Posted By:
Al C.risafulliFrom my standpoint, I love the hobby. There are a handful of people who have become icons in the hobby, to the point where they're almost as big as the hobby itself.
When I was a young kid, I read an article in SI about Barry Halper. I've been blown away by his collection, and his presence in the hobby, ever since. For that reason, I made a point of winning something from the Halper Collection in the last REA auction. It's something small, and it's not even noted anywhere as being Halper's (it's a cabinet card of Jake Beckley), but I know it was once a part of a collection that blew me away as a kid. Knowing that there were private collections like Halper's, assembled over the course of years and years, to the point where they became historically significant in and of themselves, was part of what helped keep me interested in the hobby all these years.
I'd love to add one of Lionel Carter's '38 Goudeys to my collection, but for a different reason. I know that his cards were taken out of packs and put right in albums, back in 1938. For that reason, I know those cards are a reflection of what a 1938 Goudey looked like in 1938 - the stock color, the edges, the printing, have all been untouched for all that time. It's truly an original, authentic card that's been virtually untouched in any way since 1938. I'd love to own one - I almost wouldn't even care what card it was.
-Al