Collecting Exhibits/Supplements/larger pre-war photos on a budget

[53toppscollector]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions so far, extremely helpful and much appreciated

[G1911]

The Sporting News Supplements are a great one.

Also, the Gpoudey and National Chicle wide pen and fine pen premiums of the 1930's. Cards are very cheap in lower grade relative to other sets, and basically just large photos.

[todeen]

Originally Posted by G1911

The Sporting News Supplements are a great one.



Also, the Gpoudey and National Chicle wide pen and fine pen premiums of the 1930's. Cards are very cheap in lower grade relative to other sets, and basically just large photos.

Yes, I just picked up an Ernie Lombardi wide pen. I was happy with the price for a decent looking card.

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[Jobu]

Take a look at Fan Craze. At 2.5" x 3.5" they aren't massive, but they are quite a bit bigger than most of the cards from that era and they use the excellent Carl Horner photos used for many T206 portraits and other issues.

[jingram058]

These are my favorite non-cards in my collection. They were supplements included with the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper.

[nolemmings]

The questions I would have for you are: 1) what do you consider a card? 2) are you a set collector? And what era do you prefer?

Many of the suggestions are for premiums or oversized items. If you are a more “traditional” card collector, you might find these unsatisfying, although since you expressed an interest in the W600 cabinets, it seems at least the post-card size sets would fit your criteria. If that is true, the 1921 Exhibits might be a good fit.

If you are a set collector, you should probably forget about m101s, unless you don’t mind being either forever incomplete or laying out six figures for a Ruth rookie. Several of the sets are large–120 to 200 or so cards- and would require a pretty strong commitment. If you want to go that road, then maybe E121-80 fits, although if you get tied up chasing slightly different back variations, then maybe not. A smaller set that you might like is E253 Oxford Confectionery– only 20 cards, but with 70% HOFers, including Ruth, Cobb, Hornsby and Johnson.

The ice cream sets of circa 1928 are also popular, although I’m not crazy about them personally. That starts to move you into another era though, as do the Kashin and then the later Fine & Wide Pens, Gold Medal, etc. These are nice choices too, and are very reasonably priced, but contain a different set of key players. The same can be said for the early Fan Craze cards, which I love, but which some avoid because they are all capless portraits.

Lots of choices--good luck!

[todeen]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

the 1921 Exhibits might be a good fit.

I think one of your conditions was affordability. This set took a major price spike in the pandemic. I've seen the Ty Cobb double in price. If you look on ebay, the same cards in extremely poor condition that were $1000 just twelve months ago have all been raised in price to almost $2000.

Rogers Hornsby in this set appears to have tripled in value since the calendar turned to a new year. I'm kicking myself for not picking it up in January.

Walter Johnson and Babe Ruth have rocketed out of my price range.

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