The Original Owners of Our Cards

[Jobu]

I recently acquired a new card for my New Orleans collection (thanks Mac!). It has writing on the back, which is usually a bad thing. However, in this case I actually like it because I biked past the house several times per week for a decade. I collect New Orleans cards because of how much I enjoyed my 10 years there, so to see an address that I knew written on the back was pretty fun.

Eva Reach wrote her name and address, 1036 Joseph Street, on the back.

Here is the house:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/10...!4d-90.1164077

I contacted the Historic New Orleans Collection to ask for leads on Ms. Reach and was blown away by how much Heather sent me: phone books, census records, and more. It turns out that Eva, who was 7 years old in 1910, moved to 1036 Joseph Street in 1910, where she lived until 1916. Those dates dovetail nicely with the 1911-1916 dates for T216.

Eva's father, Edward Reach, was the chief clerk for Schut & Kiehn, a lumber exporter in New Orleans and also a member of the Grand Lodge of the Knights of Pythias.

In 1931, Eva married Leonard E. Franseen in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and they went on to have two sons, Leonard and Richard. The family moved to New Orleans and then to Dallas, where Eva’s husband passed away in 1957. Eva died in New Orleans on July 12, 1962.

How about you? Do you know who owned one of your pre-war cards when it was brand new?

[Leon]

Nice story and research, Bryan. This Arrelanes card came from a guy with last name of Smith. He collected it as a kid and then I got it from his grandson. It was part of the largest find I ever had. It was collected in the Northern California area, Grass Valley.

[frankbmd]

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=147783

Never reticent to toot my own horn, the above thread from yesterday year outlines the history of my Waddell.

Stamped by the original owner Nelson Tisdel, who passed the card on to his son Donald who traded the card in the 40s to the man I purchased it from, Gordon Soutter, who had kept the card in his collection for over 60 years.

So I am the fourth owner.

3 Waddell Portrait R.jpg

The card was stamped and signed by Nelson. When Nelson's son traded the card to Gordon Soutter, he signed the card. Mr. Soutter's wife listed the card on eBay, but verified that Gordon was still alive and the third rightful owner of the card.

That makes me the fourth.

[orly57]

I've always been intrigued by the "life" of a baseball card. Who owned it? How many owners? Where was it stored for these 100 years? I stare at them and wonder where it was while historical events were going on. I think that may be one of the biggest draws to postcards for me aside from beauty and rarity. Messages from the past to loved ones in other parts of the country encapsulate the moment and freeze it in time forever. Here are two of my postally-used postcards.

[KingFisk]

Originally Posted by orly57

I've always been intrigued by the "life" of a baseball card. Who owned it? How many owners? Where was it stored for these 100 years? I stare at them and wonder where it was while historical events were going on. I think that may be one of the biggest draws to postcards for me aside from beauty and rarity. Messages from the past to loved ones in other parts of the country encapsulate the moment and freeze it in time forever. Here are two of my postally-used postcards.

I live in a house built in the 1920s and I often think about the fact that it has stood here through the Depression, World War II, Viet Nam, etc.,etc. Getting into tobacco cards has amplified this even more...two World Wars, the Russian Revolution, etc. Survived bicycle spokes, paper drives, annual spring cleanings. Where did these tiny cigarette premiums live and survive on their way to my collection a hundred plus years later? Fun to think about. So I truly love reading these stories you all have posted that shine a light into the past. Thanks for sharing.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[Chris-Counts]

I don't mind writing on the back of a card, especially if the writing is vintage and nicely done. I'm not sure who owned this one, but whoever did apparently wrote when and where he (or she) got it ...

[Jay Wolt]

Won these from Al's LOTG auction
Strejc was 11 years old when he got these & saved his cards until he died (1975)
They came from his family & Al had them slabbed & pedigreed, a nice tribute to a collector over a century ago

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by Chris Counts

I'm not sure who owned this one, but whoever did apparently wrote when and where he (or she) got it ...

I like the fact that the collector wrote the day of week and time of day (Wednesday evening) as well...it should help researchers pin down a more exact time frame for distribution of these E121 American Caramel cards. Rhett, are you reading?

Brian

[Bliggity]

I showed these a couple years ago, but I know a few of us have cards that were owned by a collector named Elias Beasley and were later sold by his grandson. He signed his name on the back of his cards. So far as I'm aware, he's popped up on T3s, T206 Piedmont 350s, and T209-1s. Interestingly, he signs his full name on the T3s, but just "Elias" on the T206s given their size. On T209-1s, which are ever-so-slightly larger than T206s, he fits in his last initial

Here is a short writeup posted a few years ago -

Originally Posted by T3s

Several months ago I was lucky enough to have a beautiful T3 Turkey Red find. A few of the cards have writing on the back. A handful note "Reid Pleasant Drug" across the top. My assumption is that was a local drug store - several ways the cards could be attached to the store. Best of all, one of the cards carries the signature of "Elias Beasley". Mr. Beasley was the original collector as a very young man. I purchased the cards from Mr. Beasley's grandson. During our negotiations for the cards, we talked a fair amount about the family and the story about how the cards were kept, owned, etc. I was very interested and wanted to find a way to preserve the collection (before some headed out to all corners of the earth) and document the provenance.

[nat]

I tried to track down the original owner of a few of my cards once. It's postwar, but since it's on topic, here's the original thread.

[Jobu]

I have seen Elias on T206 before! Fun to see that he collected other cards - and to learn his last name.

This one may be a few owners removed from the original owner, but this was Burdick's T206 Evers.

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

Stamped by the original owner Nelson Tisdel, who passed the card on to his son Donald who traded the card in the 40s to the man I purchased it from, Gordon Soutter, who had kept the card in his collection for over 60 years.

I've got a Tisdel stamped/signed card from T206 I bought off COMC. So there are more out there.

[bocca001]

Here are my Obaks stamped by Gilliam Squires, who lived (at least for a time) in San Jose, CA (my home town). I hear that there are some Bishop E99s or E100s out there somewhere.

[T206Collector]

Originally Posted by Jobu

This one may be a few owners removed from the original owner, but this was Burdick's T206 Evers.

I love that Evers! Wow!

Here’s my Burdick owned T201 Leifield. I am virtually certain he was not the one who got it signed by Leifield. My guess is old-time collector John Wagner got that done (since I know he also did TTM autograph requests on pre-war cards as well as trade with Burdick).

[CobbSpikedMe]

Originally Posted by Jobu

I have seen Elias on T206 before! Fun to see that he collected other cards - and to learn his last name.

This one may be a few owners removed from the original owner, but this was Burdick's T206 Evers.

Sweet Burdick stamped back on that Evers Bryan!

AndyH

[CobbSpikedMe]

Originally Posted by T206Collector

I love that Evers! Wow!

Here’s my Burdick owned T201 Leifield. I am virtually certain he was not the one who got it signed by Leifield. My guess is old-time collector John Wagner got that done (since I know he also did TTM autograph requests on pre-war cards as well as trade with Burdick).

I like that T201 with Burdick's stamp too! Nice stuff guys.

AndyH

[shagrotn77]

This is the back of my 1932 Denby Billy Herman postcard. It was mailed to an Edgar Buchardt in 1932. Just for kicks, I searched the address and discovered that the home is still inhabited by the Buchhardt family - some 86 years later!

https://homemetry.com/block/443++HAR...est+Chicago+IL

[jerrys]

chance3-12-4.jpg

chance.jpg

[keating3620]

I have 75 diamond stars that my dad collected when he was a kid.

total investment $0.75

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by shagrotn77

This is the back of my 1932 Denby Billy Herman postcard. It was mailed to an Edgar Buchardt in 1932. Just for kicks, I searched the address and discovered that the home is still inhabited by the Buchhardt family - some 86 years later!

Well this particular post led to a crazy result for me.

I have postcards that Dots Miller sent to his family during the 1911 season, so I looked up the family. The first result that popped up was that they were still at the same house in the 1940 census, but the second search result after that was that one of those family members died on Christmas day this year at age 94. I've mentioned that I have relatives in common with Dots Miller, so I just had to inform some of them that their family member passed away a week ago, because they didn't get the news yet.

The second crazy part is that the second oldest of ten kids in that family, who was born a few years after those postcards were sent, is still alive! His sister just passed at 94, but he still has four other siblings alive, so they have some good genes in that family.

[Jason Carota]

[2dueces]

I can't post pictures on this site any longer. Well probably could, just to lazy to find a host but I own 38 T206's with F.F. Baker stamps on the back. Most here have seen them or know I actively collect them.

I collect T206's. More specificity I collect T206's with the former owners name stamped on the back. F.F. Baker was born Fredrick Frank Baker, January 25th, 1903 and died November 1973 in Richmond, Virginia. It appears he lived in the Richmond area his entire life. He and his family lived at 1318 Mosby. Prior to the 20's it was known as Mechanicville Turnpike but the house number was still 1318. His father owned a grocery store in 1910 and 1920 according to the census data, presumably at the same location. One theory is that Fredrick had easy access to cigarette cards from the customers

[Bill77]

Not baseball but I think these are pretty cool. I just received the Gil Nichols a few days ago and have had the Dave Deshler for about a year. To be honest I never got past looking at the Toy Town stamp on the Deshler card to even notice the date or Raymond Dunham's name written on it until today. And I hope John Stevens didn't pay too much for his backwards stamp.

[mybuddyinc]

Nothing super special, but I like them .............

T36 -- Mulford (like him because he was a big name in 1909-11 Sav. Vanderbilt Races) -- Burdick

T212-3 -- Wiggs -- Having a senior moment -- Buck Baker / Barker ????

T206 -- EPDG Dooin -- Nelson Tisdel (with probable signature)

T206 -- Cycle Hallman -- Toy Town

T206 -- Doolin "Doolan error card " -- Schulte/front "with nickname and stats" -- Unknown, but way

namesc.jpg

Fun stuff, Scott

[Jobu]

Any other cool original owner stories?

[Zan]

I believe the original owner of this card was French Canadian. It reads "Detroit Tigers Ligue Americaine" in French. This is a very rare Canadian V351-B. Based on who I bought it from, I could be the third or fourth owner of this card.

[ctownboy]

I bought my 1928 Star Player Candy cards about 15 years ago from a dealer at a paper show. The guy I bought them from had inherited them from his father who originally bought them as a kid.

For a long time I thought these cards were a regional issue because most of the cards that I knew about were found in the the Midwest. My cards originally came from Michigan.

David

[ValKehl]

Thanks to young Melvin, this card survived to end up in my 1924 Senators collection:

[Howe’s Hunter]

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...Howe+McCormick

The collection is now up to 321, with a total of 47 that exist that I don't have in the collection. 11 of those are in a partial set now at auction from REA, so some of those might be part of the 24 I have already lost track of, but we'll see.

[Zan]

Originally Posted by StuckInOmaha

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...Howe+McCormick

The collection is now up to 321, with a total of 47 that exist that I don't have in the collection. 11 of those are in a partial set now at auction from REA, so some of those might be part of the 24 I have already lost track of, but we'll see.

Very fascinating story, first I have seen it. May I ask how you started this quest? And do you have a link to your collection?

[Howe’s Hunter]

Purchased the name “howemccormickcollection.com” about five years ago but have never gotten the site up and running. As it would be practically nothing but images I’m going to have to invest in a hosting service to make it worthwhile.

It all got started when I made my first attempt at a monster collection. Went in with the idea of getting everything except the big three and it might take ten years. Little goals were set like Demmitt and O’Hare St.Louis then one of each back (thinking just the original ones, not each series). Was down to just needing a Hindu back and it was tough to find in 1993 or so. Finally found one very affirdable in SCD and when it arrived it had a stamp on the back. Wasn’t very happy but the seller responded for the price I paid I got what I got.

Move forward about 13 years. The collection has stalled at about 200. For the most part cards were out of my price range but I still looked of eBay every night for what I could afford. One night, there was another card with the exact same stamp. Decided to purchase, and then posted here about finding two cards 13 years apart with the same stamp. Other members posted they had one would I want to purchase or trade? One thing lead to another, I sold my original collection off and used the funds to purchase only T206s with Howe’s stamp on them.

The members of this site have been incredible with their support in letting me know when they see one, selling to me if they find one in their collection, purchasing and holding for me during my year of unemployment and in several instances just sending and saying they wanted to be a part of the rebuild. The collection certainly wouldn’t be where it is today without the help of so many on the board. Thanks to you all again.

I’ve even been lucky enough to talk to Howe’s second cousin, his closest living relative, who was able to send me some old old family photos of Howe and his sisters before he started to collect.

What a long, strange trip it’s been. Most of it could be found in old posts here on Net54 if you do a search of “Howe McCormick”, but you’ll want to include the quotes or otherwise other Howes and McCormicks show up.

Thanks for asking.

[Laxcat]

I picked this up for my Shag collection. My dad had years of correspondence with Buck starting when he was 8 in 1955. Right before Buck passed we purchased his Obak set with all of his chicken scratch on the back. It is long gone. I would like to get an ONE of those cards again. I also own Buck’s(it’s stamped)1959 Fleer Ted signs in ‘59 and a few of those Coke Playing Tips as well.

[Bieg]

In the family for all these years.

Now in the REA Autumn Auction


https://www.pbs.org/video/antiques-r...ction-ca-1910/

[Leon]

Nice piece on the cards. The expert apparently isn't a rare back T206 guy. His estimate on the Cobby AB back was 5k-6k and it sits at 14k without the juice as of now. Great looking cards and good luck.

Originally Posted by Bieg

In the family for all these years.

Now in the REA Autumn Auction

https://www.pbs.org/video/antiques-r...ction-ca-1910/

[Bieg]

Originally Posted by Leon

Nice piece on the cards. The expert apparently isn't a rare back T206 guy. His estimate on the Cobby AB back was 5k-6k and it sits at 14k without the juice as of now. Great looking cards and good luck.

That was done in 2015 so they have gone up a bit since then.

[eliotdeutsch]

I recently picked up a T205 card stamped “H Metz” on the back. There were a bunch on eBay.
It got me wondering who the original owner was. There was a congressman with that name in the early 1900 from NY - thought that might be a lead. I’ve been trying to reach out to family members, but not having luck.

Any thoughts?

[Exhibitman]

This postcard was owned by former MLB player George (Bill) Aiton, who played for the Browns in 1912. Aiton was manager of Jim Jeffries' boxing facility here in Burbank:




My Burdick-owned Jack Johnson card: