any recollections of "the little black dot?" [Archive]

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02-11-2009, 03:48 PM

Posted By: mark s.i recently sent this email to our resident, and industry expert, onlychild: [do] "you have any recollection of a professional restorer, about 16-20 years ago who "signed" his work with a small black dot in the bottom corner of the reverse"? and received this response: "Yes I do recall a card doctor (an honest one) who rebuilt corners I believe. He did it to prove how easy it was and how perfect it looked. After he would put a small dot o the card or possibly the corner he rebuilt so it could be identified. I don't know who the guy was/is though." do any of the other "old-timers" here have anything... any articles, pics or comments they can add?

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02-11-2009, 03:53 PM

Posted By: barrysloateI think it was Tom Faith. I don't mind mentioning his name since he was honest and was always willing to reveal his work. Have not heard from him in a really long time.

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02-11-2009, 03:57 PM

Posted By: mark s.hey barry... were you napping? took you FIVE WHOLE MINUTES to respond! thanks for your help [smiley!]

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02-11-2009, 04:18 PM

Posted By: Frank WakefieldI think Barry is correct (as he usually is). Wasn't mention of Faith in one or two issues of The Old Judge about 20 years ago (wow, was it that long ago that we read that?)

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02-11-2009, 04:19 PM

Posted By: barrysloateI was in the right place at the right time. <img src="/images/happy.gif" height="14" width="14" alt="happy.gif"> There was also an article about Tom's work in an issue of The Old Judge.

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02-11-2009, 06:47 PM

Posted By: Ted ZanidakisI've known Tom Faith since the early 1980's, and we regularly keep in touch. Tom was a wizard at restoring BB cards back in the 1980's and until the mid 1990's. He encoun- tered a lot of controversy while restoring cards and decided to quit doing it. Tom is one of those veteran collectors in this hobby (like many others) that prefer to remain private. Tom has completed most of the major BB sets from T206's to the '70s Topps. He is a tremendous student of Baseball and vintage BB cards and would be a great addition to this forum; however, he has developed allergic reactions to certain things which prevent him from using a computer. TED Z

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02-11-2009, 07:29 PM

Posted By: RobertWow. I was recently thinking about this person. I did not know him or his name but I remember overhearing him speak about his restoration to other dealers/collectors. I was going to remark about this topic on the other (CU) boards but I did not think anyone would have beleived me.

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02-11-2009, 07:48 PM

Posted By: mark s....you are truly a WEALTH of knowledge! thank you for the flashback/update/bio it seems quite unfortunate that mr. faith is unable to join us. i'm certain we could all benefit from his experience & insights. perhaps you could just let him know that he is remembered and respected.

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02-11-2009, 07:53 PM

Posted By: Frank WakefieldThank you, Mark, If I recall correctly, Mr. Lipset had a two part article in consecutive issues about Mr. Faith. He came across as a good fellow, with tremendous talent. And what he could do with baseball cards was, and still is, amazing. Others can do it, and still do. I'll try to find that and post a scan if I do find it. FW

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02-11-2009, 11:23 PM

Posted By: brian I've heard of him. There are several individuals that have amassed collections of massive proportions that don't have a computer. One of them is Jack Cryder. He is supposed to have over 100,000 PSA graded cards, nearly every major set completed from Allen & Ginter through 1960 Topps and almost every HOFer's rookie card in high grade up to the mid 1980s.

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02-12-2009, 04:00 AM

Posted By: barrysloateWow, I'm a sir...I've been knighted! Ted is correct about Tom's allergies. He used to walk around the Willow Grove show wearing a surgical mask. It was unfortunate, but he was a really great guy.

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02-12-2009, 04:10 AM

Posted By: Bill WilliamsWhen you said, "however, he has developed allergic reactions to certain things which prevent him from using a computer." I thought perhaps you meant the maneur that is spread liberally on most sportscard message boards.

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02-12-2009, 05:22 AM

Posted By: Scott Fandangoedit

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02-12-2009, 05:58 AM

Posted By: Ted ZanidakisI don't understand why this thread is starting to descend into the "gutter". If you don't know Tom Faith, I don't think it's necessary to cast dispersions on him. Despite his handicap, he has a normal family life with his four grown children and his grandchildren. Tom is a very engaging man, especially when talking Baseball and BB cards. His knowledge of these subjects is amazing. His handicap was contracted over the years from his exposure to certain chemicals, when he was em- ployed as a Chemical Engineer. If you can't say something nice about some one you know nothing about....then say nothing. TED Z

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02-12-2009, 05:51 PM

Posted By: Rob D.Article from The Old Judge Spring Supplement 1986 issue. <img src="http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr327/wolfie51sb/lew1.jpg" alt="[linked image]"> <img src="http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr327/wolfie51sb/lew2.jpg" alt="[linked image]">

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02-12-2009, 05:53 PM

Posted By: Rob D.Article from the February 1988 issue of The Old Judge. <img src="http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr327/wolfie51sb/lew3.jpg" alt="[linked image]"> <img src="http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr327/wolfie51sb/lew4.jpg" alt="[linked image]">

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02-12-2009, 06:05 PM

Posted By: Frank WakefieldThank you, Rob!! I knew I'd read something by or about Tom Faith in TOJ. I had not heard of Julie until reaching this board, and now I see her letter to Mr. Lipset. Ted, I've never met Mr. Faith, but from what I'd heard he's a great collector, knows cards, was patient and methodical. We should figure out how to put some sort of membrane on a keyboard, and a slight negative air presseure environment on a pc and monitor, and get him on line.

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02-12-2009, 07:29 PM

Posted By: Ted ZanidakisTom not only knows his BB cards; but, has an amazing expertise on the characteristics of the cardboard used to produce the various BB card sets. Tom's Chemical Engineering background enabled him to restore a Vg card into a near Mint card. His work on T206's, Goudeys, Diamond Stars, Play Balls, Bowmans and Leafs was an art of exceptional quality. When I first started collecting the 1933 Goudey set, Tom went into a lengthy disserta- tion on the inferior quality of Goudey's cardboard used on their first series of cards. Tom is in his 70's and has always been a very low key guy....if he could, I don't think he would be an active participant in this forum. TED Z

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02-13-2009, 07:51 AM

Posted By: mark s.wolfie- i thank you once again for providing yet another memorable print-medium reference! did anybody else notice that there was NO mention whatsoever of "the little black dot" in lipset's article? also, was particularly bemused by the quote attributed to ron oser... and, can anyone provide an update of wayne miller? (many of the t205 & t206 still in my collection were purchased from wayne more than a quarter-century ago.)

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02-13-2009, 08:11 AM

Posted By: barrysloateMark- we had a thread about Wayne Miller a couple of years ago, someone pointed it out to him, and he actually emailed me the same day. He is doing fine, and spends his time performing magic. He gave up T206's when they became too hard to find.

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02-13-2009, 08:26 AM

Posted By: Rich KleinMr. Faith started adding the black dot later. he may not have been adding that dot at the time of the Lipset article.

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02-13-2009, 08:28 AM

Posted By: mark s.thank you again, sir sloate, for pointing me in the right direction! and thanks to bill todd for his link to wayne & ellen's website... best wishes to you both (wherever you are!)