The Set Collector Gene

[frankbmd]

I recently posted some of this on the Box of 20 thread, but perhaps it deserves a thread of its own.

The Set Collector Gene, that many of us carry, has been exploited by tobacco, gum and candy manufacturers for over a century. The realization that the short printing of Arthur Schlembowski led to a three fold increase in the sale of wax packs, cigarette packs and Cracker Jacks has driven the capitalist gum, smoke and sugar barons for decades.

Those of us who carry the Set Collector Gene may find it suppressed for years at a stretch, but it never actually goes away. Twenty years ago I reconstructed my childhood 1956 Topps Baseball Set several cards at a time. Yes, my mother dumped my cards, when I went to college. Actually reconstructed is a misnomer, because I know I never finished that set as a youth. Other quests have followed. The aging process has taken me backward in the collecting process. Vintage collectors seem to appreciate vintage cards more. Ask my sons for verification.

One hundred years ago the Monster was created. With virtually no hope of a Wagner, Plank, Magie or Doyle falling in our laps, many of us continue to pursue completion of this beast, knowing full well that we will fail. We don't need to read "The Myth of Sisyphus", we live it. My goal has recently been recently been reduced by 24. I am climbing K2, not Everest. I will not pay thousands for a mid range St Louis Demmit, dammit. O'Hara belongs in NY and O'Hare in Chicago, not in St. Louis. Dahlen could have seven different colors of B on his chest. I don't care, one is enough. Chance, Chase and Cobb portraits are print variations of the same card. Green, Red, Yellow, Blue, Pink....so what....one of each is enough already.

But I have the gene, i need eleven more cards to reach the K2 summit of 500. I can smell it. Every day I comb the Web looking for my guys in a condition and at a price I can live with. They can run, but they can't hide......Chesbro, Jimmy Collins, Cranston, Doyle (NY), Hickman, Johnson, Paige, Shaughnessy, Carlos and Sid Smith and Thornton are in the crosshairs and they know it. I will ultimately succeed, hopefully this year. I am a set collector and proud of it. Make me an offer I can't refuse and your check is in the mail (or a Paypal gift if you prefer).

My only album on this site contains only one card, an A & G N2 rendition of Bull Head from 1888. It is one of my favorite cards, because it was printed two years before Bull Head became forever famous for killing Sitting Bull in 1890 as part of the Indian Cavalry. Once I finish the K2 monster, I will only need 49 more Indian Chiefs to complete the set. Yet another hill to climb. I wonder if Lewis & Clark were disappointed when they reached the coast. I will be.

Cheers, Frank