The Ballcard Collector - April 1973, w/Lionel Carter etc...

[Leon]

I know some other members enjoy the history of the hobby. Here is a glimpse from a hobby publication put out by George Martin, in 1973. Enjoy....

[William Todd]

Thanks Leon, I have a number of T207's and T206's owned by Lionel Carter and I really enjoyed reading the article as I feel the way Lionel did then today...don't tell me its mint if its very good...

[ethicsprof]

any time you bring something up about Lionel Carter, I'm most excited to
hear!!! He was one of the gentlemen and icons of this fine hobby.
thanks
all the best,
barry

[CW]

Great stuff, Leon -- thanks for scanning and posting!

Also interesting to note that even as early as 1973, hobbyists were clamoring for the days when collecting cards was done for fun and not as an investment.

"A mint card is a mint card regardless of age!! It is not the condition of the card that should be lowered, but the condition in which you will accept the card that should be lowered." -- Lionel Carter

Looks like Mr. Carter was willing to go down to "EX-MT" condition on his E cards... (note: not my cards. Images were saved years ago when Carter's collection was sold after his passing. Shown here as a testament to his eye for condition)

[TheBig6]

Thanks for posting that , Leon
Earlier Hobby material is neat to read.
Heres the only thing I have,

[steve B]

Two things really stood out to me.

The first was the mention of Roosevelts stamp collection. Oddly, he didn't have as much expensive stuff as you'd imagine. And much of that was presented as gifts from foreign governments.
He did either influence or start the design for nearly every stamp issued during his presidency, and was a very active collector.

The second was the desire for Topps to produce a 400 card set the size of T cards.
We only had to wait 35 years, and they're usually 350 cards, but they did eventually do that.

Steve B

[Leon]

I think Lionel Carter was one of, if not THE, first collector in organized collecting who focused on condition. Those cards above help make the point!!

[Jason]

I love these old publications.Thanks as always Leon another great read.

[3-2-count]

Originally Posted by Leon

I think Lionel Carter was one of, if not THE, first collector in organized collecting who focused on condition. Those cards above help make the point!!

Agreed and I'm proud to own one.

[Exhibitman]

Great stuff! Love the old-tech, old-school hobby rantings.

Interesting how the complaints are basically the same: bad dealers, overgrading, whining about investors, etc. I guess the more the Hobby changes the more it stays the same.

Nice ASCCA PC above. This is one I have from the first show I ever attended:




Got it on eBay a few years ago. I wish I'd kept my show ticket--it was an unused NY Yankees playoff ticket stamped with an ASCCA overprint. Had it for many years but lost it in one of my moves. Funny, it sure felt like a hell of a lot more than 60 dealers to an 11 year old boy. Boy, I wish I could jump in a time machine with $10,000 and go back to that show...

[E93]

Leon,
Thank you for continuing to post these. It is a blast to read about the early days of the hobby.
JimB

[1880nonsports]

Interesting to see Paul Gallagher's name. Going thru Paul's NS cards was like looking thru Bob Bostoff's BB stuff - bundles, rubberbands, and always a good story............I'm pretty sure he and his brother passed away some time ago.

[LKeeler]

Originally Posted by 3-2-count

Agreed and I'm proud to own one.

Awesome Keeler, Tony. Keep me in mind if you ever want to part with it!

[DaClyde]

I love seeing all these old hobby publications. You should consider setting up something in PicasaWeb or some other image site to organize and archive all of these scanned publications. Would make a great research resource.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by DaClyde

I love seeing all these old hobby publications. You should consider setting up something in PicasaWeb or some other image site to organize and archive all of these scanned publications. Would make a great research resource.

Glad you and others enjoy them.
We already have a site for them, it's called the Net54baseball.com Archive Center...I might get Brian to add this one over there too..(upper right corner, yellow folder icon)

http://www.net54baseball.com/forum/c...ivecenter.html


.

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by 1880nonsports

Interesting to see Paul Gallagher's name. Going thru Paul's NS cards was like looking thru Bob Bostoff's BB stuff - bundles, rubberbands, and always a good story............I'm pretty sure he and his brother passed away some time ago.

Yes Henry, Paul and his brother died quite a few years ago. I once got an invitation to Paul's house, now that was an experience. Stuff everywhere, including T206's that I was picking up off the floor. But he would not let me go into the secret rooms upstairs- never found out what was hidden there.

Paul would also come to my apartment but wouldn't leave until we played a couple of games of chess. He was a true character, and a really good soul.

[E93]

Lionel Carter first got turned onto baseball cards when he pulled his first Delongs from a gum pack. This was his first set, and the rest is history…
JimB

[1880nonsports]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

Yes Henry, Paul and his brother died quite a few years ago. I once got an invitation to Paul's house, now that was an experience. Stuff everywhere, including T206's that I was picking up off the floor. But he would not let me go into the secret rooms upstairs- never found out what was hidden there.

Paul would also come to my apartment but wouldn't leave until we played a couple of games of chess. He was a true character, and a really good soul.

Paul certainly was a character - but not in a bad way (RIP). You and I have not spoken in a while but I just want to extend best wishes for the holidays to you and your family. Had I known you played chess I would have given it a shot! In my youth I played at the chess club downtown, at Marty Reisman's (sp) ping pong club on 96th street on the west side, and in Washington Square Park. I think I enjoyed playing backgammon on the street at 43rd and Broadway better as chess seemed too structured and I have been known to be undisciplined. Add in playing pool at Playboy billiards and Monaco-Stone, and poker above the bakery on 72nd street I suppose I really had a misspent youth in the big scrapple.......

[VintageBall]

The Gallagher Paper Show rocked. That show had everything -- and that was just on the first table!

And then in the 1990s, one of the Gallagher brothers used to set up a table at the 26th Street flea market, selling postcards, N29s, etc.

And, did you New Yorkers know that a Gallagher offspring (or nephew?) opened up a magazine and paper store on East 12th street that ran for a few years in the mid-to-late 90s or early 00s, before closing its doors? It focused mainly on fashion magazines, but also had some general mags from the infamous Gallagher collection.

Robert S

[1880nonsports]

but not sissors :-)

sorry I'm punchy.....

[barrysloate]

Holiday wishes to you too Henry... and I used to play chess in Washington Square Park too.

[3-2-count]

Originally Posted by LKeeler

Awesome Keeler, Tony. Keep me in mind if you ever want to part with it!

Thanks Luke. Will do!

[Leon]

To tie this back a little bit to the first post, Gammon originally mentioned a 1950 Book of Checklists. Here is what he was referring to..I believe This is from Walt Corson's collection.