I would have scanned the cover but I feared it would pulverize my poor scanner.
A dealer at one of the card shows tipped me off the existence of the book, and I was able to use some gift card $$ from the holidays to essentially get the book for free!
This might be the closest I'll get to owning a complete set of 1952 Topps in mint condition - I could easily spend hours just poring through the various year's pages.
Leafing through the years helps my efforts to complete a vintage wantlist of Topps cards. It's kind of a bummer that the book doesn't have the card backs too, but the full color reproductions of the front of each card is a real treat.
There's even an index in the back so I can make sure I have all the Elmer Valos and Coot Veals I could ever want:
There a bunch of books out there about baseball cards, do you have a favorite?
The baseball card Flipping, trading and bubble gum card is really fun to read. I also read Mint Condition, on the history of baseball cards, and it was very interesting, even though the chapter on graded cards was kind of boring.
ReplyDeleteI picked up that book at a library 'fire sale' a few years ago. I love it.
ReplyDelete"Flipping" is a book I haven't heard about yet - thanks for the recommendation!
ReplyDeleteI did read "Mint Condition" - the most interesting stuff to me was about Jefferson Burdick, the collector that coined terms for all the various Tobacco issues, and spent a big chunk of his later life cataloging his collection for donation to the Met in NYC...
Just fascinating - here's a NY Times article about Burdick: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/sports/baseball/baseball-card-collecting-was-lifes-work-for-jefferson-burdick.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
I've been chasing one of these. Found one that ends at 1985 for fifteen bucks. The one that goes to 1990 is $100. I'll take my chances on the old version...for now.
ReplyDeleteI had the same thought process when I found this thing on Amazon - the 1951-1990 book must not have been printed in the same supply.
DeleteI have the 1951-1990 version. I must have picked it up on markdown somewhere (Borders?) I also have the individual 1950's and 1960's versions. I also wish they showed the backs but I understand when they don't.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to track one down
ReplyDeleteA library sale (like the one CommishBob went to) might be a great way to find one cheaply - Amazon had a few reasonable used copies, otherwise it seems like it's being treated as a collector's item.
DeleteYeah, that would be a pretty big book to get both front and back of every topps card, even with the slightly shrunk-down versions they have in the book now.
ReplyDelete