Complete set of 1880s H804-1B "Baby Talk" advertising trade cards. The humorous cards feature a caricature of a baby playing baseball each bearing the name of an actual professional player along with a humorous line written in "baby talk." The trade cards typically contain advertising imprited on the front or back (or both) of the cards. As with other trade cards they were printed on thin paper which along with the fact that the cards were often pasted into scrapbooks results in significant condition sensitivity. In this case four of the cards have had their borders trimmed away while all nine exhibit some sort of discoloration on the reverse possibly due to scrapbook mounting glue or general wear. Still the correlation of the "babies" with actual players of the era - including Hall of Famers King Kelly and Cap Anson - make them quite desirable. Nine cards total.