Pre-war (mainly T206era) Tutorial?
 

I hope this doesn't offend, but what is the best way to get a crash course on early Tobacco cards? I'm not expecting the vast knowledge many of you have gained over many years of collecting. But I am hoping to go see a collection this week and the guy supposedly has cards all the way back T-206s.

I just want to have half a clue what I am looking at and/or be able to look something up quickly. My level of knowledge is 1954 - 1980. I've learned tons about the '52 & '53 sets and while I have never even held one in my hand, i'm beginning to become more and more interested in:
1948 Leaf
1933 - 34 Goudey
1915? Cracker Jack
Various Tobacco cards of which other than T206 I couldn't name any of the others.

So any help at all would be helpful.

Thanks,
Chris

You never know over here, but if this offends anybody, I got your back buddy...

This is where I snagged my T206 Cubbies checklist from...

http://t206resource.com/index.html

A couple others too...http://www.t206.org and http://www.thatt206life.com.

Pretty sure the dudes that run these sites are on the forum. These are some great sites for sure...

http://oldcardboard.com/

One of the best quick & easy references out there on all prewar sets. It won't necessarily help you with authenticating something, but it will help you figure out what you have.

Well, you are certainly in the right place! Don't be afraid to ask questions. Most of the guys here who have a ton of knowledge are more than happy to share that knowledge. I got a ton of help when I was trying to buy the right 1915 CJ Cobb and had someone that I was able to bounce ideas off. T206 information is everywhere. Try Tedzan's thread about T206 or thatt206life.com. Old Cardboard is excellent as well. Also don't be afraid to use the board to throw out specifics about a certain set. Plenty of people want to share their knowledge. Good luck!

The number one key for you at this point is to be assured the seller will allow returns if they aren't authentic. If the seller is reliable and allows returns, the rest isn't life and death. If he won't allow returns, then I'd pass until you get more knowledge.

Though if you are able to post quality images of the cards on this board, people will give you good opinions as to authenticity.

+1

Also, if you have a card in hand and know the player's last name, you can type the last name into vintagecardprices.com and check out all the "regular issue" cards that have been sold for that player. Usually the site will have a stock photo for that player/card combination so you can then compare to what you're evaluating in hand. From there, use the oldcardboard website mentioned above or simply google the set name to find out more information. Showing photos on here would go a long way as many of us have seen enough reprints to spot one just from an online image.

Good luck!

Oh boy, be careful what you wish for!! Less than two years ago I joined net54 to dip my toes into the world of rare back t206s, and boy did in end up with a deep dive. There is more t206 knowledge on this board then you can even begin to imagine. And, once you open that door, be careful... You might find yourself hoarding Joe tinkers, or Fred Merkles, or falling in love with cycle's series 460 (very underrated IMO), or spending the equivalent of a college tuition on mess-ups like brown old mills and lenoxs, blank backs, and cards with last names spelled Magie. And just when you think you have direction, along comes something else that waylaid you and now it's Tolstois... The name "the monster" is absolutely perfect, and it is one nasty beast. But I, and a ton of people on this board, love it!! You have come to the right (or wrong) place.