Your Information Resource for Vintage Baseball Cards
eNews Issue #52 (August 2008)      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. 1950 Sawyer Biscuit Indianapolis Indians 3. Latest Updates to the OldCardboard.com Website 4. BGS Offers Slabs for Oversize Items 5. News Briefs (A Digest of Recent Hobby Happenings) 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

August 2008
21	Phone/Internet	Goodwin & Co. Auction (see website for details).
25-26	Phone/Internet	Mastro Premier Catalog Auction (see website for details).
27	Phone/Internet	Collectible Classics Auction CCA21 (see website for details).
September 2008
13	Phone/Internet	Memory Lane "Summer Classic Rarities" Auction (see website for details).
26-28	Reading, PA	Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show (see website for details).
18	Phone/Internet	Goodwin & Co. Auction (see website for details).

2. 1950 Sawyer Biscuit Indianapolis Indians 1950 Sawyer Biscuit (About 1/3 Actual Size) Sawyer Biscuit has long been know among vintage collectors as the sponsor of an obscure but appealing "Cabinet" Set that features players from the two Chicago Major League teams--the White Sox and the Cubs. Each team in the 1938 set is represented by cards for 23 players with the cards mounted in a distinctive maroon self-standing frame. Even more obscure is another set only recently attributed to Sawyer Biscuit. This second SB set is considered complete (or very near complete) at 23 known photos of players from the 1950 Indianapolis Indians, a minor league franchise affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 8 by 10-inch glossy photos used in the 1950 Sawyer Biscuit set have long been considered to be part of a team-sponsored issue and are listed as such in hobby price guides. A recent find of six photos from the set provides ample evidence, however, that they were sponsored by an Indianapolis branch of the Sawyer Biscuit Company. Each of the six photos were individually mailed in envelopes with a Sawyer Biscuit return address. Interestingly, five of the six photos are additions to the hobby checklist, increasing the list count from eighteen to twenty-three players. 1950 Sawyer Biscuit Envelope (About 1/3 Actual Size) The six players found in the new discovery are Eddy Fitz Gerald, L. Gearhart, Don Gutteridge, Windy McCall, Culley Rikard and Earl Turner. Most of the Indianapolis players had considerable experience in the Majors. The most noteworthy player on the 1950 Indianapolis team was now Hall-of-Famer Al Lopez, who had just completed a two decade long Major League playing career and was to start the following year as manager of American League teams that would span nearly two more decades. Another team stand out was Gus Bell who moved up to the Pirates early in the 1950 season to begin a career in the Majors that endured for the next decade and a half. Each of the Indianapolis players is featured on photographic stock and is protected with an 8-1/2 by 11 inch cardboard stiffener in a 9 by 12-inch mailing envelope. Labeling on each white bordered photo is limited to a facsimile autograph of the player. A Set Profile for the 1950 Sawyer Biscuit 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 card galleries. Recent (past 30-40 days) additions include: Set Profiles have been added for: 1948   JBR20   Yakyu Shonen (Japanese Issue) 1950   Sawyer Biscuit Indianapolis Indians Set Checklists have been added for: 1909   T209-1   Contentnea "First Series" (added "League" column) 1909   E253   Oxford Confectionery 1930   W554   Strip Card Set Set Galleries have been added for: 1909   E253   Oxford Confectionery 1930   W554   Strip Card Set Updating the website with checklists and full set galleries for additional vintage sets is an ongoing project, so check back 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. BGS Offers Slabs for Oversize Items. Beckett Grading Services (BGS) introduced at the National Convention in Chicago the largest slabs in the hobby, designed to accommodate oversize cards, photos, supplements, premiums, magazine covers and other similar items that were previously too large to slab. The new slabs measure 9-1/2 by 13 inches and will hold items as large as 8-1/2 by 11 inches and up to a quarter of an inch thick, according to a company spokesperson. The holders are sonically sealed with an inner sleeve to absorb shock. BGS will impose a surcharge of $8 for all oversized items graded (items larger than 3.5 by 5.25 inches). To validate the size claim touted by the company, we had BGS slab several back issues of Old Cardboard magazine. As shown in the example above, the result is an attractively displayed and well protected magazine. The only problem was trying to re-read the great articles inside after the magazine was entombed in plastic! 5. News Briefs (A Digest of Recent Hobby Happenings) "Philly Show" Finds New Home. The 100th edition of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show ("Philly 100") is scheduled for September 26-28, 2008 at the Greater Reading Expo Center, where it has been held for past two years. Beginning with the following show (Philly 101) in March of 2009, the show is returning to suburban Philadelphia at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA. The brand new facility will open in January. Specifics about Philly 100 and future shows can be found on the "Philly Show" website. Virginia League Not Represented in T209-1 Contentnea. After reading the T209 Contentnea Cigarettes set overview in OC eNewsletter #50, subscriber Val Kehl has pointed out that the Virginia League is not represented in the T209-1 "First Series" as stated in the article. We checked further and found that Kehl is correct. Although the T209-1 backs clearly state that three leagues are represented in the series ("Virginia, Carolina Association and Eastern Carolina"), inspection of the player's teams on the card fronts reveals that the players are affiliated with only two leagues. The Virginia League is not included. To help clarify the team/league associations, we have added a "League" column to the T209-1 "First Series" Checklist on the Old Cardboard website. A T209-1 Contentnea Set Profile is also provided on the website. A complete T209-1 Gallery of Cards is also provided. Davis Added to Stevens Firearms Series. Thanks to collector Rhett Yeakley, first baseman Harry Davis has been added to the obscure Stevens Firearms issue of 1911 featuring the Philadelphia Athletics. The Davis addition brings the set count to nine cards. The obscure issue likely remains incomplete, however, as it is still missing cards for HOFers Eddie Collins and Eddie Plank. An updated Set Summary, including a complete Checklist and Gallery of known players is provided on the Old Cardboard website. Vintage Tobacco Packs Website Launched. Old Cardboard author and vintage tobacco packs expert Jon Canfield has launched a "Baseball and Tobacco" website that tells all about the tobacco packs used to distribute vintage baseball cards. The website contains two main sections. First is a research center that discusses how to date a cigarette pack and provides the corresponding factory, district and state tax codes for each set. The second section entitled “Cigarette Boxes and Tobacco Packs” contains correct scans of virtually every cigarette or tobacco package used in the distribution of cards from 1886-1933. A link to the new website has been added to the Old Cardboard Links page (under "Other Related Websites)." 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.