My first tiny little card!!!! Any advice?

[JoeDfan]

Normally, I collect Joe DiMaggio and Joe Torre stuff. But lately, I have been seeing all the old cards in the Pre-War section of Net54, and I love the little portraits, especially with the pastel coloring.
My new side project is to collect all the MLB players born in Maine, and I saw this card. I love the pastel color, so now I am feeling the bug to buy more of the early 1900's cards.
For a person on a limited budget (after all, I still collect DiMaggio, and pay the mortgage. In that order.), what are some of your favorite suggestions (other than T206, which looks very scary to me) that won't require me to give up a million dollars to put together? Or maybe I should just buy one of each kind maybe?
Anyway, now that I have this one in my baseball room, I think it looks fantastic, and I might be hooked.

[bnorth]

Go with the buy 1(or a few) of several kinds and then decide what cards you actually like if going for a set. The extras you bought when trying to decide what set you really like can then be used as trade bait.

[Jobu]

I suggest just buying the cards that catch your eye without going for a set, especially right off the bat when you are new to the era.

Edited to add: Nice card!

[T206Collector]

M116 is a great set if you can tolerate the lack of action poses. Get a few more and see if you feel like digging deeper or going in another direction. E95 and E96 are relatively affordable, as are T205s.

[ethicsprof]

if you really want a tiny little card, buy a Baguer.

all the best with collecting,
barry

[Luke]

Nice Lord! I'm partial to e95s myself. I have the OCD that turns some of us into set collectors. If I didn't collect sets, I would pick up a few cards from different sets of the era. Some personal favorites are:

-e90-1 Wallace and Lajoie
-e93 Waddell and Young
-e94 Speaker
-e95 Bender, Cobb, Cicotte, Plank, Merkle, Willis
-e96 Baker
-e98 Walsh and Mack


I'd definitely pick up a t204 HOFer, and some t206s and t205s, t207s.

My best advice is just to do some research so you pay a fair price and just get a few different cards and see what you like. Here's my almost complete e95 set so you can see a few of the cards I mentioned.

[RaidonCollects]

My personal recommendations:

- E90-1, although a tough set with a variety of short-prints and high-$ cards, it has some nice pictures/poses.

-E92, Small set, with lots of attractive, interesting card backs.

-E95, if you have the budget, this set is relatively easy to complete.

However, there are so many great pre-war sets, you have so much to chose from!

~Owen

[the 'stache]

Sean, congratulations on your first pre-war card purchase. Nice card!

I echo the sentiments already put forth here. To those, I would add...don't be afraid. Look around, and discover what you like. The T206 set is called "the monster", yes, and certainly some of the cards within the set are astronomical in price. But there are several bargains to be found within, especially if you know what to look for. And there are a ton of beautiful portraits in the set. You might also look at T213s, which are very similar to T206s.

Another set you might look at are the T202s. They're larger, but have the same kind of elements. There are two smaller tobacco cards on the outside, with a larger center panel in the middle. The T202 set has a great selection of players, and they are pretty affordable. Here's an example:



Two portraits on the outside, and a center panel picture of the Philadelphia A's infield in 1912. The picture includes two Hall of Famers: Eddie Collins, and Frank "Home Run" Baker. I think I got that card for about $50. It presents quite nicely in person.

There are lots of good options out there that will keep you happy, and not at all impede your Joe DiMaggio purchases. Good luck, and let us know what you ultimately decide on!

[shernan30]

I've been moving more and more to type collecting, a few nice examples from each set. I also collect team sets and players that spent part of their career in Columbus, Ohio from 1877-1915.

Looking for players from Maine is a good idea and could result in a little bit of every set out there. Remember to buy what catches your eye, others will agree on this point. You don't want to take too much of your DiMaggio budget for a card you don't really like. Here are a few different sets I currently have.

E100


T204


Old Judge Columbus Solons


T205, T206, T207 Cincinnati

[steve B]

I like the idea of collecting all the players born in Maine. I think it's an interesting angle. And I didn't see any really obvious HOF players on the list, so it should be somewhat affordable. Outside of the big common sets (T206, T205) You'll be mostly type collecting with only a few types needed.

Maybe since you've picked up your first tiny card you should get a bigger card next? Like Turkey Red?

Steve B

That Lord is actually a blue background, not pastel...but nice card.

[JoeDfan]

Thanks to everyone for giving me advice on how to move forward. I think at this point, I will try and continue to pick up a few different types of old cards (as long as they are Maine guys) and see what ones catch my eye.

A lot of you pointed out some great cards that I didn't even know existed, so I will be checking those out for sure!

Sean

[Leon]

Type collecting? Nah, no one does that. (nice first card btw)

Originally Posted by shernan30

I've been moving more and more to type collecting, a few nice examples from each set. I also collect team sets and players that spent part of their career in Columbus, Ohio from 1877-1915.

Looking for players from Maine is a good idea and could result in a little bit of every set out there. Remember to buy what catches your eye, others will agree on this point. You don't want to take too much of your DiMaggio budget for a card you don't really like. Here are a few different sets I currently have.

E100


T204


Old Judge Columbus Solons


T205, T206, T207 Cincinnati