Your Information Resource for Vintage Baseball Cards
eNews Issue #54 (October 2008)      www.oldcardboard.com

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 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. 1949 Leaf "Prototype" Card Found
3. Latest Updates to the OldCardboard.com Website
4. Two New Cards Added to Tarzan Bread Checklist
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.

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October 2008

22-23Phone/Internet Huggins & Scott Auctions (see website for details).
24Phone/Internet 19th Century Only Auction (see website for details).
29Phone/Internet Clean Sweep Auctions (see website for details).
29-30Phone/Internet Mastro "Classic Collector" Auction (see website for details).
30Phone/Internet Collectible Classics CCA22 Auction (see website for details).
30Phone/Internet Prestige Collectibles Auction (see website for details).

November 2008

6Phone/Internet Lew Lipset Auctions (see website) for details
7Internet CubanBaseballCards.com Fall Auction (see website for details).
13Phone/Internet Goodwin & Co. Auction (see website for details).
15Phone/Internet Hunt Auctions 5th Annual Louisville Slugger (see website for details).
21Phone/Internet Leland's Catalog Auction (see website for details).
29San Francisco Bay Area Vintage Collector's Show (email Mark Macrae for details)

2. 1949 Leaf "Prototype" Card Found


"Prototype" Card
"Prototype" Card (Back)

Production Card
Production Card (Back)

For nearly six decades, the 1949 Leaf card set is known to have 98 cards produced in two series of 49 cards each. As detailed in Ted Zanidakis' article "1949 R401 Leaf Gum Company: Most Challenging of all "R" Sets?" (Old Cardboard magazine, Issue #9, Fall 2006, p. 32-39), only three "variation" cards have ever been reported. All three of these are relative minor variations based on the same player pose.

As might be imagined, the discovery of a never-before-reported "variation" card of Hall of Fame pitcher Hal Newhouser was met with some disbelief when it was revealed on the Vintage Baseball Card Forum late last month. The previously unreported card has been graded by PSA and displays an entirely different pose than the production card familiar to collectors of the set.

The fronts and backs of both cards are compared here. As seen, there are also notable differences in the card backs, especially in the narrative information about Newhouser's career. The promotion on the bottom one-third of the card remains unchanged.

Upon close observation, several hobby experts have concluded that this "mystery" card is definitely for real. They speculate that it was designed to be printed in the 1st series of 49 cards in the set. This speculation is based in part on the fact that the "split-color" background design used in the "prototype" is found only in the 1st Series. All of the 49 cards in the short-printed 2nd Series use a solid single-color background. Further, minor differences such as the wording "left-handed" (vs "left") for Newhouser's statistics printed on the card backs is wording that is found only on some of the 1st Series cards and not on any of the cards from the 2nd Series.

The reasons that the Newhouser "prototype" was not used in the production of the 1st series can also only be speculation at this time. Most collectors who have observed the card in person, however, agree that the prototype card is more attractive than Newhouser's production card issued with the second series.

According to Bill Huggins of Huggins & Scott Auctions, the card just showed up "with one of our customers that walked into our Baltimore store." After investigation and getting second opinions from several hobby old timers, Huggins determined that the card was in fact real and no doubt produced by Leaf in the early stages of the development of the set. Under consignment, Huggins expects to sell the card in one of their auctions early next year.

A Set Profile Page for the Leaf Gum cards, along with a checklist and the full set gallery, can be found on the Old Cardboard website.



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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:
1951   R414-03   Topps "Major League All-Stars"

Set Checklists have been added for:
1934   D382   Tarzan Bread
1949   R401   Leaf Gum
1951   R414-03   Topps "Major League All-Stars"

Set Galleries have been added for:
1949   R401   Leaf Gum
1951   R414-03   Topps "Major League All-Stars"

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. Two New Players Added to Tarzan Bread Checklist


Blaeholder
Blaeholder Back

Moore
Moore Back

The recent discovery of a cache of 1930s baseball cards includes an astonishing group of twelve 1934 D382 Tarzan Bread cards, among the rarest of all bakery cards (or "D" cards as listed in the American Card Catalog). The discovery was reported by Andy Broome of Beckett Grading Services after the cards were submitted to the Dallas-based company for grading. The new find also includes complete sets of 1933 and 1934 Goudeys--all removed from the attic of a Detroit home after being untouched for decades.

Among the 12 Tarzan Bread cards were two players previously uncataloged. They are Boston Braves outfielder Randy Moore and St. Louis Browns pitcher George Blaeholder. This brings the set checklist to 30 known players, although it is speculated that cards for 40 to 50 players may have been originally produced.

Known examples of D382 cards are machine cut on three sides but hand cut across the bottom. Some cards are found with a cut line still visible, perhaps suggesting that the cards were originally printed with a tab or coupon at the bottom. This was likely a tab used to attach the card to a loaf of bread with which they were distributed. To our knowledge, no D382 card has ever been reported with the tab intact.

The discovery also confirms earlier evidence that the set was originally distributed in the Detroit area. Interestingly, a 1981 hobby news update about the set (see Trader Speaks, September 1981, p. 5) identifies pioneer collector Frank Nagy, also of Detroit, as "the largest holder [of D382s] in the country." According to the 1981 report, all Nagy remembered about the set "is that they were issued one to a loaf of raisin bread back in 1934." How widespread the distribution was we still do not know.

According to Broome, cards from the collection will be auctioned by Mastro in their December auction.

A summary profile of the D382 Tarzan Bread set, including an updated 30-player checklist that includes the newly discovered players, can be found on the Old Cardboard website.

5. News Briefs (A Digest of Recent Hobby Happenings)

Baseball in Wartime Newsletter. The most recent issue (Issue #14) of British journalist Gary Bedingfield's Baseball in Wartime Newsletter is now posted on his website. The issue marks the beginning of a new feature focusing on players who lost their lives in World War II. According to Bedingfield, more than 100 players with professional baseball experience died in service during the war. Two of them--Elmer Gedeon and Harry O'Neill--had a brief taste of the game at the Major League level. The others were all minor league players at various stages of their careers. Gedeon and O'Neill, as well as minor leaguers Billy Southworth, Jr., Jack Lummus and Keith Bissonnette, are profiled in Issue #14; more will be profiled in the future. You can sign up for a free copy of Bedingfield's newsletter on his website at http://www.baseballinwartime.com/.

Vintage Hold'em Update. The Old Cardboard 2008 Texas Hold'em series for vintage card collectors has now completed three-quarters of the series with three monthly tournaments to go. While Rob Dewolf (wolfie51sb) of Westerville, OH continues a commanding lead, the next four positions on the leaderboard (all qualifying for Old Cardboard prize packages) remain hotly contested. The Series Leaderboard, updated through the September tournament, has been posted on the Old Cardboard website. The October tournament (Old Cardboard #10 on the PokerStars private tournament list) is set for Tuesday, October 28. It is PokerStars tournament #110099699; password for access is R327R327. Entry fee is $11 ($10 goes directly to the tournament cash prize pool and $1 to PokerStars). Games begin at 7:30 pm Texas Time (20:30 EST). We hope to see you there and wish the best of luck to all participants.

Collecting in a Poor Economy. The tanking of the world economy in recent weeks has caused many vintage collectors to reconsider their collecting goals (and to review their collecting budgets). Based on discussions with several vintage collectors and auction houses, there seems to be relatively mild effect on vintage card prices. So far. Whether this resiliency in vintage collectibles will continue or not remains an unanswered question of considerable concern to many collectors. The general consensus, however, is that if you collect less for a card's value and more for the enjoyment of collecting, then budget permitting, your collecting goals should see little change. Those collecting primarily for investment value, however, may want to take a closer look at their timing. Ultimately, the long-term value of collectibles will follow trends in the overall economy, which will eventually recover losses and return to its upward climb.

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.