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Bob LemkeThanks for all the interest and suggestions relative to the Standard Catalog. The 2003-dated edition is currently planned for more than 1,700 pages. By the way, the fact the 2002 book divided after Page 500 was coincidental. With the number of new listings added to the vintage section for 2003, it will be somewhat longer. Because it takes so much space, and is of interest to a relatively small number of collectors, we don't plan to include the Old Judge pose variations this time, either. Producing the work in separate vintage and modern editions is not going to happen. Besides putting us at a competitive disadvantage with the Beckett Almanac, the costs of binding the printed pages is a large part of the total production cost and essentially double in that scenario. We do not shrink wrap the book so that potential buyers can flip through it and see if it meets their needs. I had hoped to be able to spin off the minor league listings into a Standard Catalog of its own, but the volume we produced two years ago did not meet sales expectations. We do have a scenario in mind by which we will be able to maintain page count, and hopefully cover price, for several more editions to come. For those who choose not to lug around the whole book, take a clue from Larry Fritsch. He has a friendly local print chop cut off the spine of the book, then punch the vintage section pages for a three-ring binder, thus allowing it to lay flat for ease of use.
I do have some thoughts on making the Old Judge section more comprehensive than it is currently but time constraints don't allow for it to happen now. I may be asking for help and floating some trial balloons in SCD later this summer. Again, thanks for your thoughts . . . and keep 'em coming.