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Specs
Year: 1948
Title: R346 Blue Tint
Size: 2″ by 2 5/8″
Number in Set: 48
Overview
One of the most interesting things about the 1948 Blue Tint Baseball card set is that no one is sure who made them. But the set was probably produced in New York (Brooklyn) because of the heavy influence of New York-based players (24) amongst the set and because there are proofs with printing on the back showing that Al Weinstein of Brooklyn was the photographer.
The set has taken the Blue Tint name from the blue color used to tint the pictures and text.
The fronts feature the player’s full name and team, centered in capital letters, beneath the photo, with the card number in the lower right corner. The backs are blank.
PSA writes that collectors can find cards 25-48 in black-and-white and that the set has a few variations in team presentation that I captured in the checklist below. Also, Beckett points out that collectors also can find cards 41-48 with or without numbers.
Update: March 2023
The American Card Catalog gave this set the R346 designation, categorizing them as a candy/gum set. But, for a long time, many felt it deserved a W designation since there’s no candy/gum distribution evidence, and the cards were believed to have been printed in strips.
This vertical strip of eight made many theorize that they were issued with cards numbers 1-8, 9-16, 17-24, 25-32, 33-40, and 41-48 together.
However, Collect Auctions sold a complete set of 1948 Blue Tint R346 cards on an Uncut Sheet on March 31st, 2023; with the buyer’s premium, the final price was $2664. It verifies the strip order but counters the notion that the cards were printed in strips. Here is the complete auction description:
Presented is a true rarity, an uncut sheet of the elusive 1948 Blue Tint R346 set, with the entire 48-card set featured in a neatly matted and framed presentation. The sheet of approximately 23-by-17 inches, is matted in navy blue and white with an attractive blue frame, bringing the measurements to 25-by-18 inches. The sheet presents decently, but a number of the 2-by-2 5/8-inch cards have significant damage as noted below. Each of the cards have been scored with reasonable precision along the bottom edge; the set includes 15 Hall of Famers. Several cards (7) have notable damage that would likely dictate a Fair designation if the cards were adjudged individually: No. 2 Durocher, No. 3 Marion, No. 5 Lindell, No. 35 Greenberg, No. 38 Elliott, No. 43 Feller and No. 46 Vander Meer; a second group of 10 cards have significant creasing that would likely dictate a Good designation if adjudged individually: No. 12 Masi, No. 13 Shea, No. 20 Spahn, No. 21 Reynolds, No. 26 Edwards, No. 27 York, No. 28 Black, No. 29 Gehrig, No. 34 Slaughter and No. 36 Robinson.
Example
Key Cards
The key cards in the set are Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, and Ted Williams.
Checklist
1 Bill Johnson
2a Leo Durocher (Brooklyn)
2b Leo Durocher (New York)
3 Marty Marion
4 Ewell Blackwell
5 John Lindell
6 Larry Jansen
7 Ralph Kiner
8 Chuck Dressen
9 Bobby Brown
10 Luke Appling
11 Bill Nicholson
12 Phil Masi
13 Frank Shea
14 Bob Dillinger
15 Pete Suder
16 Joe DiMaggio
17 John Corriden
18a Mel Ott (New York)
18b Mel Ott (No Team)
19 Buddy Rosar
20 Warren Spahn
21 Allie Reynolds
22 Lou Boudreau
23 Hank Majeski
24 Frank Crosetti
25 Gus Niarhos
26 Bruce Edwards
27 Rudy York
28 Don Black
29 Lou Gehrig
30 Johnny Mize
31 Ed Stanky
32 Vic Raschi
33 Cliff Mapes
34 Enos Slaughter
35 Hank Greenberg
36 Jackie Robinson
37 Frank Hiller
38 Bob Elliott
39 Harry Walker
40 Ed Lopat
41 Bobby Thomson
42 Tommy Henrich
43 Bob Feller
44 Ted Williams
45 Dixie Walker
46 Johnny Vander Meer
47 Clint Hartung
(48) Charlie Keller (No Number)