Burdick overprint

[DJR]

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[dstudeba]

Very interesting. I have never heard of the Met selling cards from the Burdick collection, but I have heard of cards stolen from it.

[oldjudge]

I've seen portions of the Burdick collection several times and don't recall ever seeing any cards stamped like that

[autograf]

I have photos of most of the E nonsports cards from the Burdick collection including quite a few backs. Non of the pictures I have have anything on the back of the cards as the one illustrated. Not to say it couldn't be legit but I'm skeptical........

[bigtrain]

Possible but...The idea of someone going through the thousands and thousands of cards in the Burdick collection and handstamping them seems a little farfetched.

[FrankWakefield]

I looked at that yesterday, and it troubled me. Whoever has it should contact the Met and see if it belongs back at the Museum. And return it if the Met wants it. Then that person should seek recompense from the person from whom they bought it.

I agree that it seems unlikely that the Met would have stamped those cards. If they did, surely the purpose was to deter theft... so much for that.

Years ago I had an opportunity to buy Pepper Martin's 1934 contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. Being a Cardinals fan, and a fan of the Gashouse Gang, I did. When it arrived I called the seller, almost speechless. He thought I was not happy with it and wanted to return it, he started talking about that. I told him no, I was extremely pleased with the purchase, but that I felt bad about having it. I said I might loan it to the National Baseball Museum in Cooperstown. The seller, then, was quiet for a moment, then he asked me to please not do that. Cooperstown has lots of stuff, more than they can display, much of which is stored away. The public might never see this contract, it might get stolen. At least if I had it I could show people. I think he was right. I have it on loan to the St. Louis Baseball Hall of Fame, where it is displayed and well protected. Lots of folks get to see it.

If it belongs to the Met it should be returned. The Met should become a better custodian. And cards shouldn't be stamped or stickered.

[Exhibitman]

I don't know about the above overprint but when I was at the Met researching I did notice that Burdick used an ornate "B" stamp on some of the albums. The only card I've ever seen with the stamp I saw at the Met is this one:

[Leon]

My inclination is that the stamp on the card is legit. There usually has to be a motive for things and it makes no sense (to me) to do that fraudulently. I won't get into the debate of if it should go back or not (personally, on this item I don't think it's a big deal but it is debatable) but I am glad some things get shown rather than holed up in a drawer in some file cabinet, never to be seen by the public, as Frank was mentioning. Thanks for sharing...I really enjoy that kind of stuff.