The quality of the baseball cards produced in Cuba during the 1940s
was generally poor when compared to the cards of the Golden era in the
1920s when most issues were photographic.
It makes sense, however, that a company wishing to advertise camera film
on a baseball card would do so by producing those cards
photographically. This is exactly what Ansco did during the 1949-50
Cuban baseballseason.
These cards are throwbacks to the Billiken and Aguilitas issues of an
earlier era. The set was initially meant to contain 20 cards from each
of the four Cuban League teams, but only cards from the Almendares and
Habana teams have ever surfaced, so it is likely that the Marianao and
Cienfuegos cards were never issued. Each card
has an advertisement for Ansco film in the bottom right corner. The
backs are blank. They measure about 3" by 4". 1949-50 Ansco cards are
some of the toughest post-1930 Cuban cards known.
This lot features Conrado Marrero, one of the all-time Cuban greats. Many know him for his time in the Major Leagues, but Marreros career spanned decades in Cuba before he ever pitched in the bigs.