Your Information Resource for Vintage Baseball Cards
  eNews Issue #126 (October 2014)       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. Set Profile: 1923 "Lections" Mystery Continues 3. Latest Additions to the OldCardboard.com Website 4. 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 Key Events Calendar on the Old Cardboard website. Have an event that needs to be on the OC Calendar? Email editor@oldcardboard.com.

OC eNewsletter Sponsor

October 2014
29	Phone/Internet	Clean Sweep Auctions (see website for details).
November 2014
1	Phone/Internet	Goldin Auctions (see website for details).
1	Internet	Love of the Game Auction (see website for details).
6-8	Dallas, TX	Heritage Signature Sports Collectibles Auction (see website for details).
11-13	Phone/Internet	Hake's Americana & Collectibles Auction (incl. baseball; website).
19-20	Phone/Internet	Legendary Auctions (see website for details).
20	Phone/Internet	Sterling Sports Auctions (see website for details).
21-23	Rosemont, Il	Chicago Sun Times Sports Collectibles Conv. (see website for details).

2. Set Profile: 1923 "Lections" Mystery Continues Lections (Green Print) Lections (Orange Print) This mysterious 1923 set was unknown to collectors until the mid-1980s. Even today, it is unclear exactly what "Lections" were or who produced them. The cards are blank-backed and are not listed in the American Card Catalog. Only three or four small groups of Lections cards have turned up--and most are believed to have come from the same upstate New York source. The first group showed up in 1984 at the Parsippany National card show. A second group first appeared in a 1997 auction. In total, it is estimated that only about 40-50 examples from the set exist in the hobby today. The set checklist seems to have stabilized at ten players with no new players reported in the last 15-20 years. The round cornered cards are printed on thick card stock. A black-and-white player's "head shot" is found inside an oval frame on the left on-third of the card. The player's name and team are printed below the image. The remaining two-thirds of the card is printed in either green or orange ink (an example of each color is shown at right). A 1923 copyright for "B & B Co." is printed under a "Lections" title at the top of the card. A drawing of the infield of a baseball game in progress fills the balance of the right side of the card. The origins of the Lections cards are unclear and open to speculation. Almost all known cards are found in lower condition, suggesting they were well loved by their original owners. Some of the cards are found with punch holes, leading collectors to think they may be part of a redemption promotion--perhaps at a candy or toy store. Election Card of Albany Mayor John Thacher A more recent discovery of a similarly designed "election cards" used by the mayor of Albany (and others) seems to shed some light on the mystery. The "election" card (shown at left) is that of John Boyd Thacher, a third generation mayor of the state's capital city. Some researchers of the set believe that the election cards were distributed at public events in the Albany area and that the baseball-themed cards were an offshoot of the election cards that were targeted to kids. That seems to be the most plausible of several explanations about the origins of the Lections cards. The election cards might also be used to help confirm the date that the Lections set was issued. We have contacted the Albany Public Library to help determine the year in which the candidates for several local offices (found on the known election cards) ran in the early 1920's. The Library is currently researching the dates and we will update any information that they uncover in a future eNewsletter. Meanwhile, we will use the 1923 distribution date that is generally agreed upon within the hobby. Note: In researching for this article, we noticed that the image of the card labeled "Charles Schmidt--Pittsburg Pirates" is mis-identified. The image on the card is actually that of Charles' brother Walter Schmidt, catcher for the Pirates during the time that the Lections set was produced. The correct identification has been confirmed by baseball photo expert Mark Fimoff and is now noted in the Lections Set Checklist on the Old Cardboard website. A Set Profile, Player Checklist and full Card Gallery for the 1923 Lections set is provided on the Old Cardboard website. The Schmidt card has also been added to the Checklist of Mislabeled Vintage Cards in the Old Cardboard Reference Library. Thanks to collector Jon Canfield for providing input about the Lections set. OC eNewsletter Sponsor 3. Latest Additions 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 Checklists have been added for: 1923   Lections (includes years player played for team shown on card) Set Galleries have been added for: 1923   Lections Note: The Old Cardboard Checklist of Mislabeled Vintage Cards has also been expanded for several card sets. 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 website and the list continues to grow every month. We welcome and encourage feedback with checklist additions, card images, error corrections and suggestions. Please send all input to editor@oldcardboard.com. Beyond the above pages recently added to the Old Cardboard website, we continue to expand and refine our eBay Custom Search Links to make finding vintage baseball cards on eBay easier than ever. The results of these searches are continuously changing, so check back often to find the most recent eBay listings. Samples of a few of these custom searches are provided below. Hundreds more are provided on the Set Profile pages throughout the Old Cardboard website. R-Cards (Goudey) 1933 Sport Kings 1934/39 Premiums R314 "Wide Pens" 1933 Goudey 1934 Goudey 1935 Goudey 4-in-1 1936 Goudey 1938 "Heads Up" 1941 Goudey R-Cards (Bowman) 1948 Bowman 1949 Bowman 1950 Bowman 1951 Bowman 1952 Bowman 1953 Bowman (B&W) 1953 Bowman (Color) 1954 Bowman 1955 Bowman (TV) (more custom searches by major card groups) 4. News Briefs (A Digest of Recent Hobby Happenings) PC760 Rose Postcard Player Gets New ID. Baseball card detective Mark Fimoff has discovered another player mis-identification--this time in the PC760 Rose postcard set of 1908-09. Identified as simply "Wilson, Pittsburg N. L." on the postcard, the card has long been listed in hobby checklists as that of "Chief" Wilson. According to Fimoff, the photo on the postcard is actually that of Howard Paul "Highball" Wilson, who played in the Majors (but not Pittsburg) more that half a decade earlier. A discussion of the card, including comparison images for both players, can be viewed in a Net54 Forum thread. The correct Wilson has been noted in the PC760 checklist on the Old Cardboard website. Jim Blumenthal (1967-2014). We were very surprised and much saddened to learn of the recent passing of Jim Blumenthal at the age of just 47 years. Jim was among the most humble of vintage card collectors and it was always a treat to chat with him at the annual National card show. He was a staunch supporter of Old Cardboard and the vintage collecting hobby. Jim's article about the N167 Old Judge set was featured on the cover of Old Cardboard (Issue #29; Spring 2013) and is one of the strongest and best researched that we have printed. A more detailed profile of Jim's vintage card collecting life can be found in the Collector's Dugout section of OC Issue #13 (Fall 2007). May Jim rest in peace. He will be sorely missed. 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.