Your Information Resource for Vintage Baseball Cards
eNews Issue #29 (September 2006)    www.oldcardboard.com

Please Note: If images are not loading in this email, click here. 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. Algebra Homework Helps Date Notebook Set 3. Latest Updates to the OldCardboard.com Website 4. Old Cardboard Magazine Issue #9 on Track for October 15 Delivery 5. "Philly Show" Lives On; Moves to New Location 6. Just Released: "Cardboard Gems" by Friedland, Oser & Oser 1. Updated Auction and Show Calendar The following is a summary of vintage card events coming up in the next 30-45 days. For the most current listings on additional vintage card shows and auctions, see the Show and Auction Calendar on the Old Cardboard website.

OC eNewsletter Sponsor

September 2006
19	Phone/Internet	Prestige Collectibles Japanese Card Auction; see website for details).
24	Phone/Internet	Heritage September Auction (see website for details).
27	Phone/Internet	Clean Sweep Auctions (see website for details).
9/29 - 10/1	Ft. Washington, PA	Ft. Washington (Philly) Card Show (CANCELLED; see website for details).
October 2006
4	Phone/Internet	Goodwin & Co. Auction (see website for details).
4-5	Phone/Internet	Huggins & Scott Auction (see website for details).
22	Phone/Internet	American Memorabilia (see website for details).
25	Phone/Internet	Collectible Classics (see website for details).
26	Phone/Internet	Mastro Internet Auction (see website for details).
28	Phone/Internet	Heritage Signature Auction (see website for details).

2. Algebra Homework Helps Date Notebook Set Hobby references are not clear on the dating of a series of several notebook covers titled "Base Ball Stars." In fact, there are several closely related cover designs that were almost certainly produced by the same company but with slightly varying design formats. Because Babe Ruth is pictured on one of the covers and his career did not take off until around 1917, the set is sometimes said to have been produced in the late 1910s to 1920. A cover featuring Ty Cobb from this series was recently pictured in Old Cardboard magazine (see Issue #8, Summer 2006, page 40). Based primarily on the Ruth cover in the series, we showed an estimated date of issue for the series as around 1920 (rounded up from around 1917-1918 when the Ruth photo, in a Red Sox uniform, was probably taken). Hindsight shows that we rounded in the wrong direction! Clear evidence found in a cover featuring Mordicai Brown from the same or closely related series dates the start of the series back to not later than 1910. The proof is in the algebra homework assignments found inside the notebook (see image at left). In the Mordecai Brown-covered notebook once owned by Parsons Newman, there are more than two dozen assignments dated throughout the term beginning in September 1910 and continuing through May 1911. The similarity in notebook size, cover design and the multiplication and conversion tables printed on the back cover all indicate that the Mordicai Brown and the Babe Ruth notebooks were issued by the same producer as part of the same set. Since they could not have been issued at the same time, however, it is now apparent that the notebooks were produced over the span of five to seven years or even longer. A closer study of the designs of known covers also reveals a few relative minor changes--a further indication that they were not all produced at the same time. The changes are subtle and include changes in the fonts used for the player names, whether or not the player's position and team are included in the labeling, photo credits, the inclusion of a "Made in USA" label at the bottom of the card, etc. Summary information about the Base Ball Stars notebook covers, including a checklist and gallery of all confirmed players in the set, has been added to the Old Cardboard website. OC eNewsletter Sponsor 3. Latest Updates to the OldCardboard.com Website We are continually expanding the Old Cardboard website with more set profiles, checklists and set galleries. Recent (past 30-40 days) additions include: Set Profiles have been added or significantly expanded for: 1910-1918 Base Ball Stars Notebooks 1949 R447 Smack-A-Roo 1950 Num Num Potato Chips (Indians) 1931 Diana Cigarrillos (Venezuela) 1940 F66 Hughes Frozen Confections 1948 JCM1 Japanese "Action Baseball" 1950-51 JBR9 Narrow Black & White 1948 JCM2 "Baseball Back" Menko 1952 JCM8 Vertical "Red Border" 1947 JCM44 Ted Williams Back 1949 JDM3 Airplane Diecuts 1949 JDM4 Kagome Diecut Menko 1949 JRM2 "Starburst" 1949 JRM6 "Flying Menko" Set Checklists have been added for: 1910-1918 Base Ball Stars Notebooks Set Galleries have been added for: 1906 WG2 Fan Craze (American League) 1910-1918 Base Ball Stars Notebooks We continue to update the website with checklists and full set galleries for additional vintage issues, so check in often to check out the latest additions. There are now many thousands of card images on the Old Cardboard website and the list continues to grow. We welcome and encourage feedback with checklist additions, card images, error corrections and suggestions. Please send all input to editor@oldcardboard.com. 4. Old Cardboard Magazine Issue #9 on Track for October 15 Delivery Issue #9 (Fall 2006) of Old Cardboard magazine will be going to the printer soon and is on track to be in subscriber hands by October 15 as scheduled. It marks the beginning of our third year of publication. The cover for this latest issue is keyed to our lead article about the 1914-15 E145 Cracker Jack sets. We are pleased that author Lew Lipset has agreed to provide the article, based in part on his write-up about the set in his landmark Encyclopedia of Baseball Cards. The article, however, provides considerable additional information such as a full 172-card image gallery of the 1915 "superset," an image of the now scarce album described in the premium offer on the backs of all of the 1915 cards, a period poster used as a dealer display to promote the cards, background information on the company that produced the famous brand, and much more. No matter what your collecting interests, we are certain that you will enjoy the article. The Fall 2006 issue also includes a detailed article by Ted Zanidakis featuring the 1949 Leaf set--also accompanied by an image gallery of the complete set. In addition, Eric Eichelkraut describes in detail the ins and outs of the 1925 V117 Canadian Maple Crispette issue, and provides a strong rationale for dating the set to 1925--about two years later that previuously recorded in hobby checklists. We have also commemorated the 50th anniversary of Don Larsen's pitching of the only perfect game in World Series history, illustrated with relevant cards from the 1956 Topps set and other memorabilia related to the game. With this issue, we are also launching a new feature section, Old Cardboard Crosswords. The new feature provides vintage baseball trivia in a challenging and professionally designed crossword puzzle format. Approximately one-third to one-half of the words and clues in each puzzle relate directly to the vintage card collecting hobby. The solution is provided in the back of the magazine (no cheating, please). The above feature articles are in addition to the magazine's regular "Editor's Notebook" and "Collector's Dugout" sections and lots of informative messages from our sponsors. More detailed abstracts for each of the above articles, including thumbnail images of the full-color page layouts, can be viewed on the Old Cardboard website. 5. "Philly Show" Lives On; Moves to New Location Map courtesy Yahoo Maps The "Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia (Philly) Show," considered by most vintage collectors to be second in importance only to the "National," has found a new home. Beginning December 1-3 with the 96th showing of the event, it will be held at the Greater Reading Expo Center in Reading, PA. About an hour's drive west of the previous location in Ft. Washington, PA, the new location makes it less "Philly" than ever before. The announcement late last month by the show organizers has received a mixed response among vintage collectors. Residents in the immediate Philadelphia area will of course have a longer trek to attend the show. However, it is a regional show that many collectors in the past have traveled hundreds of miles to attend. As one collector points out on the popular Vintage Baseball Card Forum, "It actually is easier logistically for collectors coming from Western PA, Virginia, DC, and Baltimore because there is less traffic and fewer tolls. We will see if the show draws collectors, though." No doubt the one most pleased to see the change is collector Glyn Parson. According to Parson, "since I literally live 5-10 minutes from the site of the new show I am as happy as can be." Under the title of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, the event is better known simply as the "Philly Show." It began in September 1975 at Spring Garden College as an annual event. It moved to the George Washington Lodge in Willow Grove, PA in March 1978 as a twice annual show. The show grew to a three-per-year event in 1988, then further expanded to four shows annually (March, May, September and December) in 1990. The show relocated to the Fort Washington (PA) Expo Center in March 1993 where it remained until earlier this year. Additional information about the show is available on the "Philly Show" website. 6. Just Released: "Cardboard Gems" by Khyber Oser, Mark Friedland & Ron Oser A new book focused squarely on vintage baseball cards was released last week at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Anaheim, CA. Entitled "Cardboard Gems: A Century of Baseball Cards & Their Stories, 1869-1969," the hardbound 8 by 10-inch volume is published by Mastro Auctions. It is part of an ongoing series produced by Mastro aimed at the sports collector hobby. In total, there are 118 different issues covered in the book ranging from the 1869 Peck & Snyder card of the Cincinnati Red Stockings to the 1969 Topps #500 White-Letter Variation card of Mickey Mantle. The full gamut of sets is represented from mainstream staples such as the T206 White Borders and the gum cards of the 1930s to off-the-beaten-path sets like the 1903 Breisch-Williams, the 1933 Tattoo Orbit and the 1954 Wilson Franks. Numerous additional photos and related memorabilia are provided to help illustrate the text. All are presented in full color. In addition, estimates of today's card values are provided for each card profiled. Introductory narrative summarizes a brief history of both the cards and the baseball card hobby. Appendices provide insight into baseball cards as an investment and the trend toward graded cards. Copies of the book can be ordered by calling Scott Emmerling at Mastro Auctions (630-472-1200) or via email at books@mastroauctions.com. The $24.95 price includes shipping. 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 fifty years ago or longer.  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 Old Cardboard Magazine, please visit the website at www.oldcardboard.com.  If you find this information resource helpful, please tell your friends.  We need your support and your feedback. Thank you. 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