Where did you buy your first Pre-War Card ? Which card ?

[slantycouch]

T206 Weimer at a mall card show when I was about 12. I had $18 to spend at the whole show and the guy gave it to me for $3. I was quite pleased. Still have it too.

[calvindog]

About 6 years ago on ebay....

[Epps]

About 4 years ago I got a 1919 W514 Jackson for around $100 on ebay. I have upgraded since then, but I will always keep that card.

[Chris-Counts]

When I was 13 in 1974, I attended one of the early Southern California card shows in Anaheim. John Parks was a regular dealer at these shows and one of the nicest guys I've ever met in the hobby. He acquired a large scrapbook of T206s and soaked them off the pages. He sold me a Three Finger Brown, a Sherry Magee, a Nap Lajoie, an Addie Joss and a Hal Chase ... for a dollar each! By the way, I recall T206s generally sold for a dollar each at those early shows, while '33 Goudeys fetched $2-3 each ...

[Bill Stone]

About 5 years ago I purchased some T210 Series 6 cards from Bill Cornell. He was a great assist in getting me started.

[JamesGallo]

As far as I can remember I bought 3 cards at one of the stores in Cooperstown in the late 1990s. 2 were strips a scalk and Kerr, the third was a weil Cicotte. I sold the Kerr and regret it. I still have the other 2 :-D.

James G

[Howe’s Hunter]

My wife Loretta and I were shopping for antiques at the Burlington Antique Mall in Lincoln when I saw Ty Cobb staring back at me from a red background.

It was my first anniversary gift, and not knowing any better, we paid way too much for it at the time.

It was the start of an addiction.....

[kmac32]

Bought my first elmer Miller at the National in Chicago in the late 80's

[zork1974]

My first was a T206 Christy Mathewson (dark cap/Sweet Corporal back) SCG 50 a few years ago. I was already heavy into collecting vintage star memorabilia cards (sorry to those who don't like jerseys cut up) and I decided to parlay that energy into collecting real cards from the same era.

[Anthony S.]

Card show in SF, or more likely just south of SF in San Mateo circa 1976. I was about 8. My dad collected old Cal and 49er football programs (he may still) and brought me along. I bought a beat up T206 Camnitz and a T206 Irv Young, which I was convinced was Cy Young until I found out a few years later that Cy never pitched for Minneapolis. Judging by the price I paid, and what others have said they paid for T206's in 1970's, I think I got taken --- what kinda weasel screws an 8 year old out of his barely deserved allowance money--- but I still remember the excitement I felt when I first saw tobacco cards. Opening new packs never quite matched that, even if I did buy 1975 and 1976 Topps by 36 pack box. I just sold the Young to a fellow NET54 a month or two back. He knew it wasn't Cy. Then again he had me mail it his company so he's probably more than 8.

[Steve D]

My first pre-wwII cards were three T206's (Bresnahan batting, Keeler batting and M. Brown Chicago on shirt). I bought them at a card show in San Diego CA in 1979. Cost me $10 for the trio


Steve

[Brian Van Horn]

1977-Bought two T206 cards (Miller-Pittsburgh and Groom-Washington) from a woman who seemed to be the original owner. The location was a flea market at South Hills Village (Shopping mall in Pittsburgh). She had the cards lined up in a narrow shoe box. I later tried to make a crude container for holding each of the cards. Bad move. It tore off the lower right corner of the Miller when I tried to extract the card. That disaster happened about 27 years ago.

[kkkkandp]

Saturday, January 14, 1995 - WG5 John McGraw - Parsippany PAL show

Sunday, January 15, 1995 - T206 Jimmy Collins - Mahwah Sheraton Crossroads show

[Theoldprofessor]

At a flea market, about 25 years ago. A T206, for $1.75 -- the most dilapidated beater ever, but of my favorite pre-war player, Germany Schaefer. Still have it, in a poly sleeve, and every time I look at it, it reminds me of how much fun collecting used to be.

[ChrisStufflestreet]

While still in high school, the majority of my pre-WW2 material was picked up from Vin Minner. He used to set up a table at an annual collectibles show (cards, stamps, coins, etc.) held in Alexandria Bay, NY. I had visited his table one summer when I was a kid and we spent 30 minutes talking about cards. He seemed impressed that a kid as young as I could identify vintage sets; in fact, at one point, he showed some of his tobacco cards and when my Mom asked, "what's the T stand for?" it was me who rattled off "20th century tobacco cards."

Driving home that day, Mom told me she never realized how much I'd known about older cards. Perhaps she realized that all those books I brought home from the school library and all those issues of Baseball Cards and Beckett were actually doing some good. In any case, Mom gave me a lot more latitude when it came to card shows after that.

Anyway...Mr. Minner was one of the first sellers who didn't seem annoyed to deal with an inquisitive kid and his kindness was one of the reasons I stuck with the hobby even after "discovering" things like girls and stupid teenage rites of passage...