1st Baseball Card Found In Granny's Book

[Collectorsince62]

Whenever I read a baseball book, I always use a baseball card as a bookmark and leave the card in the book when it goes on the shelf. The card always relates to the subject, or subject matter, of the book. Biographies of players from the 50's to the present get a card from the time of their careers. Older subjects might just get a tribute card - like the 1962 Famous Slugger card for Babe Ruth or a 1961 Fleer for Ty Cobb. Someday someone will get a nice little bonus for their interest.

[Wite3]

I was in a used book shop in Pasadena about 20 years ago looking at an old Heinlein book (Have Spacesuit-Will Travel)...I ended up buying the book for $2...got it home started to read and on about page 20 was a very nice '55 Bowman Mays...checked every page after that...BUT that was not the only card I found in a book...about 2 years ago, I was in a used book shop in Ventura and bought a Larry Niven book...inside was a 1985 Tito/Terry Francona father/son card...not quite the same rush but I kept it anyway (left it in the book on my shelf!).

Joshua

[brianp-beme]

A few years ago I won a Sports Co. of America card of Dave Bancroft on ebay. The note the seller included when the card was shipped indicated that it was found in the family Bible. Talked about being blessed!

Brian

[Jeffrompa]

Yep I found a T 207 Bobby Byrne in a collectors book about Civil token book . Also , my Father told me he would check books all the time for postcards and tobacco cards people would leave inside for a book marker .

[bgar3]

In addition to looking for cards in books I encourage you to check evidence of prior ownership, signatures, labels, bookplates etc, and then check for annotations or markings. On the baseball side I have found books owned owned by former players, including a great book on cricket (chadwick, 1873) that has Alfred H. Wright's signature and notes including one about Harry Wright. A H Wright was a very early sports writer/editor who also managed the first Philadelphia NL team in 1876. On the non baseball side I have found a letter from the 1906 Nobel prize winner for physics (discovered the electron), and an odd volume of a set of Shakespeare signed by a signer of the Declaration of Independence. I also seek out obvious association copies like this, but these are examples of unexpected finds. Check out signatures etc, especially in older volumes.