The 1933 Goudey set launched what eventually became the standard by which baseball cards were issued. They were a kids product so why wouldn't they be packaged with gum? Bubble gum and baseball cards went together like peanut butter and jelly. Kids chased multiple Babe Ruth cards, yelled when a Lou Gehrig popped out of a pack and dug Dizzy Dean. Over … [Read more...]
The Wayback Collector: Early Sports Card Documents Pre-War Autograph Seeking
Autograph collecting is quite popular among collectors these days. And the activity is so common that it's even been depicted on cards themselves through the years. That's right, start back in the 1970s and you can find plenty of cards picturing players signing autographs. The topic's even been covered before online. Here's the thing, though. Baseball card photography has … [Read more...]
Sports Subjects are Keys in the 1929 Stevens-Davis Men of America Set
In the late 1920s, the Stevens-Davis Company based out of Chicago produced a set of miniature booklets for its employees. These booklets were presented as a special gift and featured stories of famous men in America. Titled Men of America, the set's value is largely linked to the sports subjects that were featured in it. Here's a closer look at this set of collectibles. About … [Read more...]
Wayback Collector: Pre-War Autograph Market Not Likely To Be The Same After T206 Forgeries
Arguably the biggest piece of hobby news this week surrounded the discovery of some T206 forgeries. In case it's somehow eluded you, after weeding out a bad Rube Marquard autographed card, members on the Net54 vintage card forum uncovered a string of additional T206 cards that have been proven to be fakes. To date, more than a dozen have been found. Discoveries have included … [Read more...]
Five Intriguing Cards in the T218 Champions Set
The T218 Champions set can go a bit unnoticed by your everyday collector. Issued in or around 1910 (most sources list it as a 1910 set but it was possibly produced over a few years), even most pre-war collectors probably can't tell you too much about it as it doesn't include athletes from the four major American sports. But the set does include plenty of intrigue. Much of … [Read more...]
Collectors Showing Interest in Individual T202 Hassan Triple Folder Panels
The 1912 Hassan Triple Folders set (T202, for you American Card Catalog buffs) is one of the more interesting pre-war issues out there in terms of design. The cards are long and narrow but fold in two places. The two end panels feature individual pictures of players that were used in the 1911 T205 set and the middle includes a black and white action image. But while the … [Read more...]
5 Cool Pre-War Football Cards to Chase
When it comes to pre-war cards, baseball issues are by far and away the most popular. However, a reasonable selection of early pre-war football cards exist as well, even though the game was still just becoming established before World War II. The 1894 Mayo set, 1935 National Chicle set, and the Beecher card (arguably the first real football card) from the N162 Goodwin Champions … [Read more...]
5 Vintage Cards That Could Rise In Value
Collectors are always looking for the next big thing. In current cards, it's about trying to determine which players are going to perform better than expected. Things are a little different with pre-war cards and vintage issues as players' careers have long since ended. But trying to find the next hottest card applies in that era, too. Card prices rise and fall for all sorts of … [Read more...]
Baseball and … Agriculture? M101 Successful Farming Set Combined The Pair
Baseball and ... Farming? Outside of, say, Field of Dreams, that isn't a combination you'd expect to hear much. But in 1916, the pair were indeed linked by two sets distributed by an agricultural publication called Successful Farming. The basis for the cards came from the M101-5 set that is often referred to as the Sporting News issue. But while Sporting News did use the cards … [Read more...]
Oh, Canada: 5 Unheralded Vintage Canadian Baseball Card Sets
Many pre-war collectors are familiar with World Wide Gum cards. Those, if you're unfamiliar, closely paralleled the Goudey sets of the 1930s. But while they are arguably the most popular Canadian issues featuring American baseball, there are several other similar vintage sets from the pre-war era. Here are five of them. 1912 Imperial Tobacco Set (C46) The C46 Imperial set … [Read more...]