I own about a dozen 1941 Double Play cards, all sepia in tone. I recently picked up the Joe Gordon / Red Ruffing card. It is distinctly black and white, not sepia. Have any of you come across this color variation before? Are any (or all) cards available in both colors?

Paul:

Interesting! Could you please post a scan of the two different colors?

Brad

I bought a fake a long while ago. Black print but the text exhibited dot printing, not stamp. The back stock was a different color grey than a graded one. GL

I doubt there is anything wrong with the black and white one. It looks good to me and came in a PSA holder. In any case, here are the scans. The sepia one actually doesn't look as reddish in the scan as it does in person, but the black and white one looks about right. I can post some more sepia ones if that will help, or you can just compare my black and white one to any that you own or see on line.

I always thought this (my only Double play) was pretty much black and white. But now that I look at it, maybe it is more sepia. Hmm?

I'm no Play Ball expert and offer no opinion on this card, but a lot of the sepia on old cards, photos and ephemera is toning due to age and exposure to the elements. An item can be whiter than others due to the way it was stored over the years.

This may capture what I'm talking about a little better.

Wow! You can definitely see the difference when you compare the cards like that. All I have are Grove/Doerr Double Plays. I will take a look at them.