Original baseball card art
The Traded Series was born in 1981. This 132 card box set was released at the end of the season to include traded players, free-agent signings, and rookie debuts. It helped launch a rookie card craze among collectors with Fernando Valenzuela and Tim Raines.
However, the 1986 set gets all the fame with its iconic design and impressive class of rookies: Bonds (11T), Bonilla (12T), Canseco (20T), Clark (24T), Galarraga (40T), Jackson (50T), and Joyner (51T). I couldn’t destroy these perfectly mint cards in the name of art, so I designed a card display featuring the graphics from the Traded Set box. These 5 cards are ungraded, but they are all pristine… I broke them from a never-opened box that I've had since my childhood, and they are all well-centered.
More about my 34" baseball card art displays
Some cards are just meant to be preserved and showcased as a collection to display as artwork. My card displays celebrate both the cards themselves and their product design and packaging.
- I expose the wood grain as homage to the game's wooden bats, and it's diamond-shaped to reference to the infield.
- Each diamond is made from a 24" plywood square (1/2" thick), which measures 34" x 34" when hung on a wall.
- Black border acrylic card cases from BCW are screw-mounted to the plywood, with access on the back to remove them and replace cards.
- Each display ships ready to hang, with hardware already installed.
- A printed and signed description of the artwork will be attached to the back prior to shipping.
- All pieces are original artwork by yours truly, Matthew Lee Rosen.
