The first article on card collecting?

[xplainer]

Following.

[trdcrdkid]

I brought that 1929 article to George Vrechek's attention back in 2005, and he gave me credit in his original article. I also posted about it here on Net54 in 2015:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=202129

I know there was a newspaper article in 1930 about baseball card collecting, in which the rarity of the T206 Wagner was mentioned. I don't have a citation or a scan handy, but I know I've seen it. I know there were some other newspaper articles about card collecting and specific collectors in the late 1930s and early 1940s, because Jefferson Burdick mentioned them in Card Collector's Bulletin, but I haven't tracked them down yet.

Apart from Burdick's articles in Hobbies magazine in the 1930s, and then Card Collector's Bulletin starting in 1939, I'm aware of two articles about card collecting that were published in the popular press in 1945. I've posted about both of them here:

1945 Sporting News article on baseball card collecting:
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=238775
1945 Esquire article on "The era of the cigarette card":
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=219020

When T206 and most of the other 20th century U.S. tobacco cards were issued in 1909-1913, there were lots of newspaper articles mentioning the card-collecting craze among young boys. Some of those articles have been posted here, though I can't find the threads right now. What you're looking for, I take it, are early articles about (tobacco) card collecting by adults. I would expect those to be easier to find in the U.K. than in the U.S., because card collecting became an organized hobby over there much earlier than it did here. Undoubtedly one factor in that is that your tobacco companies continued issuing new cards up until World War II, while we just had two relatively brief bursts of tobacco card issuance, in 1887-1890 and 1909-1913. But it seems to have been seen as at least a respectable hobby over there from at least the 1930s, while here it was kind of an underground thing, something to be ashamed of, until the 1970s, and really until the 1980s.

[tim_uk]

OK, so no flood of very early articles, so far. Time is on our side.....

But, to keep the thread alive, here's an interesting convergence of the earliest hobby pioneers....

Around 1935, the UK hobby of cigarette card collecting was now becoming well-established. The Cigarette Card News was published monthly by the London Cigarette Card Company, with issues starting in 1933.

And, in the USA Jefferson Burdick started writing in Hobbies. His first article (of 8 in Hobbies) was in December 1935. All these articles can be found here courtesy of Old Cardboard.

Separately, Lionel Carter was writing about baseball cards in Kaw Chief Stamp Journal. An article from 1937 is here, courtesy of Tom Bobblitt.

In the UK, Collector's Miscellany, October 1935 (here), managed to include all 3 journals - as shown in the screenshots below. Now what's the odds of that?

[Leon]

Thanks for posting those. Very interesting to some of us

Originally Posted by tim_uk

OK, so no flood of very early articles, so far. Time is on our side.....

But, to keep the thread alive, here's an interesting convergence of the earliest hobby pioneers....

Around 1935, the UK hobby of cigarette card collecting was now becoming well-established. The Cigarette Card News was published monthly by the London Cigarette Card Company, with issues starting in 1933.

And, in the USA Jefferson Burdick started writing in Hobbies. His first article (of 8 in Hobbies) was in December 1935. All these articles can be found here courtesy of Old Cardboard.

Separately, Lionel Carter was writing about baseball cards in Kaw Chief Stamp Journal. An article from 1937 is here, courtesy of Tom Bobblitt.

In the UK, Collector's Miscellany, October 1935 (here), managed to include all 3 journals - as shown in the screenshots below. Now what's the odds of that?

[Jay Wolt]

Originally Posted by Leon

Thanks for posting those. Very interesting to some of us

I agree, enjoyable & informative

[swabie2424]

I just finished up reading "Ming Condition" so these articles feathered in perfectly. I'm a research professional (entirely different field,) but these types of articles scratch me right where I itch.

It's clear we owe quite a lot to Burdick's early work. Amazing how much love and effort he put into all of this before just about anyone else was hip to it.

[teza11]

Early baseball guides and books would probably be a good place to dig-out some of the earliest card collecting references. Here's a one-pager from 1962 covering some of the earliest publications.

Jeff

[SteveMitchell]

Dave...

Thanks very much for the link to your earlier posting (1945 The Sporting News article by longtime collector Wirt Gammon). I missed that back when first posted. It's a great piece and a reminder of the fine collector who was among us for decades.

Your postings are real treasures; please keep them coming. And a reference or two about previous ones is appreciated - especially for those of us who check in only occasionally.

Thanks again,
Steve

Originally Posted by trdcrdkid

I brought that 1929 article to George Vrechek's attention back in 2005, and he gave me credit in his original article. I also posted about it here on Net54 in 2015:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=202129

I know there was a newspaper article in 1930 about baseball card collecting, in which the rarity of the T206 Wagner was mentioned. I don't have a citation or a scan handy, but I know I've seen it. I know there were some other newspaper articles about card collecting and specific collectors in the late 1930s and early 1940s, because Jefferson Burdick mentioned them in Card Collector's Bulletin, but I haven't tracked them down yet.

Apart from Burdick's articles in Hobbies magazine in the 1930s, and then Card Collector's Bulletin starting in 1939, I'm aware of two articles about card collecting that were published in the popular press in 1945. I've posted about both of them here:

1945 Sporting News article on baseball card collecting:
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=238775
1945 Esquire article on "The era of the cigarette card":
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=219020

When T206 and most of the other 20th century U.S. tobacco cards were issued in 1909-1913, there were lots of newspaper articles mentioning the card-collecting craze among young boys. Some of those articles have been posted here, though I can't find the threads right now. What you're looking for, I take it, are early articles about (tobacco) card collecting by adults. I would expect those to be easier to find in the U.K. than in the U.S., because card collecting became an organized hobby over there much earlier than it did here. Undoubtedly one factor in that is that your tobacco companies continued issuing new cards up until World War II, while we just had two relatively brief bursts of tobacco card issuance, in 1887-1890 and 1909-1913. But it seems to have been seen as at least a respectable hobby over there from at least the 1930s, while here it was kind of an underground thing, something to be ashamed of, until the 1970s, and really until the 1980s.

[jason.1969]

None of these qualify 100% as articles about card collecting. However, I thought their age made them worth sharing here. The first is quite tragic, unfortunately.

1. August 25, 1910, Boston Globe. This is likely the first recorded death by baseball card.

8-25-10.jpg

2. November 8, 1896, Boston Globe. Part of a "random notes" sort of column is dedicated to an early super-collector.

11-8-96.JPG

3. And the OLDEST thing I could find is debatable as there isn't enough context to state for certain that these are the same cards guys like us collect. However, the size and shape makes me think YES. This is an illustration from an article on things to do for fun in the springtime. April 8, 1894, Boston Globe.

4-8-94.jpg

[tim_uk]

This is what we are after, excellent work!

I like the picture in number 3. the best - it definitely counts.

The sad story in number 1. is repeated in a similar incident in an old UK newspaper search I saw a while back.

But I think we can do better....