Burdick Collection

[Leon]

Originally Posted by herbc

The Wagner is not on permanent display, I missed it by 1 day last year.
Here is a link about the current exhibit up until April 9, 2015.

http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions...tober-rotation

I put together a small collection inspired by one of the Burdick exhibits at the museum in 2012.
In 2012 after the Metropolitan Museum of Art presented the "Breaking the Color Barrier in Major League Baseball" exhibit, I decided to put together a mirror collection of the cards that were displayed.
The cards were from the Jefferson R. Burdick collection that is housed in the museum. They are of "some of the earliest and most illustrious players who moved from the Negro leagues into the Majors".
I now have 21 of the 22 cards. I'm missing the Hank Aaron 1954 Topps card. I included the museum links below, then scans of my collection. ENJOY!

I just went back and saw this, very cool, Herb. ....

[oldjudge]

As Barry said, the Old Judges are fantastic. I have seen them on several occasions. Barry took me along in the 1990s when he was working on an article, and I went through them a few times with Joe when we were working on the Old Judge book. Interestingly enough, Burdick had no California League cards (or at least none are there now). Otherwise, he had a pretty fantastic selection, with his cards,in general, being in exceptional shape.

[kkkkandp]

My daughter and her boyfriend happened to be going to The Met today to see (primarily) some frescoes from a villa in Boscoreale near Vesuvius. I told them they had to at least check out whatever was on display from the Burdick collection while they were there. They did, but said it was very hard to find, was very small, and there were no Old Judges in the grouping displayed.

[barrysloate]

Kevin- the display is minimal, and while an attraction to the novice, wouldn't excite veteran collectors very much. You really need to make an appointment and see the albums to appreciate what is there.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

Kevin- the display is minimal, and while an attraction to the novice, wouldn't excite veteran collectors very much. You really need to make an appointment and see the albums to appreciate what is there.

sadly this is very true. i always make a bee-line to the exhibit when I go to the met...only to be disappointed most times! You will see much more at a good show!

[steve_a]

I did check out the display this weekend. As many stated there was nothing currently out that you didn't see down the road in White Plains. It was about 20 framed scrapbook pages with full of a sample of cards from various sets. There was an Obak, T206 and nice Mecca doubles. A few Goudy sheets as well as several Play Ball, Bowman and early Topps. It was still an enjoyable escape from Monet & Picasso. The T206 page was almost all Brooklyn subjects with a 2 name Ball. This display was put together 50-60 years ago so it gave me a chuckle to notice the short, diamond cut and wavy edge examples we dismiss as altered today. They either came from ALC that way or were "improved" long before there was a monetary reason to do so. That will be my takeaway from this visit, with a hope to return and spend some time rooting through the entire collection.

[bigfanNY]

I have called the Met twice to see the collection (I think photo's and prints is the department you ask for) the first time my Dad called about two weeks before we went and the second time was only a few days before we went. So anyone wanting to see the collection should definitely reach out and see if an appointment is possible.
When we arrived we were given a catalog of the collection and it was heavily notated (I think by J Burdick) and I remember clearly that the Wagner was on a stamp hinge so that you could look at the back of the card..Things were much more simple 35 years ago. we stopped by the gift shop and picked up a copy of the Burdick collection catalog when we left.
The Met is filled with priceless treasures of all kinds Samurai swords, Colt revolvers, Tiffany glass, something for everyone my second favorite place to spend an afternoon in NY (after Yankee Stadium)
J

[IMAXMAX]

I spend alot of time at the Met,,,one of the great palaces of art,for sure.
However,as others have noted,their exhibitions of cards are not their strong suit...
Around five years ago or so I spent some time in the Print/Photo Library there wearing white gloves and leafing through Burdick's albums of postcards and non-sports cards. I recall that it just required a phone call and simple appointment...
To see his collection of baseball materials though,I believe, does require some kind of extra clearance-----
In any case, well worth it just going through the nonsports material...you really get a feel for Burdick's aesthetic and organizational sensibility.

Highly Recommended

[CW]

Great photos, Mike!

[Jlighter]

Frankly, I think it's a travesty that Burdick's cards are at the Met. If I ever have the ear of a member of the board of the museum I would try and convince them to sell/give the cards to a venue where they can get the attention and notoriety they deserve.

[bigfanNY]

What would be a better place to House the Burdick collection than the Met? Visited by millions of visitors each year. The staff has the expertise and resources to maintain and preserve the cards. Not saying there is not a better place just wondered what that would be.
I know because of theft that security is increased but The Met, The Library of Congress and The Baseball Hall of Fame all Offer access to their collections and that many collectors have visited one or all of these. Not easy to balance Security. Preservation and creating displays that appeal to all levels of Folks that appreciate Baseball cards.
Understanding what Burdick went through when he searched for a home for his collection we are all fortunate that he and the Met agreed on a plan to preserve his collection that said all things change and evolve
J

[Jlighter]

Originally Posted by bigfanNY

What would be a better place to House the Burdick collection than the Met? Visited by millions of visitors each year. The staff has the expertise and resources to maintain and preserve the cards. Not saying there is not a better place just wondered what that would be.
I know because of theft that security is increased but The Met, The Library of Congress and The Baseball Hall of Fame all Offer access to their collections and that many collectors have visited one or all of these. Not easy to balance Security. Preservation and creating displays that appeal to all levels of Folks that appreciate Baseball cards.
Understanding what Burdick went through when he searched for a home for his collection we are all fortunate that he and the Met agreed on a plan to preserve his collection that said all things change and evolve
J

We discussed this a while ago on the board and there was an article, I can't seem to find it now that detailed how in fact the collection had gone into bad shape and there were many pages that had to be fixed. There were also stories of people walking out with pages, this was before they limited perusal of the collection to only people with a research interest.

As for them being displayed, they are located in the corner of a lightly visited room. I've been there twice and I counted maybe 3 people on each occasion during the 20 minute interval I was present. There also wasn't a docent who could answer questions about the cards. I heard one person say that the Cracker Jack Wagner was the most valuable card, obviously mistaking it for the t206. It does the collection a severe injustice to be at a museum where it will be near the bottom of the barrel in terms of prestige.

[steve_a]

Was able to stop by this weekend and check out what was on display. Currently both Wagner and Plank are out with some OJ Cabinets, Buchners, and the usual assortment of Goudey, Bowman early Topps.