Most of the small cards and were distributed as inserts in packs of cigarettes. The larger cabinet cards were purchased via mail order. Various graphic production processes were used to create the cards, including albumen photoprint, gelatin silver photoprint, halftone, offset, and chromolithograph. All of the albumen photoprints are mounted on board and the prints exhibit varying degrees of deterioration. Many have yellowed, faded and lost highlight details or are defaced by marks caused by the mounting adhesives.
Some cards display vertical and horizontal scenes.
One large group of the albumen prints appear on small Old Judge cigarette cards. The Old Judge mount boards are irregularly cut, frequently have rounded corners, and have no information printed on the verso by the manufacturer. The Old Judge logo, player's name, team, and position were all printed on the photoprint with the photo of the sitter. Some of the cards of this type appear to have a red or pinkish coating. It is not clear if this coloration is an element of deterioration or intentionally toned.