Yahoo/Reuters - Lovering:“Rarer than rare” 1865 baseball card sells for $92,000

BOSTON (Reuters) - A rare 1865 photograph of the Brooklyn Atlantics baseball team, discovered at a Maine yard sale and considered one of the first baseball cards ever, sold for $92,000 at an auction on Wednesday.

The photograph mounted on a card, known as a carte de viste, is the only one of its kind known to exist, though the Library of Congress has a similar image made from a different negative, Thibodeau said before the auction.

“It’s rarer than rare.”

It was unclear how many of the cards like the one of the Brooklyn Atlantics team were produced. The ball club had them printed and handed them out to fans and players, even those from opposing teams, because the Atlantics were so good at the time, Thibodeau said.

“It was kind of a sign of bravado,” he said.

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