Chantilly
 

I didnt find as much as I had hoped but did fine, picking up a rough T205 Jimmy Collins and Cicotte. Could have been a "fabulous" show for me as a totally grotesque Young and Walsh walked in, but they went past poor conditions and were teetering on disgusting...and sadly I could not come to an accord with the dealer who owned them...and I suspect will continue to own them for a very long time. In all honesty they were probably too bad for even my tastes...I believe that even if you are going for a low end set, you should never buy a low end card twice. The Walsh has a full corner missing and the Young had a hole, but most worrisome was that the structure of the paper stock had started to break down.

Rand Bailey was there...I hadn't seen him in a long time. He had a very nice T205 Joss, which changed hands.

I sat with with Larry Wright of the Bullets for a couple of hours. Nice guy...former coach at Grambling.

I was at the Chantilly show both yesterday (for a short time) and all day today. I had a really good time digging thru the bargain bins. I didn't really see any collectors from Net54, which is very unusual as there are a bunch of guys that go to this show on a regular occasion. The crowd was decent today, but it seemed most there were only interested in the autographs.

Speaking of autographs, it was a great selection of autograph guests including Magic Johnson, George Gervin, and Larry Holmes. Jerry West will be coming tomorrow. Finally, Marco listened when I kept asking him over the years to bring in former basketball players. The Bullets championship reunion was a nice idea, but the backup players like Wright & Henderson barely had anyone in line. The rest of the guys didn't do that much better. I get the feeling Marco wasn't too pleased with the those autograph tickets sales.

This show did bring in some big time dealers like Levi, etc,... I don't think he really sold much, but he seemed to enjoy being down here in Chantilly. A few of the dealers I spoke to said that sales were a bit slow.

I think the vintage card dealers will come down to this show when the vintage card collectors start attending and the vintage card collectors will start coming when the vintage card dealers start to set up there. So it's a catch-22.

I was there Friday and for a few hours yesterday. I too was surprised at seeing Rand and picked up the Tolstoi cigarette pack from his tobacciana hoard (posted in recent pick-ups). It was his only baseball-related piece that wasn't cut. I enjoyed Dan McKee's now-regular appearance and picked up a t205 minor leaguer with a PB back, which had a certain brilliancy I look for and replaces one I haplessly traded awhile back. I followed fellow veteran collector A.S. around for a few tables trying to glean what useful info he offered free-of-charge. My final pick-up was a t206 I came across from a dealer who was situated in an out-of-the-way location and travelled all the way from Salt Lake City. He had a stack of t205/6s that were priced too high, but after talking with him for so long I felt obliged to pony up for one. Plus, the card had an attribute that I think another collector will be interested in. All in all I had a good time and look forward to future shows.

I went on Friday and had a good time (this Show is only a few miles from my house and is free admission on Fridays - so, what's not to like!). Hey Alan, you saw me when I honked and waved at you as I was pulling into the parking lot!

Dan Mckee's display of scarce, vintage cards was to die for, as always! Huggins & Scott had some of the items in their forthcoming auction on display, including a L1 Leather of WAJO (another to-die-for, as I am a WAJO collector) and a half-dozen or so Briggs Hot Dog panels, including one with Jackie Jensen, which is a very scarce card by itself! I heard that these Briggs panels were found in the bottom of a box of stuff that someone got at an estate sale for less than $100 (note to self - start going to more estate sales!).

I picked up only a 1955 Don Wingfield PC of Dean Stone (auto.) and this Frank Howard approx. 15" x 22" poster that I had never seen before and that relates to the 1970-71 Wash. Senators Traffic safety cards. "Hondo" Howard was Washington's equivalent, home-run-wise, of Adam Dunn back in the late 1960s.
Val

Cool Howard poster. I hope nobody ever buys autograph tickets as a sign of protest to bring the prices to a reasonable level.

My question to those who have gone to the Philly/Hunt and this, which is better?

Never been to Chantilly.

DanC

DanC - I attend every Chantilly Show and one or more Philly Shows every year. Years ago, there was no comparison with respect to vintage material - Philly was so much better, but Chantilly has been closing the gap in recent years. But, IMO, Philly is still better for vintage, and besides, you get Ted Z. with the Philly Show! :)
Val

Wow. I have no idea how I did not know the show was going on. :(

In any event, I probably just would have browsed anyway getting ideas for down the road. With X-Mas coming up, I like to make sure Santa takes care of my son.

When is the next Philly show? I love Philly but have never been to the show.

Bill - You may want to get on the Chantilly Show's email mailing list - go to www.csashows.com.

The next Philly Show is December 3, 4 and 5.
Val

Great, thanks! As I said, never been to the Philly show. Is it worth the drive from the DC Metro area? My brother lives right outside Philly so I'd have a place to crash.

Bill - I think the Philly Show would be worth your giving it a try, especially as you dont have to incur a lodging cost and even though some of the vintage dealers over-price their cards, IMO.

I usually drive up with another local collector to share the cost, and we return the same day - this makes for a very long day, but it gives me my needed "hobby fix"!
Val

I used to go to the Philly show too, many times I went up just for the day on Friday and came back late that same night. I haven't been to it since it moved to it's latest facility, though.