Airbrush

Airbrush: Used to describe a card of a recently traded player whose uniform has been artifically altered to reflect his new team. So called because -- up until recently -- such photos were changed using an artist's tool called an "airbrush."

1980s Topps Traded sets were infamous for their very liberal use of the airbrush. But with the advent of digital imagery -- think Photoshop -- and the ease and speed that it offers, card manufacturers have abandoned the technique.

Little known hobby fact: In 1989 Upper Deck took a picture of a San Bernardino Spirit outfielder named Ken Griffey, Jr., and "airbrushed" it to look like he was wearing a Seattle Mariners hat. Yep, card #1 of the 1989 Upper Deck Baseball set was airbrushed.