New to Pre-War. Need advice.

[Vintagevault13]

I have always collected Post-War cards (50's - 70's). Over the past year I have been working on completing a Hank Aaron Topps master set. While I am not going after the Venezuela cards, I should have the set pretty much complete in a couple of months.

This leads me to my question. After reading posts on this forum, I have decided to next begin collecting Pre-War. I will probably steer clear of "The Monster" as I don't have that kind of money. I have thought about 1933 or 34 Goudey in G - VG condition to keep the price reasonable. What advice can you give me? Any other suggestions I may not be aware of?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[EvilKing00]

Take a look at t205's real great set

[ullmandds]

take a look at the less publicized set thread ...and the BST...it'll give you an idea of what you're attracted to esthetically...then determine if that jives with your affordability...then start researching those sets and if necessary ask questions.

[christopher.herman]

It's gonna sound simple but sometimes we all lose sight of the reasons ourselves: "Collect what you like".

Recently, I've been thinking of venturing into the T210's for no other reason than I like the blood orange border color. I have no particular attachment to any player or team and I think I will enjoy learning more in depth about the Southern League overall.

Collect what you like.

If you like a specific player or team, go with that. If it's a specific era or subject, i.e. Hall of Fame left handed pitchers, so be it.

Set short and long term goals and stay focused. If it doesn't work out then subconsciously it wasn't really what you wanted to accomplish anyway. Abandon it and move onto something else... that you like.

The greatest part of this hobby is that there are no rules and an infinite number of ways to collect what you like.

Or you could just be a type card collector, like our moderator Leon, who likes everything and collects it all.

[steve B]

What they said.

A basic set of T205 without the expensive varieties wouldn't be too bad, and there are a lot of sets that aren't as popular or well known.

Goudeys should be doable if you ignore Lajoie in the 33 set.

The 35 and 36 Goudeys are interesting, and smaller sets. Although If you're into HOF players there's not much in 36.

Delongs are a small set that's pretty cool. Not common, but not all that tough either.

Picking up a basic type set could be a good start, you'll get an idea of what they look like in hand, and that will help pick a set you really like. It will also give you a good feel for what they're like so reprints will seem a bit more obvious.

Whatever you choose figure on building a set taking more than a year. Maybe the smaller sets with a solid budget, but the bigger sets will take longer.

Steve B

[Bpm0014]

Go with t206s. Actually, listen to all of the advice above and then make an informed decision. BUT, the T206 set is relatively inexpensive and rather ubiquitous. Cards can be found on here everyday for less than $20. Good luck.

[t206blogcom]

Originally Posted by Bpm0014

Go with t206s. Actually, listen to all of the advice above and then make an informed decision. BUT, the T206 set is relatively inexpensive and rather ubiquitous. Cards can be found on here everyday for less than $20. Good luck.

+1

[x2drich2000]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

take a look at the less publicized set thread ...and the BST...it'll give you an idea of what you're attracted to esthetically...then determine if that jives with your affordability...then start researching those sets and if necessary ask questions.

This is great advice. I would also look at most of the early caramel sets if you want something similar in appearance to T206's with most of the same major players. If you don't find anything in the less publicized set thread, I'd also look through the old cardboard set as they have galleries of a lot of the sets they have listed.

DJ

[Vintagevault13]

Wow, great advice and lots to think about. I am looking forward to starting. Thanks for all of the responses.

[MattyC]

I was in the same boat as you a ways back. Completed my post war dreams, and began to appreciate the breadth of collecting choices in the PreWar space. It allows one's personal taste to really distinguish a collection, as opposed to everyone having the exact same few cards.

As someone above said, go with what you like-- be it favorite players, design, a set, etc. A question with no wrong answer is a rare and beautiful thing!

[the 'stache]

Lots of good advice here, Ed. I think you're going to have fun once you decide what you want to do.

Collect what you want. It's not a race, nor is it a competition. If you decide to go after something like the Monster, it's ok to realize that it could take many years to accomplish. Just keep chipping away, and enjoy the journey.

The best advice I could give you is to educate yourself about the cards you are going to be buying. Get a few commons from whatever set(s) you will be buying from, and look at them closely. Feel them, smell them, look at them under a loupe. Learn how to identify the difference between authentic cards, and forgeries or reprints. Get familiar with the printing technology used back then. I just purchased a book written by one of our forum members, David Rudd Cycleback, that will really help you. His Judging the Authenticity of Early Baseball Cards is $15 on Amazon should you want to buy it. He also makes the information available on his website (I just wanted a hard copy to take with me as a reference guide):

http://www.cycleback.com/baseballcards/

Good luck with your collection. I look forward to seeing it!

Bill