  | This is a recent, hand-made art card by HELMAR. If you are unfamiliar with Helmar, please read the full description. You may enjoy our blog, helmarblog.com; our Facebook page, The Helmar Baseball Art Card Company; or our website, Helmarbrewing.com.
The Helmar R-319 series was originally 180 cards. Then we expanded it to 240. Then 308. Right now it’s complete at 511 cards. The design is based on one of the greatest baseball card sets of all time, the 1933 Goudey set. The 1933 Goudey set has, famously, four Babe Ruths. We have many of the greatest players from Goudey set, and also Babe Didrikson, Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, Martin Dihigo, many other Cuban and Japanese players, and Negro Leaguers. R-319s have a good amount of text on the reverse. When you’re reading the back of a Helmar R-319 we aim to transport you back in time to a moment in the player’s career. Fleetwood Walker and the color barrier coming down. The great Rube Foster’s breakdown. Swede Risberg being banned from baseball. Given the scope, the expense and the complexity for a small company or artist to put together such a big set of original art, no one else may ever attempt to create a set this ambitious. Helmar cards are printed on paper stock consistent with the most treasured card sets of the late 19th century, and early 20th century. Our cards are hand-distressed and treated, to give them a worn, well-loved look and feel, and a fresh, unique scent. We’ve hit a homer if it seems as if you are holding a vintage card in your hands. All the original art is painted by our team. You won’t find it anywhere else. Our graphic artists choose the perfect poses and colors. We spend almost as much time creating the backs of the cards as the fronts. For our cards that display player information on the backs, our writers strive to create descriptions that transport you to the time of the player’s career. Everything we do is a time-gobbling labor of baseball-card love. Helmar cards are not available in full sets. We generally offer a few different cards from each series each week. Since each card is handmade, no two look exactly the same. It might be two months, or more, before you see a particular card again. We have vowed not to sell more than six of each card per year. Checklists are available on our website. Perhaps you’ve enjoyed some of our other projects, including cult favorite Helmar Big League Brew (winner of the Gold Medal at the 2005 World Beer Festival). Another popular project was making Helmar Potato Chips & Caramel Corn. Those snack products featured the well-known series of Helmar Famous Athletes trading cards (which are often found on eBay offered by other sellers). Helmar is devoted to creating cards that echo a time when collecting wasn’t about the condition of the card, but about the essence of the player, his team, the era that the card represents, the beauty of the card, and what it all means to the collector. We hope that you win the Helmar cards that you will be bidding on. We believe that you will treasure them forever. Charles Mandel, President | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||