They have a "What's your focus?" thread going on the other side...

[thekingofclout]

and it got me to thinking. I wonder how many memorabilia collectors follow some kind of want list (and if so, please give an example) and how many of you guys freestyle it like me?

Now since I don't have a life, I put in a LOT of hours searching for the stuff I find, and I know that most of you guys have a wife and kids to care for. Mine are all grown and on there own, and no wife, but a fabulous girlfriend who only understands the bottom line and she also knows that this stuff makes me happy.

As I'm primarily a photo collector, I don't follow a list as in "I need to find three Ruth photos. One batting. One portrait, and one posing with a few teammates". I simply scour ebay and go after the best available image/item (among my top eight players that I collect).

Also, do you actually give yourself a dollar amount budget and stick to it, or if there is a few must have pieces up at the same time, do you over-extend like me, or do you stick to your budget?

It's no secret that I buy a bunch of stuff, but there is a method to my madness. I buy what I like or what I think I can sell for a profit. I keep what best fits my collection, and sell the rest.

It's very much a numbers game for me. If I sell a few hundred pieces a year, some I lose money on, some I break even on, some I make a few bucks, and some I make a good chunk of dough.

For me, what it amounts to is, I'm in the stuff I keep, very little money as I've rolled any profit I've made right back into the high-grade pieces that I keep.

So I'm just wondering how everyone else goes about building their collection...

Happy New Year to all and may all your collecting wishes come true! Jimmy

[Ladder7]

Is this your roundabout way of saying, "My name's Jimmy and I have ADD"?

[thekingofclout]

Originally Posted by ladder7

is this your roundabout way of saying, "my name's jimmy and i have add"?

bingo!

[mr2686]

Money is tight and my focus is all over the place (which makes it hard to finish any project). I like to collect HOF autos as well as complete team autos (34 cards, 27 and 61 Yanks, Blacksox) so sometimes I can accomplish both at the same time. I also have been collecting a lot of magazines lately with Yankees that were on championship teams, famous tickets, sporting news record books etc. Bottom line is, it's hard to focus on finishing up one project when something else may come along first.
With that said, here is my tentative focus for 2011:
1. Frame and mat completed 1960 Pirate project
2. Complete and mat 1958 Yankee project
3. Complete and mat 1934 Cardinal project
4. 3000 hit ticket from Jeter this coming season and mat and frame with
other tickets
5. Complete, frame and mat 1956 perfect game display.
6. HOF autos of Ott and Eddie Collins
7. Autos of non-hof players Maris and Hodges
8. 1 additional Mantle signed Sport or Sports Illustrated magazine.
9. Any additional Yankee signed magazine.
That should keep me busy!

[perezfan]

I don't have a focus... I'm all over the board and addicted just like you, Jimmy. I just go after whatever catches my eye. But I do appreciate the artistic qualities of baseball antiques, and suppose that's the common thread that links it all together. I like to refer to my stuff as an "Art Collection that happens to focus on Baseball".

I frequently exceed my "hobby budget", and that's when I have to re-evaluate what's important in my collection... and must then shift into selling-mode. Strange how it seems to happen after every Hunt, Legendary or REA Auction Tastes change throughout the years, and what seemed important 10 years ago, often no longer fits the collection. In terms of what I've accumulated (or perhaps hoarded) so far, it would rank kind of like this...

1. Pennants
2. Early Figural Pieces (Trophies, Statues, Lamps)
3. Modern Figural Pieces (Bobbing Heads, Stanford Pottery, Gibbs Conner)
4. Early Equipment (Catchers Masks, Gloves, Mitts, Bats)
5. Game-Used Flannels (by type and by player)
6. Game-used Knits (by type and by player)
7. Pinbacks and Press Pins
8. Autographed Items (Balls, Photos, Index Cards framed with Photos)
9. Advertising Signs and Displays (Easel-backs, Posters, POS Displays)
10. Baseball-themed Arcade Games

Unfortunately, there's more, but thought I should stop at 10!

[GKreindler]

Very cool thread, Jimmy.

I guess I find myself stuck in the photography section of the hobby for the most part, though, that doesn't mean that I'm only after originals. In my case, I'm just as good with the reprints, which can come at a fraction of the price. Sometimes that means that there is somewhat of a loss in image quality, and those I usually stay away from. But then again, sometimes bad copies are all that I can get my hands on. In the end, everything ends up going in my storage files and binders to be painted, or used as reference for something else.

Primarily, when I'm searching anywhere (be it on eBay, Corbis, Legendary, books, DVDs, etc.), I'm always after great images. The word 'great' can be pretty loose obviously, so I try to keep in mind some of the most important factors first. Always at the top of the list is clarity. If the image is blurry or pixelated, for the most part, I can't use it. Also, more often than not, I stick to photos that were taken in natural light. In other words, shots taken with a flash, though still beautiful, I'm not crazy about painting - I find that the bright, cool light can really flatten things out. In dealing with composition, I can usually work around it, as they're just so many options to play around with in something like Photoshop. And the same goes for contrast - it's never been easy to give an image the full range of black and white values it may have had 80 years ago.

So, with that in mind, here's what I specifically search for the most when it comes to photos:

1) Shots of ballplayers from behind home-plate, especially the big four Yankees. I've always thought that these make really awesome paintings, especially when I can add to them to get a panoramic view. This DiMaggio is pretty typical of what I look for most:



2) That damn shot of Honus Wagner that I've been looking for for years now. No one on earth seems to have seen a high-res shot of this. I swear its the Conlon Cobb's twin, and if I don't do a painting of it before I die, I'll probably kill myself. Or something.



3) Dynamic Deadball-era action photos. These remain pretty damn hard to come by. Obviously, action photography was still finding its way into professional sports, so it would make sense that not a hell of a lot of game-time photos of players doing their thing ever really made it out. I especially look for the Hall of Famers (Matty, Wagner, Cobb, Plank, etc.), but am ALWAYS happy to get ANY.



4) Nice portrait shots. These are always nice to find, as they give me nice breaks from the really big stuff I try to paint. From a business stand-point, it seems like a lot of people can identify with them better, especially since they're somewhat close to the size of cards.



5) Team shots. This is kind of a new thing. I had never really considered doing paintings of these until about a year or so ago. I just think that they can be beyond bad@$$, especially when they're done really large!



6) Harry M. Stevens ballpark panoramics. Sold in the Stevens auction sometime in 1996, These photographs were used to demonstrate to advertisers the state of their scoreboard ads for a given year. The image clarity of these photos is astonishing, as they were produced straight from glass plate negatives. The dates depicted ranged from 1934 to 1956 I believe, and many of the MLB ballparks were depicted, including: Yankee Stadium, the Polo Grounds, Ebbets Field, Fenway, and Braves Field. I've been able to land a few here and there on eBay, and have since made scans and sent the originals back into the hobby.



7) Gabby Hartnett's Homer in the Gloamin'. Before Bobby Thomson in '51, Gabby's shot was considered to be the most important walk-off homer in history. To read a little more about it, check out Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer_in_the_Gloamin%27

Close-up shots of Gabby touching home plate are pretty common, all of which seem to be taken with flash. Though, the one below came from Christie's Baseball Magazine auction from a while back. After seeing it in the catalog, I haven't been able to track it down since. Boo.



8) Stadium shots. I know, it's a pretty general term. But anytime I can find ANY images of various stadiums and ballparks - especially with dates - I have to either buy them or save screen-shots. This becomes really important to keep current on...well...maybe that's the wrong phrase. It's important to find as much information as possible. Knowing that in addition to stadium and ballpark renovations, the advertisements in pretty much every park would be changed at least once between each season. Sometimes, they were even changed at the All-Star breaks. There's one year (1938) in which I know Yankee Stadium had at least three different Gem razorblade ads to the right of the scoreboard. Wow. Am I really writing this?



Anywho, just thought I'd chime in. Now my fingers hurt.

Hope everyone had a lovely holiday weekend - I'm still snowed in!

Graig

[mjkm90]

I focus, but my focus shifts frequently...ha ha. Like Mark, I'm going for a look. Pieces I buy need not be historicaly significant, but they need to be very well executed and visually appealling.

I have one RULE when it comes to buying pieces for my collection: If I can't make room for it in my office either due to lack of space, or because it isn't good enough to push something else out...I don't buy it. The only exception to the rule is when I find a real bargain that can easily be flipped.
If you struggle with discipline...try my rule

I'm very disciplined when it comes to spending my money simply because I have to be. In all honesty I can say my spending could easily get out of control if I didn't have two kids a few years from college and a wife who helps me apply the breaks I usually don't use "family" money, but my wife and kids love this stuff and my wife sees the value. So if there is an exceptional piece that is expensive I talk it over with my wife first, but am careful not to try to sell her on anything. I often sell pieces that used to be meaningfull simply to build cash reserves or to upgrade. I also use some of my bonus money from work for major purchases (slipping the misses a couple hundy doesn't hurt either...ha ha).

Here are my collecting loves:

1. Anything vintage that is 3 dimensional and related to baseball. Trophies, statues, dishes, bookends, banks, etc. I focus on pre WWII, but will add a later piece such as a nodder.
2. Pennants, but only Cubs, Tigers, and a few Yankees stay in the collection.
3. Pinbacks
4. Sporting goods advertising with nice graphics

I'll call this next section "used to love". I have quite a few of these, but don't add them to my collection unless I find a treasure at a bargain price.

1. Bats
2. Gloves
3. Balls
4. Photos
5. Jerseys

[Scott Garner]

Pretty much the same focus that I have had for quite awhile:

1) Items related to no-hitters (tickets, vintage signatures and photos/RPPC's of all no-hit pitchers dating back to 1893)

2) Nolan Ryan very unique items to compliment my collection. At this point my collection has advanced to the point that very few new items make the cut.

3) Baseball tickets related to power pitching (high strikeout performances-individual game, for a season, for a career, milestone wins- 1st, 100th, 200th, 300th, last)

4) Individual win tickets for early era pitchers that dominated.

I pretty much go after anything that falls into the "must have" category for items listed above. Money is always a consideration, but I don't have a budget for these purchases, per se... I always purchase items these days considering an exit plan should I ever need to resell them down the line.

Items that no longer fit my central collecting focus tend to get passed along to other collectors. Money that I make from sales has a tendency to be spent on items that I am currrently focused on collecting.

One of the things that I still really enjoy about the hobby more than anything else is a trade that benefits both collectors and leaves everyone happy with the outcome!

[margoaepi]

I know the risks involved, but I love collecting autographs. Something about knowing the player had his hands on the item just gives me a thrill. My best pickups this year were a great Cy Young piece and 2 Paul Waner items. I can't say I follow a budget other than not spending so much that my wife has an excuse to do some serious shopping!

[Exhibitman]

"I buy what I like or what I think I can sell for a profit"

Sounds about right to me.

[53Browns]

Whatever I can "fly" under the wife's radar...

[matty39]

Small pennants are my passion,
1 Ferguson bf2s (full set)
2 bf3s (475 and still looking)
3 cravats (15 and still looking)
4 amer nut and choc. (both sets)
5 several small uncataloged sets
6 5 ferguson prize pennants
7 Sundry other felts including b18s

[tony]

I collect small items

Press Pins
Rings
Sterling Season Passes
Programs
Pretty Much everything but cards

[tothrk]

Just about anything that catches my eye but mostly I want that pennant Mike H. uses for his avatar. My knowledge of pennants is zero but I know enough to realize that is the coolest pennant I've ever seen. I'll most likely have to steal his though.