Old and new

Items that we collect span decades, and many even centuries and millennia. It's always interesting to see how items that are apparently the same thing have morphed over the years. The earliest cards in my collection are some tobacco cards. Made from cardboard, and that technology was effectively the same for a very, very long time. More than a century. I'm not exactly sure when card stock changed, but looking at 1988 Topps and 1988 Score, you noticed that the materiality of the baseball card changed. There are other years and other differences in there I'm sure; I'm just trying to think of what I noticed back and the day. You can peel layers off if you are careful of the former; the later I don't think it's possible. Lenticular cards like those Kellogg's jawn and the 7-11 Slurpee coins and Sportflics are probably closer to the material of Score or Upper Deck. 

The below is the 1994 Pacific - Silver Prisms card for John Kruk. There are other pattern variations on the background of the card, but this one was a need and I got it pretty reasonable from an online auction site called ebay. Maybe you've heard of it?

So that's the old. Or, old-ish I guess since 1994 isn't that long ago. Though I suppose it is or is longer than a generation. Then we get the new: the 2025 Topps Black and White card for Darryl Strawberry. I think I dare Topps to issue something of him as a member of the San Francisco Giants. Triple-dog dare, in fact. 

I quite like the design of the card and the graphics around the team logo on the bottom right of the front. The back of the card is the standard, usual, lame and disappointing product that we come to expect from the company. I want to like the few splashes of red but they almost look and feel misplaced. Do you have any examples of Topps Black and White in your collection? How do you feel about it?

Thanks for stopping by!