A Post I Meant To Do When The Cleveland Indians Were In The World Series

I should have posted these last week when the Cleveland Indians Native Americans were in the World Series and it seemed like free rein on using MLB's more embarrassing team name. Below are four  "Indian Trading Cards" I picked up from a card show in Virginia when I was living in Washington D.C. this past summer.

The show was a half comics and half cards and in the cards section was a nice non-sports table with the most organized set-up I've seen in awhile. There were some grab bags with several cards from the same set in various condition for a few bucks each and I picked up these four for a I think $3.00.

These cards were issued by Fleer in 1959 and the Indian Trading Card set has 80 cards in it. The cards are divided into several subsets  and their designation is shown on the lower left corner on the front of the card. Collectors can piece together cards from such categories as Alaskan, Plains, Southwest, and Woodland.

After checking around it looks like the most sought after card is #1 on the checklist which is a card in honor of Hunkpapa Lakota holy man Sitting Bull. I was also surprised to find that one of the most popular cards in the set was actually included in my pack, this card which features an "Eskimo On A Seal Hunt."  


Here's the reverse side of the cards which features a blue and red design. The write up providing more information on the front image is attributed to "Chief Halftown" which to the best of my research was a fictitious character made up by Fleer. 


Here are my other three cards with my favorite being the beautiful Butterfly Dancer card. I'm not sure if any of these are historically accurate and the unfortunate red eyes of the Buffalo Dancer card makes me have my doubts. Still, these cards are sort of a historical oddity that would probably never be made today and so if I come upon some again at a card show I will probably pick them up.



Comments

Billy Kingsley said…
This set is totally new for me. Considering the time it was released it looks pretty good, I'm willing to overlook the red eyes. Based on seeing the text of that one card it seems factual instead of the expected Hollywood style Indian. I directly descend from the Montauk tribe.
Fuji said…
Great looking cards. The colors on that Butterfly Dancer card are spectacular. Gonna check out COMC for other singles in this set.