Your Information Resource for Vintage Baseball Cards
eNews (November 2004, Issue #7)       www.oldcardboard.com

Hello vintage card collecting friends!  Welcome to Old Cardboard, the most complete reference resource for information about collecting vintage baseball cards and related memorabilia.  More information about this eNewsletter and its companion website and magazine are found at the bottom of this page.

Contents:
1.  Updated Auction and Show Calendar
2.  Old Cardboard Website Stats Show Dramatic Increases
3.  Old Cardboard Issue #2 on Track for Jan. 15th, 2005 Delivery
           (Ad Deadline: Dec. 1st!)
4.  OC's featured Set of the Month (1941 Play Ball)
5.  Give Old Cardboard for Christmas
6.  Naxcom Invitational Nears Quarter Finals
7.  Last But Not Least!

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1.  Updated Auction and Show Calendar*

The following is a summary of vintage card events coming up in the next 30-45 days.  For details on all upcoming vintage card shows and auctions, see the auction calendar on the Old Cardboard website.

November 2004

1-12 Internet CubanBaseballCards.com  Winter Auction (Visit website for details).

3-4 Internet/Phone Lew Lipset Auction (Visit website for details).

6 Lousiville/Internet Hunt Auctions (Visit Website).

11 Catalog/Internet Mile High  Premier Catalog/Internet Auction (See Mile High Cards website).

12-14 Cleveland Tri-Star Show at I-X Center (Contact: Tri-Star).

16 Internet Prestige Collectibles Japanese card auction (See website for details).

17 Internet Memory Lane  "Buried Treasures Card Auction" (See website for details).

17-18 Catalog/Internet Collectible Classics Catalog/Internet Auction #5 (See Collectible Classics Auctions website for details).

December 2004

1 Internet Lelands auction (see Lelands website for details).

2 NYC/Sotheby's SportsCards Plus  and Sotheby's "Babe Comes Home" auction (see SCP website for details.

3-5 Philadelphia 89th Philadelphia Sports Card and Memorabilia Show (Ft. Washington Expo Center). See EPSCC website for details.

9-10 Internet MastroNet  Sports Premier Catalog Auction (see MastroNet Auctions for details).

*To add an auction or vintage show date to our calendar just send an email to editor@oldcardboard.com and we'll be happy to post it for you.   The  designates an Old Cardboard sponsor.

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2.  Old Cardboard Website Stats Show Dramatic Increases

Traffic on the Old Cardboard website at www.oldcardboard.com remains extremely strong and steadily growing.  Since our host provider began tracking statistics last April, the website visits have increased dramatically every month.  As the chart below indicates, we served nearly 11,000 visitors during the month ending October 31. 

The precise definition of these statistics is an art in itself that we sometimes wonder if even our host provider fully understands.  Nevertheless, the site "visits" talley (verticle yellow bar in the chart) seems fairly straightforward.  It is defined as the number of unique visitors (URLs) that visit the Old Cardboard website each day.  A visitor that accesses the website, then leaves and comes back after an interval of one-hour or more, is counted as two visits.

We appreciate your continued and rapidly growing support for the Old Cardboard website and hope that you let our sponsors know that you enjoy and benefit from the more than 500 pages of information that it contains.

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3.   Old Cardboard Issue #2 Set for January 15th, 2005 Delivery

(Advertising Deadline: December 1st!)

Issue #2 of Old Cardboard Magazine will be mailed for subscriber delivery about the 15th of January.  As with the first issue, it is packed with articles and information about pre-1950 baseball card and memorabilia.

In addition to the Editor's Notebook and Collector's Dugout sections found in every issue, the January 15 edition will feature an article on "Those that Served: Baseball and the Military through WWI," an article focused on the 1935 Goudey "Puzzle Back" set that is illustrated with the puzzle "solutions" to all nine pictures found on the card backs, and much more.  If you have not yet subscribed, do so today at https://www.oldcardboard.com/subscriptions.asp.  

As many of our subscribers know, the USPS bulk mail used for distribution of the first issue of Old Cardboard proved less than ideal--with some subscribers receiving their copies 3-4 weeks (or even more) after they were mailed.  We are actively evaluating distribution alternatives and appreciate your patience as we look for better solutions.  For the immediate future, however, we plan to distribute all copies of the magazine via first class mail (at nearly 3 times the cost).  We appreciate your patience (and your suggestions and feedback) as we consider the alternatives.

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4.  OC's featured Set of the Month (1941 Play Ball)

Gum Incorporated's 1941 "Play Ball" baseball cards are among the most colorful and most popular pre-war card sets.  Designated set R336 in the American Card Catalog, the set contains a total of 72 cards--all printed in appealing shades of pastel colors.

This was the final year of a three-year run of card sets produced by Gum, Inc.  Because of dwindling supplies of raw materials needed for World War II, it was also among the last of the pre-WWII sets produced by any gum maker. 

The year 1941 was very significant for two of the key players featured in the set: Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio.  That year, Ted Williams hit .406, the last player to hit over .400 to date!  In addition, it was the year that Joe DiMaggio had hits in 56 straight games–another of baseball’s longest running records.  The set contains many other Hall of Fame players.

Many of the poses in the 1941 Play Ball set are colorized versions of those used the previous year--a change that no doubt contributed to the popularity of the later set.  Additional information on the 1941 Play Ball set can be found on the Old Cardboard website at https://www.oldcardboard.com/r/r336/r336.asp?cardsetID=892.

A complete 72-card set of the 1941 Play Ball cards is now being auctioned at Memory Lane, Incorporated's Buried Treasures Card Auction.  Each card is the auctioned set is graded PSA-8, making it a most difficult set to assemple.  Starting bid for the high-grade set was $25,000.  With a few days remaining before the auction close on Wednesday, November 17th, current bidding has now jumped to nearly twice that amount, or $48,721.   With a 15% buyer's premium, that places the value of the set over $56,000!.  More information on the auction can be viewed at www.memorylaneinc.com.

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5.  Give Old Cardboard for Christmas

To the vintage baseball card collector, there is perhaps not a better gift idea than sending a one-year subscription of Old Cardboard Magazine.  The recipient's first issue will be mailed via first class mail to arrive by January 15.  The gift will keep on coming throughout 2005 as a reminder of your thoughtfulness (and great wisdom).

To order a gift subscription, just use the printable form on the Old Cardboard website at https://www.oldcardboard.com/subscriptions.asp or process via PayPal in the same way as a regular subscription.  Just fill in the recipient's address in the PayPal "Ship To" field.

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6.  Naxcom Vintage Invitational Contestants Near Quarter-Finals

Competition is heating up among the vintage card dealers in the first annual Naxcom "Invitational."  Now entering the seventh week of the contest, a dozen sellers have now advanced on the road to a $10,000 grand prize. 

According to Bill Elder, Vice President for Marketing at Naxcom, sellers of vintage material are slashing their "ask" prices in the on-line stock-market-style marketplace in order to increase sales and their chances for a shot at the grand prize.  Elder emphasizes that the vintage buyer is a key beneficiary of this price-cutting competition among sellers.  In addition, the buyer that spends the most overall dollars throughout the contest will receive $1,000 cash!  

Among the vintage cards and memorabilia items sold thus far in the contest are an 1887 Old Judge Sam Thompson card ($900), a 1911 Mecca Double Folder McGinity-McCarty ($75), a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle (VG; $1,000) and an autographed Babe Ruth baseball ($3,000).  More information about the contest and the latest standings of the competitors can be found at www.naxcom.com.

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7.  Last But Not Least!

We've saved the most important announcement for last: Congrats to Amy at McAvoy SportCards and her 6 lb, 15oz. son Brady David born on October 26th.  Both mother and son are doing grr-eat!!

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Lyman and Brett Hardeman
Old Cardboard, LLC.

Old Cardboard, LLC. was established in December, 2003, to help bring information on vintage baseball card collecting to the hobbyist. Produced by collectors for collectors, this comprehensive resource consists of three components: (1) Old Cardboard Magazine, (2) a companion website at www.oldcardboard.com, and (3) this eNewsletter. 

The Old Cardboard website contains more than 500 pages of descriptive reference information for baseball card sets produced before 1950. Each of these set summaries has a direct set-specific link to  auctions and a similar link to 's powerful search engine for further research.  The website also includes a Show and Auction Calendar, an eBay Top 50 Vintage Sellers List, and much more.  As a result, the Old Cardboard website makes a great "Alt-tab" companion for vintage card shoppers and researchers. 

Old Cardboard eNews provides current hobby news, upcoming shows and auctions, and updates to the website and the magazine.  It is published around the middle of each month.  For a FREE subscription to the eNewsletter, or for subscription information on the newly launched Old Cardboard Magazine, please visit the home page of the website at www.oldcardboard.com.

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