In Mint Condition, author Dave Jamieson tears the wax wrapper off the business of baseball cards, covering everything from old-timey cigarette-pack inserts to "FUCK FACE" and Upper Deck holograms. Here, Jamieson traces the industry's evolution for us, in 12 cards.

Dave Jamieson is a freelance writer who's won the Livingston Award for Young Journalists and the Sidney Award. He lives in Chicago and has a closetful of worthless baseball cards, all of them in excellent condition. Buy his book here, and visit his web site at DaveJamieson.com.