First October Spooky Mystery Pick Up Thread [Archive]

Archive

10-19-2008, 09:32 PM

Posted By: PaulI just received these in the mail from Rhys. (Thanks, Rhys.) There was a thread about the Jimmy Foxx quite awhile ago, and the group was stumped. If anyone has any more educated guesses, they would be appreciated. There's obviously a bit of additional information in the scans. First -- great players. Second, they were clearly issued in strips. Third, the uncut strip has just a touch of green along one edge. Some of the others have a touch of red along the edge. The backs are white, but underneath the white layer is a standard cardboard color layer. They are fairly thick and stiff. They measure about 1 1/2" x 1 7/8". <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1224473205.JPG"> <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1224473230.JPG"> <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1224473249.JPG"> <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1224473271.JPG"> <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1224473292.JPG"> <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1224473447.JPG">

Archive

10-19-2008, 10:05 PM

Posted By: Draper<img src="http://i48.servimg.com/u/f48/12/38/66/72/larger10.jpg">

Archive

10-20-2008, 06:46 AM

Posted By: Scott SarianIf you ask nicely, I bet GAI would slab these as 1932 Goudey proofs...

Archive

10-20-2008, 07:49 AM

Posted By: Jim VBScott, I'm sure you're correct. It is Monday, after all, so they should be open soon.

Archive

10-20-2008, 03:22 PM

Posted By: PaulDraper, what is that? It looks like someone glued them to that notebook because some are peeling off.

Archive

10-20-2008, 04:52 PM

Posted By: SteveVery cool, but I wonder if these were cut from a page and glued to the card stock. There appears to be printed text on the dog eared portion of the Terry. Also, the images are seperated by red and black spacing. Paul, are you able to read through the stock if held to a halogen light? Added photo, twice <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1224543290.JPG">

Archive

10-20-2008, 05:26 PM

Posted By: RhysFor some reason I had thought someone determined these were cut from a Calendar or something. I got these in a scrapbook and soaked them out so I doubt they are paper glued to cardboard after the fact or the old glue would have seperated. I brought them with me to the National and I had many people look at them with no guesses or concrete sources of where they came from.

Archive

10-20-2008, 08:32 PM

Posted By: PaulRhys, you may be confusing these with the orange border manager cards from the 1930s. Those were confirmed to be cut outs from a calendar. Steve, mine have no text on the back. I saw the text in Draper Maynard's scan and was wondering about that. Because my Mel Ott is torn so badly, I can get a clear look at the structure of the stock. The bottom layer is white, the middle layer is cardboard color. The top layer is a bit tougher to judge, but I think it is also white. If I had to guess as to a "non-card" theory, my guess would be that these were cut from the cover of a board game.

Archive

10-20-2008, 09:13 PM

Posted By: Fred CPaul, Just because the picture on the cover shows a pair of scissors didn't mean you had to cut them off the cover. I bet the whole sheet is worth more than the sum of the parts... <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14>

Archive

10-21-2008, 10:29 PM

Posted By: Butch & Co.Paul, interesting theory -- but for whatever it's worth, they're not from any board game we've ever seen, and we've seen almost every one of 'em from the 1860s onward. Um... almost every one. Ya never know... Baseball Games <a href="http://members.aol.com/Butch7999/Baseball.htm" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://members.aol.com/Butch7999/Baseball.htm</a> (soon to have a new address)

Archive

10-22-2008, 03:09 AM

Posted By: Ted ZanidakisThanks PAUL About 2 years ago I posted my mysterious Foxx card. <a href="http://www.network54.com/Forum/153652/message/1167962058/Mystery++Foxx+card" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://www.network54.com/Forum/153652/message/1167962058/Mystery++Foxx+card</a> <img src="http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd339/tz1234zaz/aafoxx.jpg"> And, it has remained a mystery until now. My Foxx card is on a stiff, blank-backed grayish cardboard. So, now can we find out some more information on these (year, manufacturer, etc.) ? TED Z

Archive

10-22-2008, 01:20 PM

Posted By: Butch & Co.Seems curious (to us at least) that if the images were cut from a box or display piece, the "rosters" wouldn't match up. This set of whatever-it-is had at least 21 images -- 11 of them are common to both Paul's group and DraperMaynard's (Averill, Cronin, Earnshaw, Gehrig, Hubbell, Lucas, Malone, Ott, Ruth, Terry, Wilson), but five are unique to Paul's group (Foxx, Gehringer, Grove, Lazzeri, Simmons), and five unique to DraperMaynard's (Berger, Frisch, Goslin, Schumacher, Waner). The Ott-Malone-Averill-Earnshaw vertical strip is common to both groups, while Paul's Hubbell seems to be an orphan from the vertical strip on the right side of DraperMaynard's notebook. Just stating the obvious, but maybe it suggests something.

Archive

10-22-2008, 01:42 PM

Posted By: leonNot to go too far off topic as these were a mystery until about last year....they were considered some sort of 1935 Unc manager cards until I found this calendar....Subsequently I saw another calendar for sale... <img src="http://luckeycards.com/pwunc1937schedulecards.jpg">

Archive

10-22-2008, 07:02 PM

Posted By: PaulTed, mine have a white back, not a gray back, but there is a gray layer under the white back. Maybe mine were glued to white paper.

Archive

10-24-2008, 08:00 AM

Posted By: Ted ZanidakisI'd bet that your cards were pasted on a white printed page (as is evident with the Terry card in the album scan). OK, this is what we know so far..... 21 cards on stiff cardboard with grayish backs A 1933 issue.....I base this on the fact that Hack Wilson is identified as on the Dodgers. The Album is a World Series Scrapbook (made in Canada) issued during the 1933 season. I have been unable to find any more info to solve this mystery....has anyone else come across anything ? T-Rex TED

Archive

10-24-2008, 11:01 AM

Posted By: PaulI will post a scan of the back of my torn Ott card this weekend so that you can see the white and grey layers. I'm still unclear about why there is a solid black bar all the way across the horizontal group of cards glued to the scrapbook. Where did the extra black material between the cards come from?

Archive

10-24-2008, 11:27 AM

Posted By: Dan BrettaIt's not just a black bar, but there are also red bars between the player photos...it's just hard to see because that notebook is also red.

Archive

10-24-2008, 11:42 AM

Posted By: Ted ZanidakisIt looks to me like these mysterious cards were printed on a 25-card sheet. We have 21 cards accounted for; therefore, 4 are missing. And, it appears to me that this "Scrap Book" album is an associated piece with these cards. If so, then I am curious......why are these items a Canadian product ? Furthermore, are they somehow related to the B/W V-type sets of the early 1930's ? TED Z

Archive

10-24-2008, 12:30 PM

Posted By: Jon CanfieldTed - I don't think your assumption about the 25-card sheet is correct. First, if you look at the strip that runs vertical posted above (not the one glued to the scrap book), there are 6 cards connected top to bottom. We also can assume that Cronin should appear on top of that strip, but its cut off (this is evident by looking at the left side of the scrapbook where the vertical cards appear Cronin, (then cut) and the strip appears Ott, Malone, Averill, etc). Then, if you look at the strip of cards connected that run horizontal on the top of the scrapbook, there are 5 card connected beginning with Cronin. Even assuming for a moment these are cards and were printed on a sheet, we know that there is at least 7 down (beginning with Cronin and ending with Wilson) and at least 5 across (beginning with Cronin and ending with Goslin). This would make a minimum of 5 rows of 7 cards in each row, or a minimum of 35 on the sheet. Even assuming that I'm incorrect about Cronin appears on top of Ott, from the pictures posted above, we have a vertical strip of 6, and a horizontal strip of 5, which would make a minimum of 30 cards. Either way, there are more than 25. Do you agree?

Archive

10-24-2008, 01:55 PM

Posted By: Pennsylvania TedI overlooked that vertical strip of 6 cards. But, I will be "one up on you" by suggesting a 36-card sheet (6 x 6). My guess is that Ott of the vertical strip was connected to the left of Cronin of the horizontal strip. What do you think of that ? TED Z

Archive

10-24-2008, 02:01 PM

Posted By: Jon CanfieldSounds good by me. ====================================== For the premier online souce of information on baseball-related cigarette packs, visit <a href="http://www.baseballandtobacco.com" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://www.baseballandtobacco.com</a>

Archive

10-24-2008, 04:58 PM

Posted By: PaulAny thoughts on why the left edge of my uncut strip is green, while some of my other cards have red on the right edge?

Archive

10-25-2008, 11:14 AM

Posted By: PaulHere is a scan of the back of the top of my uncut strip (the Ott card). You can see the white layer of the back surface, the grey underneath, and then a little more white underneath that. The white surface is smooth and non-glossy. In the scan, there is a portion of the white layer that appears a little darker than the rest. It does not look that way in person. <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1224954690.JPG">

Archive

03-17-2009, 09:56 PM

Posted By: PaulI was looking at Lot 995 in Hunt Auctions' current internet auction, and it immediately reminded me of these mystery cards. I'd post a link, but something seems to be wrong with their website right now. Anyhow, lot 995 is a promotional piece for warbonds. My mystery cards obviously were not cut from this particular promotional piece. But there are enough similarities to make me wonder if my cards might have been cut from a similar piece. Any thoughts? I'd still like to believe my cards really are cards, but that may be a losing battle. Edited to add: Hunt's website is back up and running, here's the link: <a href="http://www.huntauctions.com/phone/imageviewer.cfm?auction_num=59&lot_num=995" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://www.huntauctions.com/phone/imageviewer.cfm?auction_num=59&lot_num=995</a>

Archive

03-18-2009, 10:49 AM

Posted By: PaulHere's the actual image of Hunt's war bonds piece. <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1237394947.JPG" alt="[linked image]">

Archive

03-19-2009, 05:14 PM

Posted By: PaulAnyone have any thoughts on this?

Archive

03-19-2009, 06:12 PM

Posted By: leonI dislike it when good, well intended questions go unanswered but arguing gets a thousand people posting. Oh well....The first thing I noticed was the Foxx photo isn't the same on the large sheet as is the individual card above. We need to get by that first, imo, then continue the debate. If that is what you are speaking of? regards

Archive

03-19-2009, 06:31 PM

Posted By: Dan BrettaI personally feel there is nothing to debate here. These are magazine cutouts glued to cardboard. The magazine is most likely from 1933 judging from the list of World Champions glued to the notebook. The turned up edge of the peeled photo that Draper posted above shows words on the back.

Archive

03-20-2009, 06:54 AM

Posted By: leonAfter looking at the upper notebook I agree with Dan. Cut outs glued onto cardboard...

Archive

03-20-2009, 03:52 PM

Posted By: PaulThe pictures certainly could be cut from a magazine, but they don't have the same high quality as most magazine photos I've seen. Maybe a cheap magazine? And why such a quick consensus this time on the magazine photo theory. Last time the board didn't seem to lean in that direction. I understand the Foxx picture is different. They are all different. It's just that the overall design and proportions of the pictures in the war bond piece seemed similar enough that I thought another war bond certificate might be the source of my "cards." For what it's worth, here is a re-post of some of my cards/pictures/whatever: <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1237585882.JPG" alt="[linked image]"> <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1237585915.JPG" alt="[linked image]"> <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1237585937.JPG" alt="[linked image]">

Archive

03-20-2009, 04:47 PM

Posted By: leonIf this last posting of cards? is the way they look then they also don't have the gold line between the pictures. I can't imagine, if there were different war bond pieces, they would be that different...but ya never know. We have seen so many different cut out ad pieces that's what I think of first when I see these kinds of mystery cards, or maybe printers scrap if they look like a known set. These don't resemble a known set though. regards

Archive

03-20-2009, 06:05 PM

Posted By: Dan BrettaThey weren't even selling War Bonds in the early 1930s. I can see on a few of yours Paul that same red along the edges that are on the magazine cutouts above pasted to the notebook. If I had to bet my life I'd say these are the exact same cutouts. Some kid made his own cards probably 70+ years ago.

Archive

03-20-2009, 09:43 PM

Posted By: PaulI've got no doubt these are the same thing that Draper posted glued to that scrapbook cover. But I'm not sure why it's so clear that Draper's were cut from a magazine.

Archive

03-21-2009, 09:40 AM

Posted By: Dan BrettaThey're paper thin, you can clearly see printing on the back of the Terry where the paper is flipped up...IMO that leaves little doubt that these are cut from a magazine or other item in which they were not meant to be cut out.