Lionel Carter on T206s, 1956
 

Back in January, I posted an article on T205s that Lionel Carter wrote for the June 1956 Sport Card Journal (here: http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=217240), and an article on T207s that Carter wrote for the August 1956 Sport Hobbyist and Journal, the result of editor Charles Brooks's merger of the Sport Card Journal and the Sport Hobbyist. (That article is here: http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=217590.) I mentioned that at the end of the T205 article, Carter had promised an article on T206s in the next issue of Sport Card Journal (July 1956), which I unfortunately didn't have. Now, thanks to a board member, I have the July 1956 Sport Card Journal -- in fact, a photocopy of Lionel Carter's personal copy! I've scanned the article below.

Note that he says there were 17 brands in T206, including Hustler as the 17th -- but in that, he was just following Burdick in the 1953 American Card Catalog. I find it interesting that he said that some people were collecting all-Piedmont or all-Sweet Caporal sets, and he recognizes that not all cards came with all backs. Even more interestingly, he claims that "many" collectors collect backs not just by series and brand, but by factory number! I didn't think anybody paid much attention to T206 factory numbers until the past 15-20 years, but apparently the idea was at least in the air 60 years ago. Book value for commons was 4 cents, with Plank going for $10 and Wagner for over $50.

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Neat read David, thanks for sharing!

"Beginners would be wise to strive for a complete collection of the 523 different fronts, as when the cards are mounted (and all collections should be mounted) who cares about the backs; although mounting one representative card from each brand to show the different brands is a fine idea."

Rob
:)

I always like reading these David THANKS!
Larry