I think I now understand why why I get so romantic over 19th century baseball cards and collectibles.  They give a rich and vivid voice to a time period that has been largely forgotten by yesterday's fans and collectors - and unknown to fans and collectors of the present. Baseball and baseball card collecting in the 1800s is fascinating - there is no shortage of fun stories and history that have come out of this time period.  In the pictures below, you will see the likenesses of hall of famers, baseball pioneers, and players who reached larger than life celebrity