Good Morning,

I'm a relatively new T206 collector and I just collect the Hall of Famers. I have 22 of them right now. I prefer the action shots to the portraits. I enjoy seeing the players in motion or holding a bat, ball or glove. The action shots have more interesting backgrounds and more colors. If a player has more than one variation, I will not bid/buy the portrait variation. This works out well for me since the portraits seem to sell for more money.

Why is that, and what are your preferences?

I look forward to your opinions.

Have a great day,
Chris

I agree that some portraits are less interesting then the action shots, but there are some worth mentioning. Tinker, Cobb (green/red), M. Brown are three that come to mind as exceptional cards. I have not had more difficulty finding portraits in my endeavors but it depends on who you're looking for. Many of the high end cards in this set have portraits and those with red backgrounds show defects very easily as well as fading which I think can have a large impact on the visual quality thus making the nicer cards in higher demand (only my opinion). There are some resources on this site as well as T206.org (click on the "links" button for more) and Scot A. Readers publication that can help answer your questions.





Good luck with the HOFers.



Eric

Chris- I've always liked the portraits better because I feel the artwork is really state of the art. When you look at a Cy Young portrait, you know it is him. The pitching pose without the glove, however, is a poor likeness of him. If the name was not printed on the bottom I would never know who I was looking at.

But I know many collectors who do prefer the action shots.

I always preferred the action shots because they are more colorful.

Thanks for your response. I have the Cobb bat off and I think it's a much nicer card than his two portraits. The colors are amazing to me.

Great point! I never really thought about that, but now that I am, I can definitely see that making the portraits more desirable to some. That's the case with the Walter Johnson hands at chest card I have...you can't really tell it's him.

I agree. How's it going? Any new additions?

That's a great card. His facial expression really represents Cobb well too. I'm not opposing the view that the actions shots are better, but some of the portraits are really cool and artistic and deserve a nod. Have a look at the Tinker port when you get a chance. The Nap with bat has a similar background to your Cobb that's nice too.

These are not HOFers, but cool backgrounds:

Leifeld - Sky
Lake - City
O'leary - Creek

I would also add to this that the Evers green is quite a sharp card.
in addition to the Kling red.

But I do, generally, also prefer the action poses for the background colors and uniform detail.
Can you really beat Bergen batting, with his huge coat?
or the wild colors of the sky behind Lefty Leifeld, pitching?

and don't even get me started on the sunsets (Lajoie, w/bat) or the building backgrounds (Del Howard)!

I'll have to check those cards out. Thanks.

I do have the Lajoie with bat and orange/red sky is awesome.

Chris- the Walter Johnson pitching pose is certainly not a well executed card. Clearly different artists designed the portrait and action poses.

I agree, but it is one of my favorites anyway. I just read his biography that was written by his grandson and I have a great appreciation of the Big Train.

Some of the action shots (Burch Batting and Pattee come to mind) have tremedous background colors but many of the action shots look to me like cartoon characters. I'm a big Tris Speaker fan and his card doesn't look much like him. I'm a portrait guy all the way. Check out a high grade Doc White, Patsy Dougherty, Al Bridwell(without cap) or the Cubs Steinfeldt or Overall portraits and you'll see the the best artwork available at this time.

I'm not much of a portrait guy but the Nap Rucker and Hans Lobert Portraits take the cake for me- they look lifelike in their detail. But I still prefer a Maloney, Howard or Moriarity for the overall backgrounds!!!

I forgot about the Lobert! Fantastic card. that one is very unique in its coloration and darker tone, I think.
agree on the Steinfeldt and Overall portraits as well.

Good stuff, guys. Thanks.

I like a mixture of both these are IMO some of the best cards in the set.

Love the Murphy, Herzog and Conroy!

...especially when compared to his action pose. Plus, his signature shows up really nicely on the bright yellow background.

From Autographed T206

From Autographed T206

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Visit http://www.t206collector.com for Net54 T206 archive, signed deadball card galleries, articles and more!

Are my eyes playing tricks on me or did he sign one Tommie and the other Tommy? Do you notice that often with Pre War sigs (spelling differences that is?)

...does it both ways. I've seen a number of examples of each.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Visit http://www.t206collector.com for Net54 T206 archive, signed deadball card galleries, articles and more!

Either way you're right they both look great but the portrait frames the sig so nicely!!! Great cards!

I am also in agreement that the action cards appeal to me. Some of my favs are Shannon, Owen, Bradley, Griffith,Donohue,Pattee,Evers and Ewing. The colors are fantastic. This being said, i own a Red Portrait Cobb. ")

that Leach portrait looks as though it's Eli Manning of Big Blue fame...

The portraits have a classic look, a standard look, that makes them my favorites.

I have always preferred the action shots. Never understood why the portraits seemed to command the higher prices.
JimB

...first brush with T206 is through the famed Wagner card, which is, of course, a portrait. So from the first impression, T206 is a set of portraits. This might have something to do with why some favor portraits.

One of my new favorites is pasted below. Someone please pass the grape Kool-Aid!

From SGC Graded Cards

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Visit http://www.t206collector.com for Net54 T206 archive, signed deadball card galleries, articles and more!

Those look sweet John Wonkaticket

Maybe its the uniformity of the portraits, the way they look all lined up on the mantle, shelf, etc. No contest in my opinion.

Here's a few of mine, that I like. VG/Ex is where I reside.

Chris, like you I am also a relatively new T206 collector and am collecting HOFers. Unlike you, I decided to pick portraits where they are available...and when they aren't, get an action shot! I've been watching you build your collection (I'm right underneath you on the SGC registry) and laughed when I saw our focus was exactly opposite.



I agree with you that there is not much prettier than the Cobb bat off, but I'd say the same thing for the Johnson portrait. I'm pretty sure you can't lose either way



Best of luck with your collection.

Nothing beats a bright rich portrait.

quite the eye for the aesthetic.
thanks for posting

Thanks everyone for making this thread so interesting, and also for posting some beautiful cards.

Scott-

It's cool to know we are building that set side by side. You have some great-looking cards. Good luck on your collection too.

I always thought this was a nice portrait....always wanted one till I got it last year.

Leon,
Okay, since you posted yours.