T206 Cards With Provenance

[tonyo]

Not one of the grandfathers of collecting, but I was lucky enough to buy about 20 or so t206's on ebay last fall from a husband and wife in virginia whose uncle was the original collector of the cards I purchased.

We had a few email exchanges and I asked if I could know more about the uncle.

They sent this reply:

Tony

My uncle Robert Buchanan Owens was born in Mason County Kentucky in
1901 and passed in 1970. He was in the military, I think the signal
corp and stationed in England during WWII. His family had a English
ancestry and he enjoyed having his tea each morning, with a cut rose
on his table from his flowers. He was a Travelers insurance agent for
30 to 34 years. He and his brother Frank S. Owens must have collected
these cards together. You can go to
http://books.google.com/books?id=qPs...e%20ky&f=false
to find more about his brother Frank S. who father had a Ohio River
ferry named after him. Uncle Bob was a kind man, who with my aunt
Viola, were very involved in the community and their church. Since he
lived close to Cincinnati, the Reds were his favorite team. He was a
gardener having as I remember huge flower beds of rose. He enjoyed
golf and was an active golfer. Finally, I cannot remember many days
that Uncle Bob did not have a crisp starched white shirt, a tie, with
a sport coat or suit. I hope you children and yourself enjoy he and
his brother's baseball cards. ,,

[T206Collector]

It is great that you found my interview with Lionel Carter somewhat inspirational. I am fascinated by provenance, which is particularly important when it comes to my signed card collection. So many of my signed T206s came from the Jeff Morey collection, which is so much more important to me than JSA or PSA-DNA's approval.

One of my favorite aspects of my collection of signed T206 cards is the letter Fred Snograss wrote to legendary collector John Wagner, when he returned Mr. Wagner's T206 card with an autograph, along with a signed photo and index card. The entirety of this mini-collection is below.







(Black and white photo above was signed on back

[AndyG09]

Congrats on your pickup, Erick. The Snodgrass reply was a fantastic read! Did any of Frank Nagy's 206s end up in SGC holders? I have seen some of his other cards slabbed, but never a T206. It would be great to own one for sure!

Best,

Andy

[chaddurbin]

Originally Posted by T206Collector

One of my favorite aspects of my collection of signed T206 cards is the letter Fred Snograss wrote to legendary collector John Wagner, when he returned Mr. Wagner's T206 card with an autograph, along with a signed photo and index card. The entirety of this mini-collection is below.

this kind of provenance is cool. nagy, carter etc hand-down cards...not so much. i don't care which old guy owned the cards before me. with old people i usually have to talk louder and they can be pretty cranky...not cool.

[Piratedogcardshows]

Thats some great Snodgrass memorabilia.I agree terrific read.

[Jay Wolt]

That Snodgrass collection is fantastic.
I also have a letter from Snodgrass written to a collector.
No mention of cigarette cards, but he does mention Matty & McGraw & other baseball content.

[shaunsteig]

I totally agree with the sentiment that owning a card that formerly belonged to one of those grand collections is to, in my small way, partake of the history and tradition of our illustrious hobby.

My only card of provenance:


Happy Thanksgiving to all,
--S

[E93]

....Lionel Carter in 1933 to begin his baseball card obsession...
JimB