FOUND FINALLY: Hager’s Comprehensive Price Guide

[JJ McGraw]

Ahead of Christmas , I saw two offerings for Hager’s Comprehensive Price Guide To Rare Baseball Cards 1886 to Present ( the present was the Copyright date of 1993) on Amazon, one was $300 , a lesser quality copy was $299, a little weird, but ok. I contacted the $300 better condition book seller and asked if they would take $200 delivered. They said yes, bought the book around Dec 12….all ok….or so I thought. Right before Christmas I got an email from Amazon saying that the seller “ could not find the book, no charge had been made and the sale was cancelled”. So I immediately went back to the listing, both books still for sale, now one at $200, one at $199….ok……so then I contact Amazon and the seller and basically said, why is this still for sale if it is missing or can’t be found.
The seller contacted me and blamed it on the Amazon warehouse , but said they would try again. I said please do and in a week the book arrived at my doorstep. Sometimes “ hanging in there” pays off.
The book itself is in excellent shape, tight binding, like new. The dust cover had a few small tears which I fixed so they don’t get any bigger.
You may be wondering, why buy a price guide from 1993…..because the “extra” information is amazing! Resource and research, how to’s and guidance, plus all the photos of cards and backs related items are in beautiful color. If you count my first collecting phase as a kid growing up in Northern CA in the 1960’s, I’ve been collecting baseball for about 60 years. I can’t wait to read all the “tips” articles etc.
Below are some of the pages from the book to illustrate what I’m talking about.
I’m sure the book may have some issues, nothing is perfect, but this apparently is a hard one to find, and for a great reference source AND thankfully , I found one……FINALLY!

[tiger8mush]

congrats on the pickup and thanks for sharing! Plethora of information in the pre-internet age, wonderful pics & knowledge.

[HercDriver]

That's awesome! I still love flipping through my Beckett #3, from about 1981, and looking at the prices. I remember seeing it in a book store, bought it, and was mesmerized by all the sets that I never knew existed. And Joe Charboneau on the cover...you could never have enough of those! Great post...

Cheers,
Geno

[bmattioli]

I have the book somewhere now have to find it.. Good you got yours..

[rhettyeakley]

I remember having this book when it came out and it did provide a lot of good pictures of items previously I had not seen before so it was great for that reason. I spent a lot of time going through the book when younger.

The biggest joke was Alan Hager's fake "I have handled 100 of these" claims on items he, in fact, had NOT handled.

He was definitely ahead of his time but was also, unfortunately, a very shady human being.

[JJ McGraw]

Thanks everyone……we wouldn’t be on the forum right now without the internet…..the ultimate game and indeed, life changer, but I love the tactile experience of a research book, can’t wait to dive into this one.

[Peter_Spaeth]

He is credited with inventing the slab as we know it and the 10 point grading system. He had a patent or patents, although I don't recall the details or whether they were ever challenged. ASA (Accugrade) did not in any event enjoy a good reputation.

[gabrinus]

Mike that is cool...this one was always my favorite...Jerry