that there are minor errors and omissions in the Sports Collector's Digest (SCD) Catalog (to which I was a contributor). If you have any additional information, or notice an error, please let me know using the e-bay message feature. I would like to thank the following folks for their help over the years in compiling some of this information: B. Gould, P. Henrici, J. Maher, J. Newman and D. Yaw.

THE BASICS - ARTVUE - TYPE 1 & TYPE 2

Artvue HOF postcards replaced those made by Albertype starting in 1953. The first (Type 1), were produced from 1953 through 1955 and, like the Albertype processors, the plaque picture has holes in the four corners. (see pictures below for comparison). Type 2 Artvue plaque postcards were produced from 1956 through 1963 and the plaque picture has baseball "bolts" in the four corners.

NOTE: I apologize for the partial photos - but the necessary detail will be lost if I show the entire postcards
Type 1 Artvue (left portion of picture - notice holes in corner); Type 2 Artvue (right portion - see baseball "bolts")

Besides the Type 2 variation, the other two key differences between the Artvue and Albertype postcards is the font used on the front of the postcard and the back of the postcards are significantly different. (See below)

Note different fonts used in Albertype (top portion) vs. Artvue (bottom portion)

The reverse side of the Artvue postcard is the same for Type 1 and Type 2

THE PLAQUE CHECKLISTS

The SCD Catalog lists 79 Different Plaques for Artvue Type 1 and 94 Plaques for Artvue Type 2. Based on current information, I believe that there are only 76 Type 1 Plaques (No Herb Pennock, Al Spalding or Pie Traynor) and only 93 Type 2 Plaques (No Cap Anson). Contact me if you have any additional information.

Artvue Type 1 Plaque Checklist:
Alexander, Anson, Baker, Barrow, Bender, Bresnahan, Brouthers, Brown, Bulkeley, Burkett, Cartwright, Chadwick, Chance, Chesbro, Clarke, Cobb, Cochrane, Collins, E., Collins, J., Comiskey, Connolly, Cummings, Dean**, Delahanty, Dickey, DiMaggio, Duffy, Evers, Ewing, Foxx, Frisch, Gehrig, Gehringer, Griffith, Grove, Hartnett, Heilmann, Hornsby, Hubbell, Jennings, Johnson, B., Johnson, W.,Keeler, Kelly, Klem, Lajoie, Landis, Lyons, Mack, Maranville, Mathewson, McCarthy T., McGinnity, McGraw, Nichols, O'Rourke, Ott, Pennock*, Plank, Radbourn, Robinson, W., Ruth, Schalk, Simmons**, Sisler, Spalding*, Speaker, Terry, Tinker, Traynor*, Vance, Waddell, Wagner, Wallace, Walsh, Waner, P., Wright, G., Wright, H. and Young

* I don't believe Pennock, Spalding or Traynor Type 1 Artvue Postcards exist.
** I believe that the Type 1 Artvue Dizzy Dean and Al Simmons have baseball bolts instead of holes. (See Pictures)

Artvue Type 2 Plaque Checklist: (All Type 1 Plaques plus...)
Anson***, Carey, Clarkson, Crawford, Cronin, Feller, Flick, Greenberg, Hamilton, McCarthy, J., McKechnie, Pennock, Rice, Rixey, Robinson, J., Roush, Spalding, Traynor, & Wheat (Also the Edward Barrow Plaque is different than Type 1 - see below)

*** I don't believe a Cap Anson Type 2 Artvue Postcard exists.

Al Simmons - Artvue Type 1 (left); Artvue Type 2 (right)