I believe the first pre war cards I acquired were in 1993 when I was 10 or 11 from my Great-Grandfather. I remember it was 1993 because I had been collecting the 93 Flair set and brought over a Jeromy Burnitz "Wave of the Future" card to show my Grandpa how cards have changed.
I got a 1915 CJ Connie Mack w/writing and about a dozen Fleischmann Bakery D381's that he had doubles of, including an Edd Roush, who I found out was a HOFer. My other faves that I first got were Hugh High and Ray Caldwell because they were Yankees and I liked the pictures. I also liked the Fred Anderson because he looked a bit like my grandpa.
At the time I didn't know what the Fleischmanns were as they had no coupon. All I knew was that they came from loaves of bread because he told me that's how he got them.
I had been collecting newer cards of the time since around 1990. But I really loved all of these old cards. I'd always ask to see them whenever I visited my Great-Grandpa and drool over his stack of Fleischmanns, which now thankfully reside with me after they had been lost for a number of years since his death.
As a kid and through my teens I would buy a real old card such as a pre war goudey beater or something if I ever saw one. for me there were no shops around that had anything good and older than a few 50's cards. So it was tough.
It wasn't until I started using ebay around 2001? that I bought a few more vintage cards. And once I inherited the rest of the D381's (in 04 or 05?) and found out what they were (thanks to oldcardboard site) that I got really heavy and near exclusively into vintage. My quest for D381's continues. Still 8 away from set....
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