Hobby history: Card dealers of the early 1960s, part 1: Taylor vs. Gelman

[brianp-beme]

David these articles are a fantastic look at the history of the development of the hobby. Thanks, and keep up the good work!

Many decades ago my much older brother gifted me either the 1962 or 1963 Card Collector's catalog, the only bit of hobby ephemera that he had saved, and which I still have buried somewhere. I always found it fascinating to ponder what my brother could have ordered (I don't believe he ever did any mail ordering), and now can place it within the history of the hobby dealer, thanks to your postings.

Thanks again, and looking forward to the next salvo...

Brian

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

David these articles are a fantastic look at the history of the development of the hobby. Thanks, and keep up the good work!

Many decades ago my much older brother gifted me either the 1962 or 1963 Card Collector's catalog, the only bit of hobby ephemera that he had saved, and which I still have buried somewhere. I always found it fascinating to ponder what my brother could have ordered (I don't believe he ever did any mail ordering), and now can place it within the history of the hobby dealer, thanks to your postings.

Thanks again, and looking forward to the next salvo...

Brian

I did find that catalog, and posted it on a separate thread, but for some reason never bothered to post it on this thread. Life has given me a second opportunity to rectify this oversight and to serve mankind in a tiny way. Here is that post from 2017:


1963 Card Collectors Company Order...almost

In David's series of postings about the history of the hobby he included a scan of a Card Collectors Company price list from the early 1960's. I found my much older brother's copy of this price list (he handed over all his hobby stuff to me and my other brother back in the early 1970's), and included in the price list is an order form filled out by my brother.

He was a big Dodgers and Duke Snider fan, so it is not surprising that all the higher price (10 and 15 cent) early 50's cards he has listed feature Duke Snider. He also has the Snider and Ted Williams 1956 Topps Buttons (Pins) on the order form.

Even his alternate choices in the 1957 set for the most part showcased his search for the stars: Ted Williams, Aaron, Ford, F. Robinson, Spahn, Snider, Koufax, Campanella, Yankees Power Hitters card, while his Dodgers slant accounts for Jim Gilliam, Dodgers Sluggers and Dodgers Team Card selection. The Giles/Harridge card selection is just plain weird and my brother is no longer invited to future family gatherings because of it.

His was probably a typical kid order...trying to get the big names at the flat rate listed for each year. I can definitely see that it was just this type of order that would have, like David laid out in his posting, lead to dealers implementing more extensive tiered pricing for the star players in a set.

Alas, he never mailed this order off, so the Card Collectors Company never got his hard earned dollar, but at least you all get to see my brother's relatively neat handwriting.

Brian (my brother's name has been intentionally obscured to protect the guilty. A bonus is that the order should come quicker now due to the advent of Priority Mail).