Harper's weekly. Full issues or just the woodcuts?

[bbcard1]

This is what I did with a couple of the woodcuts I recently picked up. They make nice additions to my collection. I probably would have just put a whole issue in a box. Same question I came up with a few years ago when I had some uncut boxes of Tastycakes or some such...I just asked myself, in what form would I enjoy them more? The answer for me was cut. Now, I could not bring myself to cut a Harpers that had survived that long, but the tasycakes were easy.

[novakjr]

Thank you everyone for the insight. I wouldn't dare cut one of these issues, something about that just wouldn't sit right with me. I wouldn't be getting them as display pieces, just purely for their collectible and historical nature. If they display well without destroying the issue, then I will display them.

Again, thanks for everyone's input, I've decided to go with full issues as my ultimate goal, but single woodcuts as temporary solutions in cases where they are highly displayable if the price is right.

Anyways, I did end up buying the October 1859 Hoboken cricket/baseball pages for what I consider a decent price(I may be wrong about that though). It's not the best condition, but it should display well. I'll check it off my list, but will still continue my search for that full issue though. I've been wanting this one for a long time. I'm a little excited.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...K%3AMEWNX%3AIT

[doug.goodman]

I believe that I have the complete Harper's woodcut collection thru 1908. I could be wrong, and would be more that interested in trading info with anybody else out there who has an interest in these issues.

It has been my experience that the full issues are sometimes less expensive to purchase than just the woodcuts themselves.

I attribute this to the fact that anybody selling a woodcut knows what they have, while it is possible to sell full issues without knowing exactly what the contents are.

As for storage and display, I have found that the Itoya profolios that have been discussed on this site work well for both individual pages, and full issues.

Doug

[novakjr]

Originally Posted by doug.goodman

I believe that I have the complete Harper's woodcut collection thru 1908. I could be wrong, and would be more that interested in trading info with anybody else out there who has an interest in these issues.

It has been my experience that the full issues are sometimes less expensive to purchase than just the woodcuts themselves.

I attribute this to the fact that anybody selling a woodcut knows what they have, while it is possible to sell full issues without knowing exactly what the contents are.

As for storage and display, I have found that the Itoya profolios that have been discussed on this site work well for both individual pages, and full issues.

Doug

I've noticed that if you know what you're looking for, you can get the full issues for dirt cheap on ebay, due to many simply being listed generically by date rather than by content. I picked up the full 1869 issue with the Red Stockings team for less than $15 that way. I still kinda feel like I stole that one for the price.

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by novakjr

I've noticed that if you know what you're looking for, you can get the full issues for dirt cheap on ebay, due to many simply being listed generically by date rather than by content. I picked up the full 1869 issue with the Red Stockings team for less than $15 that way. I still kinda feel like I stole that one for the price.

Exactly.

I picked up the Sept 10, 1887 with the amazing double-page "Thrown Out At Second" in a similar fashion for a similar price.

Any time it costs more to frame a piece, than for the piece itself, I feel like I'm doing pretty good. Charlie Sheen would probably call it "winning".

Doug

[Woundedduck]

I'm also a big fan of the Harper's Weekly Woodcuts. For collectors on a budget like myself they're great. They offer very old baseball collectibles with great images of top tier HoFers for relatively low prices.

I got started with a few that had the woodcuts cut out, but then started picking up full pages. They look great. I've got several at the framer right now and at least another one that will be getting framed as well. When I get them all back, I'm hoping to take some pictures to show them off .

Right now, I've really been trying to get full pages. I'm not as concerned with having the full issue, but I'd like to have the full page, if possible, even if the rest of the page isn't baseball related.

So far I've picked up:

Oct 15, 1859 - both full pages showing the baseball and the cricket matches
July 3, 1869 - Red Stocking baseball club, only the woodcut (about 1/2 page)
Oct. 17, 1885 - Chicago Baseball club, full page
Oct. 27, 1888 - Comiskey, Latham, full page
Nov. 9, 1889 - Ewing Cover, full page
May3, 1890 - opening of the baeball season, 2 full pages with woodcuts on both sides

I'm not going for a full run, but I'd still like to find June 27, 1874 (boston), Oct. 14, 1882 (Chicago), and Oct. 20 1888 (Keefe, Ewing).

I do have one question for other Harper's Weekly collectors. Some of the pages I've picked up have been colored prior to making it to me. They are done very nicely with watercolor and look great in my opinion. As I understand it, coloring the woodcuts is pretty common, but I wanted to know what others think about it. Would you rather have the original images without any coloring? Does it diminish or add to the value at all? Do you seek them uncolored or colored or does it matter to you? I'll hopefully have some pics to show what mine look like soon to give a better idea.

[novakjr]

Hi Woundedduck, looks like you've got a nice start to the woodcuts. I'm on a budget too, and that one of the main reasons that I'm starting to love the woodcuts. For some reason, it feels like you're getting something of historical importance for next to nothing. I'm still kinda at the start of my collection of these. So far I only have three.

Oct 15, 1859 - both full pages with a missing corner and a few small tears.
May 16, 1868 - George Sands Cover, full issue.
July 3, 1869 - Red Stocking baseball club, full issue.

Now as far as the colored ones, I think I may keep my collection strictly uncolored. But then again, since I'm really wanting to do full issues, I don't think there's alot that have been colored that are still in tact with the rest of the issue.

Sometime down the road it would be nice to get ahold of the Leslie's Creighton. That is one beautiful woodcut..

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by Woundedduck

For collectors on a budget like myself they're great. They offer very old baseball collectibles with great images of top tier HoFers for relatively low prices.

I do have one question for other Harper's Weekly collectors. Some of the pages I've picked up have been colored prior to making it to me. They are done very nicely with watercolor and look great in my opinion. As I understand it, coloring the woodcuts is pretty common, but I wanted to know what others think about it. Would you rather have the original images without any coloring? Does it diminish or add to the value at all? Do you seek them uncolored or colored or does it matter to you? .

My budget is exactly what aimed me at woodcuts. I am happily amazed at the lack of interest from the collecting community.

All of mine are without color, although I have seen some beautifully colored, I think Ted Z recently posted one.

Here are (most) of mine :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/douggoo...7612023646769/

Doug

[novakjr]

Doug, I've actually been looking at your page for a while at these. I think I originally found the link on one of the archived threads. Honestly, your collection of woodcuts only made me want 'em more. I know I was thinking about only full issues, and I'm extremely low on funds at the moment, but luckily I just picked up another 3 woodcuts for next to nothing. All 3 for under $20. You can't really beat that price. It looks like I may just settle for full pages, rather than issues after reading deeper into the opinions here and in some older threads. I'm really dead set on "full pages" as my bare minimum though. Full issues would just be an added bonus for me, and I may upgrade to strictly full issues at a later date. I really won't know for sure until that time comes though. I guess I'll just play it by ear.