N167 Jim Blumenthal Article

[GaryPassamonte]

Jim- Great article in Old Cardboard. I love those cards!

[MVSNYC]

Link?

[CW]

I think you need a subscription to Old Cardboard, Michael.

I have been looking forward to this article. An amazing hobby achievement by a great collector (and person) in the hobby.

[ullmandds]

I was just wondering when the next issue of OC was going to come out? Now I'm wondering if my subscription is still active?:rolleyes:

[Jaybird]

I subscribed with the previous issue. What a great publication to support. If anyone is thinking about it, I'd encourage you to subscribe.

[ullmandds]

I think it is bi-yearly now...I miss the quarterly issues?!?!?!

[chaddurbin]

need a signed copy by the author. must have lifetime guarantee it'll pass a reputable TPA.

[E93]

Thanks guys. My copy has not yet arrived.
JimB

[oldjudge]

I haven't gotten my copy either.

[ethicsprof]

I'm happy to say that my issue has come!!!
Professor Jim's piece is scholarship at its best. The pictures of the 12 baseball
cards are a fabulous illustrative plus. I also enjoyed seeing and learning about the actresses and boxers in N167. I've got to read this one again!
I also enjoyed Mark M and Dan M's work on the 1929 Leader Novelty cards.
The elucidation of the import of the two candy boxes found was very helpful.
The gallery of the 34 known cards was beautiful.
I enjoyed OC's article on cartoonist Gene Mack. Seeing the various cartoons
of ball parks was a bit of a thrill for me as I compared Mack's polo grounds
with my Bain photo of the polo grounds.
Finally, I will note a helpful article done on the 1937 PEP cereal sports stamps which I know very little about.
ps I was pleased to see mention of Moderator Leon's discovery re:
the distribution of E125.
A great issue!
all the best,
barry

[barrysloate]

Jim- have you actually completed the set, or did you borrow various images? I know you have many, but it sounds like you don't own the two rare ones. And very nice article.

[E93]

Jim- have you actually completed the set, or did you borrow various images? I know you have many, but it sounds like you don't own the two rare ones. And very nice article.

Hi Barry,
When I confirmed their existence and whereabouts, it was not much longer before I got the opportunity to add them to my collection last year. In January I was able to pick up the last one I needed so my set is complete. All the baseball images of n167s shown in the article are from my collection. I believe this is the first and only complete n167 set in the modern hobby.
JimB

[cyseymour]

Hi Barry,
When I confirmed their existence and whereabouts, it was not much longer before I got the opportunity to add them to my collection last year. In January I was able to pick up the last one I needed so my set is complete. All the baseball images of n167s shown in the article are from my collection. I believe this is the first and only complete n167 set in the modern hobby.

That is incredible - never let it go. Congrats.

[barrysloate]

That is truly an amazing accomplishment Jim. It's only twelve cards, but among the toughest dozen out there.

[Griffins]

I haven't received the article yet, so I don't know if it's detailed in there, but Jim's research and pursuit of the cards that were rumored to be in this set is an incredible tale in and of itself. I have never heard of someone working so hard for so long to complete a set and it's an incredible accomplishment. This wasn't just a case of a guy writing a check but rather years of research and following leads to find his holy grail. Congrats Jim!

[terjung]

Fantastic accomplishment and article, Jim! Thank you so much for sharing this with the hobby.

None better than Mr. Blumenthal.

[cardinalcollector]

Very impressive feat, great story, and fantastic pics.

[Joe_G.]

Stunning!

I'm on the road traveling so I haven't yet had the privilege of studying it in person. I was able to find the following on eBay. Looking forward to some top notch reading!

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/OLD-CARDBOARD-MAGAZINE-Spring-2013-1886-N167-Baseball-Card-1937-F273-27-Stamps-/00/s/MTYwMFgxMTYy/z/PTkAAMXQAF5RgCzd/$T2eC16RHJIkE9qU3kVqfBRgCzcQ76Q~~60_57.JPG

[uffda51]

My copy arrived today. Great article, Jim, and great set. I have one example. Hard to believe you have them all! Well done.

[wonkaticket]

I haven't received the article yet, so I don't know if it's detailed in there, but Jim's research and pursuit of the cards that were rumored to be in this set is an incredible tale in and of itself. I have never heard of someone working so hard for so long to complete a set and it's an incredible accomplishment. This wasn't just a case of a guy writing a check but rather years of research and following leads to find his holy grail. Congrats Jim!

+1

[Matthew H]

The cover is mind-blowing, I can't wait to read it. Jim, thank you.

[E93]

Thank you Anthony, Barry x 2, Quan, John, Matt, and everybody for the kind words.
JimB

[Eric72]

Jim,

Congratulations on having completed this set. While I admittedly know next to nothing about 19th Century cards, the comments left by others lead me to believe you have completed something special.

Please pardon my ignorance here; however, I would like to ask something. Are Corcoran and either Conner or Gerhardt the two elusive issues you mentioned above? I only inquire because of the different typesetting with the, "Old Judge" text on the front.

Best Regards,

Eric

[E93]

Jim,


Please pardon my ignorance here; however, I would like to ask something. Are Corcoran and either Conner or Gerhardt the two elusive issues you mentioned above? I only inquire because of the different typesetting with the, "Old Judge" text on the front.

Best Regards,

Eric

Hi Eric,
The two that were unconfirmed until very recently were Dorgan and Esterbrook. If you look at the phenomenal Old Judge book by Jay Miller, Richard Masson, and Joe Gonsowski, although they were able to depict over 2500 different N172 Old Judges including many one-of-a-kind cards, they were not able to find images or confirm the existence of the Dorgan and Esterbrook.

I remember when they came on here before that book was published and asked if anyone had one or a lead to where to get an image, but nothing came of it. This all lead many to conclude that Dorgan and Esterbrook must had been miscataloged long ago on the presumption that all the New York Giants were included in the set since they were all included in the corresponding Joseph Wood cabinet photos from which the N167 images are based.

Alas, they were not miscataloged.
JimB

[barrysloate]

I got a x2....wow!:)

[yomass]

Buddha would be proud

[gnaz01]

My copy arrived yesterday and is awesome!

Jim, very cool article and MANY congrats on the set!!

Greg

[Leon]

Late to the game but congrats Jim. Great looking set and job well done on tracking a few of those cards down.

[edhans]

Buddha would be proud

A great article indeed; great enough to induce a yomass sighting!

[benchod]

Congrats Jim,
I LOVE n167s and having the set of 10 is a fantastic hobby achievement!
Well done

[E93]

Thanks again for all the kind words everybody.
JimB

[ksfarmboy]

Jim those are awesome and the condition is amazing. The only thing that I don't like is that 2 of the players decided not to sport mustaches. I'll give Richardson a break because he looks like he's 12.

[rebelsart]

Hello Jim,
Congratulations on completing the impossible N167 set! A remarkable achievement. The confirmation of the Dorgan and Esterbrook cards is a big plus for the hobby as well.
Art M.

[bcornell]

Great article, Jim. And, for you, a bit of Ogden Nash doggerel:

The one-l lama, he's a priest.
The two-l llama, he's a beast.
And I will bet a silk pajama
There isn't any three-l lllama.


Bill

[Publius]

Well done Jim, well done!

[Bicem]

sick.

[toppcat]

Just got my issue and will give it a read this week-looks killer!

[insidethewrapper]

Congratulations Jim . I think it would be an interesting article to write about how you tracked down the Dorgan and Esterbrook cards. The research involved in that search. Maybe you could discuss on here. Thanks.

[oldjudge]

Great job! How do you say Old Judge in Tibetan?

[E93]

How do you say Old Judge in Tibetan?

http://photos.imageevent.com/jimblumenthal/images/websize/Old%20Judge%20Tibetan.tiff.jpg
tsod pa nying po

JimB :)

[chaddurbin]

that cover is fantastic! nirvana achieved. any more buddhist puns?

[caramelcard]

Great job finishing that set Jim! I'd love to hear about the journey one day. And, look forward to reading your article.

I still can't believe you pieced that set together. Amazing.

Rob

[autograf]

Interesting that alphabetically, Dorgan and Esterbrook fit top row, right in the middle, front and center. Fantastic achievement Jim.....beautiful cards. N167's are really nice. Loved the Buffalo Bill in the recent Heritage. Did you happen to pick it up?

[oldjudge]

Jim: Fantastic--if I ever get a tattoo that will be it!

[wonkaticket]

I just had a visual of Jay with that as a lower back tattoo bending over to get something at his table at a show. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. :)

[Publius]

That post is useless without a super photo shopped creation John..... :)

[Jaybird]

Finally got a chance to sit down and read the article, Jim. Great job. I was saving it for a moment where I could really concentrate. I loved how you laid out the case and yet were very measured in not making leaps of faith but just giving theories and evidence to back up those theories. Very interesting scholarly writing. Thoroughly enjoyed it. And of course, the cards are beautiful. The overall condition of the card set is pretty phenomenal considering.

[JeremyW]

Finally got a chance to sit down and read the article, Jim. Great job. I was saving it for a moment where I could really concentrate. I loved how you laid out the case and yet were very measured in not making leaps of faith but just giving theories and evidence to back up those theories. Very interesting scholarly writing. Thoroughly enjoyed it. And of course, the cards are beautiful. The overall condition of the card set is pretty phenomenal considering.

Couldn't have said it better. Great article & accomplishment. Jim, for a moment, I thought you photoshopped the heck out of my Esterbrook cabinet.

[Vintagecatcher]

Congrats Jim,

Although I don't collect 19th Century cards, I have always thought the N167 set was beautiful looking.

Special!


Patrick

[oldjudge]

Jim--now that you finished the baseball portion of the N167 set you need to complete the rest. Like most sets of the time this set also included boxers, actresses and even Buffalo Bill. You're probably not even half way there--get going. :-)

[RCMcKenzie]

JimB,

Great collection. That is amazing to see all the cards together.

I have not had a chance to order the Magazine and read the article, but I am planning on buying a copy on ebay to read more about the n167s.

I recently bought a Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper woodcut from Sterling Auctions, and in trying to find out more about it, I read in Lipset's encyclopedia about how the Leslie woodcut uses some of the same J Wood images as the n167. At the time of the encyclopedia, 11 n167 were checklisted, w/o Ewing. But, it was speculated that Ewing, James Mutrie and Thomas Deasley might be included in the n167 series as well. Although very unlikely, I was wondering if it is still thought possible for a Mutrie or Deasley to exist?

99278

[E93]

JimB,

I recently bought a Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper woodcut from Sterling Auctions, and in trying to find out more about it, I read in Lipset's encyclopedia about how the Leslie woodcut uses some of the same J Wood images as the n167. At the time of the encyclopedia, 11 n167 were checklisted, w/o Ewing. But, it was speculated that Ewing, James Mutrie and Thomas Deasley might be included in the n167 series as well. Although very unlikely, I was wondering if it is still thought possible for a Mutrie or Deasley to exist?

99278

Great pickup on the woodcut. I missed that one. If you ever have a desire to sell it. Please let me know.

To answer your question, I think it is possible that a Mutrie and/or Deasley could turn up one day, but I doubt it. Nobody has ever seen or cataloged them. In contrast, the Dorgan and Esterbrook were cataloged decades ago. They just had not been seen in decades and nobody could remember having seen them, thus it was presumed it possibly had been the case that they were mistakenly cataloged. Because they were at one time cataloged (correctly, we now know), but Mutrie and Deasley never have been and presumably have never been seen, I think it is unlikely they will turn up now. Anything is possible, but I think it is highly unlikely.
JimB

[lhardem]

JimB,
I have not had a chance to order the Magazine and read the article, but I am planning on buying a copy on ebay to read more about the n167s.


RC, most of our readers hold on to their copies of OC. If you are not able to find a Spring 2013 copy (or any other issue) of Old Cardboard on eBay, you can always order directly on the OC website at http://www.oldcardboard.com/subscriptions.asp. Better yet, you can start a 2-year subscription (4 issues) for only $23.95 postpaid that will start with Issue #29. We welcome and appreciate your support.

I would also like to take this chance to thank JimB for sharing his article with the hobby through the pages of Old Cardboard. It was a real pleasure working with Jim in developing and laying out the article.

Lyman Hardeman
editor@oldcardboard.com

[RCMcKenzie]

Lyman, Thanks. I just subscribed with paypal. That was easy. It took 30 seconds.


JimB, I may hang on to the woodcut for awhile, if I see any Leslie's woodcuts for sale, I will let you know. Thanks. Looking forward to reading the article.