Talking about American Card Catalogs

[Leon]

The history of the hobby is interesting and many of us addicted card collectors enjoy knowing where it all started. Some of the earliest printed materials concerning the hobby are the Card Collectors Bulletins which have been posted recently and will continue to be posted for many more weeks. One of the other neat things, which can be collected, are the American Card Catalogs themselves, which is where most of our numbering system that we use today came from. There are a few other places some of the numbers came from, but by and large, they are from the ACC (American Card Catalog). As we know, Mr. Burdick authored the first catalog and it was named The United States Card Collectors Catalog, published June 1, 1939, for the hefty sum of 50 cents. Before that, some cards were listed in the Card Collectors Bulletins and were organized in that fashion. The numbering in the 1939 catalog was completely different than what any future editions would have. Mr.Burdick changed it in the subsequent editions, from that first edition, to try to simplify it. I don't want to go too deep into the ACC's in this thread as there is enough material to write a chapter, or even a short book, on the subject. Suffice it to say that the catalog was updated every 7 yrs and had revised editions put out in 1946, 1953, 1960. The last one was by Richard Gelman put out in 1967 and was said to be an exact copy of the 1960 edition. There have been subsequent reprints of many of the editions but the last, non-reprint one was 1960. For that reason we should generally use that latest edition when talking about the numbering. The 1939's are very scarce.....best regards

[bh3443]

Hi Leon,
Thanks for another great thread. In my early years in our hobby, I was told by many veteran collectors that they valued their hobby publications and books as much if not more than the cards. This includes correspondence which many of these veterans saved and filed meticulously.
I remember an early issue of the ACC I had with a letter about how the hot item of the day were Clipper Ship cards. All these years later, I was thrilled to see mention of these gems in one of the Card Bulletins you posted! Early Clipper Ship cards are works of art and museum worthy.
Thanks again for another interesting thread.
Your Friend,
Bill Hedin
PS: Thanks sooooooo much for the Net54 pins!

[Jeffrompa]

Here is an interesting 1960 Hardback Version owned by Postcard Guru and Author Moe Luff who wrote a book of Postcard Cancellation Slogans . Not sure how much he was into Baseball but all types of collectors had these books on hand .

Sorry for the blurry pics .

[Joe Hunter]

1953 Edition

[jcmtiger]

Joe H., is that copy really that pink color.

Here is my 1953 ACC.

Joe

[Joe Hunter]

Actually, more orange than pink. It has faded a little but was originally a fairly bright orange. Yours may also have been orange and faded to that tanish color.

[toppcat]

Buck Barker assumed the new cataloging responsibilities in the 1950's as Burdick worked to mount his collection for the Met. After the 1960 ACC was released, regular updates coordinated by Barker appeared in the Card Collectors Bulletin, from November 21, 1960 throughFebruary 1972. Around 1968 an attempt was made to change the way newer R cards were catalogued, in keeping with a long tradition of the ACC numbering being tweaked as time passed. No, the numbering is not and never was set in stone.

Chris Benjamin collected all of these updates and issued them as a booklet in 1990, which is a fantastic resource. I would be interested to hear about the other updates that were issued before 1960 as such publications can really help pinpoint certain things. Here is the cover of the collected ACC Updates:

[t206 cubs]

Anybody know where i might be able to pick up a copy of the 1960 or '67 version?
Thanks Chad

Please email me at: shearerchad@yahoo.com

[Rich Klein]

I never had seen the 1990 Benjamin update before --- and he did work for Sport Americana (Non Sports) while I was with Beckett. I'm impressed that I had never seen that work before otherwise I would have purchased that back in the day

Rich

[ChuckRoss]

I've got all the original ACCs except the 1939, thanks for sharing that Leon. Here's another interesting publication from the late 60's, I've copied in a couple of pages, one that shows Bill Mastro as a teenager and the other with Larry Fritsch (and also noted non-sports dealer, the late Bob Foster).

[Rich Klein]

Both Crawford and Stanley McClure also had very impressive collections

[t206 cubs]

What would be the best place to find a copy of the ACC? Maybe a 1960 or '67 edition.

Thanks Chad

email me at: shearerchad@yahoo.com

[Jcfowler6]

Looks like the 1967 version can be got on eBay for $75.00

I am on phone phone and can't link it but if you search it I am sure it will come up.

[danmckee]

Killer item Leon!!

Where did u ever find something this rare??

[Leon]

Originally Posted by danmckee

..

Where did u ever find something this rare??

From you

......though less than 2 weeks later I got a second one with the supplements....so one might go on the auction block soon.....

[Jeffrompa]

Hey Leon ,


I guess that is not really a Supplement. LOL Its only a folder . It was sent out with a front , back and two middle pages .

[molen]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1967-AMERICA...d#ht_720wt_973

This Catalog is currently up on eBay. Anyone know anything about this copy? It doesn't resemble anything you all have shared in this thread.

I've been reading a lot about Burdick lately and I'd love to get my hands on a copy of the ACC, regardless of what year it is. Along those lines, what should I expect to pay (ballpark) for a copy? I don't want to completely overpay or buy something that isn't a true ACC by Burdick.

Thanks all...

[Leon]

Originally Posted by molen

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1967-AMERICA...d#ht_720wt_973

This Catalog is currently up on eBay. Anyone know anything about this copy? It doesn't resemble anything you all have shared in this thread.

I've been reading a lot about Burdick lately and I'd love to get my hands on a copy of the ACC, regardless of what year it is. Along those lines, what should I expect to pay (ballpark) for a copy? I don't want to completely overpay or buy something that isn't a true ACC by Burdick.

Thanks all...

They don't know what they have. That is a 1960 version.

If I were only buying one copy to use as a reference I would buy the last one put out, which is a reprint of 1960, from 1967. You can get legit copies, soft cover, that are brand new for about $30 from Larry Fritsch cards. regards