I've gone through the cards that interest me in the current REA auction and pulled a bunch of cards (and a photo) that are some of my favorites. Lets start with the photo shall we.
This is an original Type 1 photo of Negro League legend Josh Gibson that was used for his 1950-51 Toleteros rookie card. I'm including an image of the actual card (also in the auction) for comparison.
Here is the 1893 Just So Jesse Burkett Rookie. This card is interesting in that is has been restored, but it is so rare (2 known) that it doesn't really matter. When it was originally discovered it was just the photo part of the card. The entire mount was missing. The owner found a different Just So of an actress card and had professional restoration done attaching the original photo to the actress mount.
I don't necessarily collect 19th century cards, but I do like a lot of them. I particularly like the N172 Old Judge Mike "King" Kelly cards. Here are two nice examples side by side. An SGC 6 and SGC 3.5. I actually like the image on the 3.5 more than on the 6. 
Another awesome 19th century set is the 1887 N175 Gypsy Queen set. They are more rare than their Old Judge counterparts. I like the Gypsy Queen logo at the top of the cards. This example is a really nice one as it is a horizontal, two player and HOF card all in one. It features HOFer Tim Keefe with his teammate Danny Richardson. It has a nice strong image as well which is another big plus for these cards.
Now let's move on to the 20th century and the prewar cards that I like in the auction. This one would fit right in to my collection as it is a nice low grade card. I still won't win it, but I'd love to own it. The 1911 E94 Hans Wagner gold background version. I'm drawn to the gold versions of this set.
Another set that is related to the E94s is the M131 Baltimore News Newsboys set. This set uses the same images and checklist as E94 but all the cards have the blue background. They also have additional type on the reverses that say "The Baltimore News Newsboys Series" at the top. Here are the four examples in the auction. Click the image to enlarge it.
My favorite Ty Cobb card, the 1909 E102 Anonymous issue. The pose with Cobb leaning on his bat and the striking background color make for and amazing card in my opinion.
Well, let's get to the more common (or not really) T206s. First up would be a couple southern leaguer Dutch Revelle cards that would be a great start to a back run for someone. First, the blank back example.
Then the uber rare Brown Old Mill example. What?! Talk about a rare card.
Also, one of my favorite HOF poses is the Clarke Griffith with bat and this particular example has the rare Cycle 460 back. This back seems to be a bit more rare than it is given credit for at the present time. And I happen to like it quite a bit.
Last but not least are a couple of my favorite Zeenut cards. First is a very historically important and rare card of Jimmy Claxton. This 1916 Zeenut is the first American issued baseball card featuring a black player. It was a great timing of events that resulted in the issuing of this card as Jimmy was only with the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League for one week in 1916. That week just happened to be the week that the Zeenut photographer was with the team taking pictures and he got a shot of Claxton that eventually made it on the featured card. This is not the most well known card in the hobby, but has great significance making it a favorite of mine.
The next Zeenut that is one of my favorites is the 1922 card of legendary athlete Jim Thorpe. This is one of only a few cards of Thorpe from his playing days and his only card featuring him in the Pacific Coast League. He is pictured with the Portland Beavers.
Well, there you have it folks. Some of my pics to showcase some of my favorite cards in the current REA Spring auction. Here is a link to the auction so you can peruse the offerings yourself. REA Link. I highly recommend taking a look at the auction, even if you don't plan to bid you'll see some amazing items. Now, I just focused on the cards portion of the auction, but there is amazing memorabilia as well if you're into that stuff.
Let me know what your favorites are. I'd be interested to see what I missed.
Enjoy the hobby all...it's an amazing one.
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