Era comparison....................................
 

A while back I read an article in a Card magazine that compared the top pre and post era sets. The writer wrote that the majority of serious dealers and collectors felt that the post war '52 Topps set was the post war version of the T206, in terms of being the no. 1 set of the era in value, demand, and popularity. He went on to right that the '52 Topps Mantle is to post war sets what the T206 Wagner is to pre war sets-- it was a relative comp. as it is understood that the Wagner cards scarcity and value is by far greater.

He also wrote that the 1953 Bowman color cards are widely regarded as the most beautiful of the post war issues. Now the purpose for the thread............I can't remember if he said the T205 gold borders or the Turkey Reds were widely regarded by the serious collectors and dealors as the most beautiful of the pre war issues?

Your opinions are welcome, but I'm really looking for the set that has, through the years, been the most publisized as being the most beautiful of the pre war sets. The T205 or the Turkey Reds?

from the very first
 

I moved this from a BST section as it's really a front page question.

Personally, since I started collecting pre-war I have always thought the T205 set was one of, if not "the", best looking card sets in the hobby. They were also the first to have stats on back. This question is really a chocolate and vanilla one though, as it's so personal to each of us. If we come up with 5-8 series to vote on it might make a good poll? We can add one to this thread at any time if we want to...good question.

I like the 1936 Diamond Stars set and the 1936 R312 Pastels. Also I think the 1933 Goudeys should be in the mix.

N162
 

Though it's a multi-sport set with some baseball players, I think that N162 Goodwins Champions must be in the discussion.

The simplicity of the design, the unmatched player selection, and the use of full names with nicknames in parentheses (is there any other card of Hornsby that has "Rajah" on the front?) put US Caramel near the top of my list. Cracker Jacks are way up there too. Postwar I would agree on 53 Bowman Color, with 65 Topps the best of that decade.

Kind of in between eras, I like the 1933 Sport Kings, the only downside being that many of the people included were not active in 1933.

Personally, I'm a sucker for the Turkey Reds. The backgrounds, grandstands, sunsets, pastel colors.......... all make the set, for me anyway, absolutely unparalleled! :D It also doesn't hurt that they are the larger size; it seems the older I get, the more I love them ;) :(

T205 though, is a beautiful set. I think if it gets more love than T3, it's mainly because it's a normal "baseball card", whereas T3s were a send-in premium offer. Many card purists probably don't consider T3s a strict "baseball card", since they weren't available in packs at the corner drug store.

Steve