New Baseball Card Book Just Published

[barrysloate]

Today I received a new book about the history of baseball card collecting by a talented young author named Dave Jamieson. It's titled "Mint Condition" and was published by Atlantic Monthly Press. It came in today's mail and I am already 90 pages into it. It's beautifully written, well researched, and insightful. And I don't think I've even hit the best parts yet.

Dave called me a year or two ago and we had a few phone interviews about the hobby. It kind of slipped my mind but he contacted me a couple of weeks ago to say the book was out. He kindly sent me a gratis copy.

The early sections deal with the history of the tobacco wars in the late 1880's and early 1900's; there is an excellent chapter on Jefferson Burdick that is much more thorough than anything I've read before; there's a humorous and bittersweet profile of Mike Gidwitz; and later chapters look like they will cover the good and the bad of the hobby, and how collecting baseball cards has become an obsession.

Many hobby notables are quoted in the early sections, including Rob Lifson and Bill Mastro, and I even saw Bruce Dorskind and David Cycleback cited (maybe I'm in there too, but I haven't finished it).

Anyway, this has the look of a must read book. I'll add to this thread when I finish it.

[teetwoohsix]

Thanks Barry-it's always nice to know about a great new book,especially about the hobby!!I appreciate the heads up!!

Sincerely,Clayton

[magic1313]

Thought I would help you out with a link to amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Mint-Condition.../dp/0802119395

[B O'Brien]

Thanks for the info. I just order that one and did the preorder for the T206 book. I went ahead and stuck them in the wife's cart on Amazon!
Thanks,
Bob

[ethicsprof]

i just ordered it,too, Barry!!
your recommendation carries alot of weight!!
i also went ahead and pre-ordered the T206 book which i'd like you to review,too!

best,
barry

[drc]

If I'm cited, I'll buy 50 copies. If the citation is positive, 200.

I hope it doesn't detail my obsession with Jean Shrimpton. That was supposed to be off the record.

[barrysloate]

You're in there David...go for it!

[Bicem]

just ordered one, thanks for the heads up.

[Kawika]

Did a little googling around and found this article about BB cards by Jamieson at Slate http://www.slate.com/id/2224864/ . Guy looks to be an entertaining writer. Love the Über-nerd self-reference. Plus Crazy '08 author Cait Murphy's dust jacket blurb counts for something (that was one helluva book) so just ordered a copy of Mint Condition from Amazon.
Hey, Barry. Do you know if they had any good vintage baseball card shops back in 1910?

[insidethewrapper]

Just received my copy of"Mint Condition" today from Amazon. I question the following stat " 81 billion cards were produced per year at it's peak " and then sales at $ 1.2 billion are quoted. It doesn't add up to me. Even adding all the sets that year my estimate is more like "8-10" billion cards. Even a 100,000 cases of wax would only account for about 1 billion cards. So even 1 million cases would be 10 billion range. Any other comments on the figure stated in the book ? thanks

[drc]

Seems like an evenhanded history of the industry from the origins, with nice bios and photos of numerous key players-- Burdick etc. Shows the good and the bad, highs and lows, but is not a scandal sheet, like the Daily News book.

[GoldenAge50s]

To save starting another book thread, there was an Editorial column last week in my Prov Journal by the Author about his new book "Fifty-Nine in '84" about Old Hoss Radbourn & the Providence Greys that should interest many of you.

The column provides an interesting preview:

http://www.projo.com/opinion/columni...1.3f8ccc0.html

[Vol]

Is their a good book out there with alot of good info on all of the Pre-War cards? Any suggestions?

Cannot wait for the T-206 book in June, but would like a good book on other sets that are out there.

Thanks a lot.

[mark evans]

"Mint Condition" is favorably reviewed in the current (April) issue of Washingtonian, a popular magazine regarding goings-on in D.C. The author Jamieson is a local writer.

Hope to see all in Baltimore.