Prewar Cards

[Kawika]

When I was a kid I had absolutely no interest in cards even from the previous year. In 1957 I considered a '56 Topps worthy only of the back wheel of my bicycle. What's more I could care less then about the ballplayers themselves of the previous generation. When my dad or other kids' fathers talked about the players they saw in the '20's and '30's my eyeballs would roll. It was only Mantle, Mays and Snider as far as I was concerned. I can only kick myself now. As for awareness of other sets besides Topps (I hadn't even seen Bowmans; I was a lame kid) it wasn't until the '80's 'til the penny dropped. Saw a '33 Goudey Dean at a card shop, picked it up because I thought it was the only vintage card I'd ever see again. Wasn't until I came aboard Net54 6 or 7 years ago that I became fully aware of the myriad issues of vintage cards.

[joeadcock]

Where I live in Florida, there isn't any card shops selling prewar cards.

My first major exposure was when I found the Steve Verkman auctions through the mail. I bought some prewar there. However, when I hooked into Ebay in 2003, is when I really started buying prewar. Has been steady ever since.

Frank

[Brian Van Horn]

I started collecting in 1972 and was offered a 1909 T206 Phillippe for a 1974 Topps Pirate card in 1974. I turned it down.

[ullmandds]

i started collecting in 1977 and eventually acquired thousands of cards from mid 50's-present...I loved the stars from the 50's-70's and collected them all. While at a show probably in the early eighties I was offered a used t206 matty white cap for $2...and I bought it and still have it. I sold my bb cards...minus a few...to buy a 77' camaro in high school. When I got back into collecting in the late eighties/early nineties...it was only vintage!

[Mark]

When I was about 10, somewhere around 1970, a couple of dealers started offering prewar cards for sale in Baseball Digest and, I think, in the back of the Sporting News. James T Elder and the Card Collectors' Company were among the names that I recall. Since I was getting a real kick out of it, my parents took me to a card show in 1971 in Detroit (met Frank Nagy. I continued to collect via the Trader Speaks. I was able to get a bunch of t206's and Goudeys and Play Balls, but I didn't run across much that was rare way back then.

[4815162342]

When I was 13, I saw an article in Beckett about an unopened T206 pack. Last January I decided to begin collecting the set.

[Jim VB]

When I collected as a kid (1960's) I was aware that there were older cards out there, but only because my dad had some from the mid 1930's. There wasn't really any good way to collect old cards back then. When I got back into collecting, in the 1980's, there were shows available most weekends (sometimes 2-3 a day within a short drive.) That first opened my eyes to what was out there.

Great thread, by the way!