Articles About Trade Cards
 
Roller Skating

 

by Ben Crane

 

The first recorded use of roller skates was in 1743, the first recorded skate inventor was Jean-Joseph Merlin in 1760, and the first patented roller skate design was in 1819. These early skates were similar to today's inline skates, and were not very maneuverable being capable of only straight line movement and wide turns.

The more maneuverable, four-wheeled quad skate was first designed in 1863 in New York City by James Leonard Plimpton and was such a success that the first public skating rink opened in 1866 in Newport, RI, with Plimpton's support. The quad skate, with improvements, was the dominant design for more than a century, and roller skates were mass produced in America as early as the 1880s, the sport's first of several boom periods. [This information taken from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, go there for more about roller skating]

The 59 trade cards shown below typify the popularity of roller skating during this first boom period. Some show skaters in comic situations, some show skaters in social gatherings, and some show romantically skating couples.

Shown below are thumbnail images (at 25 percent of actual size) of these trade cards. Click on a thumbnail for a larger view, or click here to begin viewing the cards in slide show fashion.

 



1.1



1.2



1.3



1.4



1.5


1.6


1.7


1.8


1.9


1.10


1.11


1.12


1.13


1.14



2.1


2.2


2.3


2.4


2.5


3.1


3.2


3.3


3.4


3.5


4.1

4.2

4.3

4.4
 

5.1

5.2

5.3

5.4

5.5

5.6

5.7

5.8

5.9

6.1

6.2

6.3

6.4

6.5

6.6

7.1

7.2

7.3

7.4

7.5


7.6





8.1

8.2

8.3

8.4
v
8.5

8.6

8.7

8.8

8.9

8.10

 

Return to top