Loving Paupers: Series Guide – Ars Longa Art Cards

Loving Pauper is a subseries of the Beginnings: 1880s: Base Set series of Ars Longa Art Cards
The Loving Pauper subseries was inspired thematically by a small group of related Goodwin & Co. products:
- Old Judge (N172) cards & (N173) cabinets
- Gypsy Queen (N175 Es) & Large Gypsy Queen (N175 Em) cards
- Gypsy Queen brand cigarettes

Old Judge (N172) cards & (N173) cabinets

All of the player images used to make the Loving Paupers are original to the Old Judge (N172) series
Issued from 1886 to 1890 by Goodwin & Co. in packs of Old Judge and Gypsy Queen cigarettes, the Old Judge series depicts at least 520 different players, managers, owners and umpires from more than 40 major and minor league teams
More than 2,500 variations of these cards have been documented and previously unknown cards are discovered every year
Perhaps the greatest documentary of baseball in the 19th century and a permanent cornerstone of the baseball card hobby, the Old Judge series contains a trove of images that preserve and convey the unique character and characters of baseball during the sport’s pioneering heyday
Old Judge cards measure 1.5″ by 2.5″

Gypsy Queen (N175 Es)

Gypsy Queen cards were inserted into packs of Gypsy Queen Cigarettes from 1887 to 1890
Gypsy Queen cards measure 1.75″ x 3″
Gypsy Queen cards are considerably more scarce than their Old Judge counterparts
There has not yet been an organized attempt to catalog Gypsy Queens
Evidence suggests that fewer subjects were used for the Gypsy Queen format than that for Old Judge
Evidence also suggests that all the images used for Gypsy Queen issues are identical to their Old Judge counterparts

Large Gypsy Queen (N175 Em)

The Gypsy Queen (N175 Em) series of cards is also known as the Large Gypsy Queens
Large Gypsy Queen cards measure 2″ x 3.5″
Large Gypsy Queens are exceedingly rare:
- Just nine players have been found on Large Gypsy Queens; seven from New York and one each from Boston & Indianapolis
- The players are California Brown, Roger Connor, Jerry Denny, Buck Ewing, Tim Keefe, Mike Kelly, Danny Richardson, Mike Tiernan & John Ward
- Each player has only one known pose
- Roughly 50 Large Gypsy Queens are known to exist

Ars Longa: Loving Pauper

Loving Pauper cards feature the same dimensions as the Large Gypsy Queens, 2″ x 3.5″
The Loving Pauper series makes an effort to balance the appearances of some of the most obscure Old Judge subjects by including some of the most recognizable
Whenever possible, I preserve the original Old Judge studio backgrounds for Loving Pauper cards; fully colorizing the subjects & using experimental filters with the canvas to provide a 3D-type pop to the players
In keeping with the Large Gypsy Queen theme, the Loving Pauper series will be kept modest in both size and population. I anticipate making about 50 cards for the series, each released just once per year
The Loving Pauper moniker is a bit of shameless self-reference. Conceived as an alter-ego brand to Ars Longa, the Loving Pauper name refers both to my surname and the poverty I’ve induced in pursuit of my muse
Loving Pauper is also a song by reggae artist Gregory Isaacs, which is, not coincidentally, one of my all-time favorite songs

Buck Ewing
Gypsy Queen (N175)

Buck Ewing
Old Judge Cabinet (N173)

Buck Ewing
Loving Pauper

The Loving Pauper design has been used on the backs of all Loving Pauper cards from 2017 to present
The Loving Pauper design was loosely inspired by the original Gypsy Queen Cigarettes graphic design
The copyright & date stamp on the Loving Pauper reverse is updated yearly.

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