Hobby history: Card dealers of the 1950s

[56Horsehide]

Well done! Very informative and fun to read. It would be neat to know how many cards were printed/made for all those early '50s cards and how many survive today. We will likely never know. Thanks, David.

[jsq]

David,
as always, love your postings. just a real treat to review card history.

now for an insight i have not seen before:

many discussions of the 52 topps high numbers revolving around sy berger, if i recall correctly, that these extra cases of 52 topps hi numbers sat around topps warehouse, or storage for, depending on the story,
a. some years,
or
b. many years,
before being sent out on a barge into the ocean. (a viking funeral of sorts for mickey rookies)

your above research regarding these sales lists indicate that is not a true story nor a plausible story.

no way would gelman and rosen, who had access to all of topps inventory, be running out of 52 high numbers on the lists you show in this sales sheet of rosens 4 years later in oct 56 and no way would they be selling 52 topps at such a premium price right out of the gate IF the cards were sitting within their grasp. note the 56 list price of hi number 52 topps at 5 cents, same as the 51 topps team cards and 51 topps current all stars!

the logical conclusion is those topps 52 hi numbers were long gone by seasons end and definately by 1956 and the barge story is not very plausible unless the barge drop was shortly after fall of 1952
****and even that STRAINS creduality for the very simple logic that rosen had a great supply of 52 low numbers, why would topps dump the hi numbers and not the low numbers if dumping was their modus operandi???*****
it is a fun sy berger story, like the "babe ruth sat out today with an upset stomach" stories the sports press used to spiel.

also topps would have been happy to capitalize on dead inventory at a premium or for that matter normal wholesale price, obviously they did this with the 52 topps low numbers as rosen had plenty, if the market existed AND THESE LISTS SHOW A MARKET CERTAINLY EXISTED.

a friend of mine bought thousands of cases of topps material in the late 60's and early 70's as returns from season end retail at a huge discount from wholesale price as topps was thrilled to get anything for what they viewed as dead inventory. all of those cases are long gone, sold back into the hobby in the 90's. and larry fritsch ALSO bought thousands of cases in this same manner from at least the mid 60's forward. topps took the money wherever they could find it.

so lets hear some other comments as we noodle on this logic connundrum.