Older Collectors, how did you communicate with other colletors?

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Posted By: Josh

After looking through several of the recent auction catalogues and drooling over all of the fantastic items, I began to wonder.
How did collectors such as Lionel Carter, Burdick, and other pioneers of the hobby communicate, besides writing to one another?

Specifically, the internet was not around yet, and from what I have gleened, there were no trade magazines. So how did kids, or even adults who collected cards, know of other collectors in other parts of the country, or even share information about sets, rarities, or tougher to find cards?
That sort of thing fascinates me, in terms of the early years of collecting.

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

The Sports Exchange was a little newsletter that came out just after WW II. Collectors could list their wants and interests... here's a scan of a page from an early issue.

Frank.

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Posted By: leon

I do read quite a few things about the history of the hobby. Others will know more than me but the old timers main way of communicating was writing letters. I have one from Jefferson Burdick dated in the late 50's addressed to Walt Corson. I have several others too and they are really neat to read. After that form of communication it was by telephone and after that it was when they would make a pilgramage to visit in person...Hopefully others will chime in about what they know too...There were also some very early hobby publications and they would keep in touch that way. Obviously that was more public. take care

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Posted By: boxingcardman

In the late 1970's they proliferated. We had monthly meetings to attend and used the phones a lot. After a few years when card stores started up they also became gathering spots.

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Posted By: Joann

I had a similar question as I prepare for my talk on bb cards Monday at school.

How did you buy cards? Without the internet, I don't think I could be in this hobby at all. I don't have the first clue who I would even have asked about cards for sale, learning about them, who all was collecting them, etc.

Good thread. I'll read the responses with interest.

J

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Posted By: Alan

Continuing with what Adam said, in the late 1970's, there was a great publication (as mentioned) "The Trader Speaks" as well as SCD (which was bi-weekly at the time). And, I think a publication called "Baseball Hobby News" was just beginning also. And, of course there were a large number of baseball card shows. It's funny - dealers' ads in publications used to be a phone number & fax number, now it's phone, email, website, mobile, etc,...

Alan

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Posted By: Jay

Pre-Ebay, Sports Collectors Digest was a great source of seller ads and collector classified listings.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Joann- when I started selling baseball cards full time in the early 1980's, I used to type up monthly lists (with an electric typewriter) and mail them to a couple of hundred collectors whose names I accumulated. I also advertised in SCD, both small auctions without pictures or much description, and direct sale ads on a first come first serve basis. This is how I built up my mailing list.

In those days you quickly developed a reputation for the quality of your grading, so if you advertised "T206 Christy Mathewson VG" collectors knew whether or not they would receive a nice looking card or a beater, depending upon the seller. They would call by phone to reserve cards, and they might ask a few questions about centering or creases.

It was a simpler world and a simpler hobby.

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Posted By: Mike

What is your definition of older?

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Posted By: Bruce Babcock

Pony Express. Smoke signals. River boats.

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Posted By: barrysloate

You left out carrier pigeons.

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Posted By: Josh

Sorry guys, did not mean to insult the older crowd.

By older, I mean pre-1960s, before Trade Speaks, SCD, and the such.

Thanks for the responses, Frank, great scan.

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Posted By: Anthony

Besides The Trader Speaks, and before SCD there was Sports Collectors News (SCN). Also The Sport Hobbyist, and the Ballcard Collector. But these were all early '70's, long after Burdicks time.
In SoCal we had monthly card club meetings in Orange County, as well as the annual convention in Anaheim that would draw dealers and collectors from around the country.
I think there was also a directory of collectors that was started in the '50's, and somewhere I've got a catalog from the late '60's (either Bruce Yaro or Richard Gelman's) that offered the updated list. Gar Miller's book also had a listing of prominent collectors.
It's certainly a lot easier these days though- on any given day ebay can have 2 examples of a card you might have waited years to see back then.

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Posted By: Mike

I always found card/coin shows to be the best way of networking before the internet days. Back then, people actually had booths of interesting old cards. Unlike now when most of the booths are basically retail outlets trying to sell worthless shiney crap. I wasn't into pre-WWII cards back then (unfortunately), but the contacts I made were truely remarkable, and I was always able to find what I was looking for. Sure, Ebay is convenient, but it sure isn't as fun as back then.

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Posted By: Mike

Word of mouth, networking, going to shows, and card shops. It's much easier now, but not nearly as much fun. I have built a nice collection, but never meet any of the sellers. To me that is half the fun. I miss those days. Now, I need to grab my walker, and go take a nap.

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Posted By: leon

This is probably 85% of the reason I like the National.....schmoozing.....

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Posted By: Alan

I agree. In those days, it was a lot of fun meeting the collectors & dealers at the shows. Nowadays, it's easier with ebay, internet, etc,..., but it's more systematic (ie buyer #67 owes buyer #34 $100. Please send payment immediately - click on customer service for questions).

The short version is that it has gone from a child's hobby to an adult's business.

Alan

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Posted By: davidcycleback

In one of the Mastro catalogs, Lionel Carter says they had live, in person auctions. He said he didn't think much of a young, brash newbie who came to one auction and won everything, the newbie being Bill Mastro.

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Posted By: peter chao

We got the same rule here...newbies can't win Net54 contests. Just kidding.

Adam mentioned Baseball Card Clubs, is Net54 the modern day version of the Card Club?

Peter

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Posted By: boxingcardman

The networking socializing aspects of the board are very similar to the old clubs with one glaring difference: the old clubs were local and focused on actually showing up somewhere. Obviously, we do that once a year.

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

The 1975 edition of the Sports Collectors Bible contains twenty seven pages of names and addresses of persons who signed up to be listed in their "Collector's Registry". You got one line of up to several words to describe your special interests. I believe that the US Mail was the main means communicating about the hobby at that time.