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#1
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: warshawlaw
I visited the Burdick Collection at the Met for two and a half hours on Friday. Here are my impressions: |
#2
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: Nickinvegas
Adam, |
#3
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: Julie
O GREEN with envy! Yes, was the prohibition on looking at baseball cards because your appointment had to do with boxing stuff? |
#4
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: JC
Great story... I wish everyone that collects could show their collection in a way that people can enjoy them. Ie.. Internet/Glass showcase/Catalog. I guess when you do something that long and build up such a major collection you don't know what to do with it and just say... Oh well, take it. Thanks for sharing your visit with us! |
#5
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: brian p.
Thanks for sharing your experiences Adam. It is truly a dream of a lifetime for a card collector to get to see such a collection. It is a shame that the actual viewing experience remains so exclusionary and haphazard...just think what could be done by an institition that actually gave a hoot about the collection. |
#6
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: Julie
I can imagine yakking for WEEKS about it with the people in authority--they really know their stuff. Guy sent me a whole SHEAF of stuff on Radbourne, FREE, and when I ordered a Lefty Williams photo from their library ($25)--nobody had ever ordered one before!--they had to make a new negative, because they didn't have one. Not only was my print original looking, but they did a beautiful job of airbrushing an eye-scratch out of the original photo. Those guys are TOPS. |
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: Rhett
Personally, I have never understood why people donate things to museums. 99% of all things donated to museums end up on shelves and boxes, never to be utilized in a display (some of which end up being sold by the museum in the long run so they can purchase "more important items"). I don't know if it is a way for someone to feel like they have contributed something back to society, but it is a total waste of some great items. In my opinion, if you have an original Rembrandt--sure, donate it to a museum, because they will likely display it for everyone to enjoy. If you have a VGEX 1914 Cracker Jack Set, sell it back into the hobby for those that really care about the cards can enjoy them. Don't condemn those beautiful cards to a long slow death in the hands of curators that don't know a thing about them. This is just my opinion, would like hearing what you guys think. |
#8
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: George Vrechek
I don't know if you has a chance to read my article on the same subject. It is at http://oldbaseball.com/ Under library and then the last article "Burdick Revisited" Our experiences were about the same, but you had a longer "glance" at the older cards. |
#9
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: TBob
Why couldn't you look at the baseball cards, Adam? |
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: Kevin Cummings
I agree that most of the things that are donated to libraries or museums never again see the light of day. What a waste for both the person who put all the effort into assembling the collection and all the potential viewers. |
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: warshawlaw
I never really got any explanation as to why BB cards were verboten, nor did I press for one. MY assumption is that they are off limits because so many have gone missing over the years or because they'd take a beating if everyone who wanted to see them saw them. I also assume that I got into the collection so readily precisely because I wanted to see non-baseball cards (I guess the assumption would be that anyone who wanted to see those cards must be a researcher rather than a card nut). I can also see that it would be very frustrating to the curators (and a big pain in the neck) to have card collectors in the library every day, which you know would be the case if the collection were open. I suspect that this is part of the rationale too. |
#12
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: Joe P.
Thank you for this interesting thread. |
#13
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: david
i believe the security measures are a result of several high profile cards being taken from the collection over the years, among them a 33 lajoie. scd did a series of articles on the collection several months ago. i must be amazing to see all those cards. |
#14
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: JOHN NEUNER
HI |
#15
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: Tom Boblitt
can deaccession (sell off) items from a particular collection--especially if it's been donated? Isn't it like 50 years? Or is there no set amount. Wonder if the Met would consider deaccessioning the Burdick collection--it would certainly add funds to their coffers while allowing the cards to enter the public domain. Maybe somehow the HOF could purchase them. It's just a shame that they're bottled up like that with so much potential. Good conservators could probably 'save' many of the glued in cards. |
#16
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: warshawlaw
I finally found a copy of this publication. It is the only index that exists of the holdings in the collection. To say that it is less than illuminating is an understatement. The following are typical listings: |
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: barrysloate
Back in the 1980's it was real easy getting in to see the baseball cards. I would make an appointment over the phone and just show up. They were real friendly and would show you pretty much anything you wanted to see. The problem is way too many people started to come in to see the baseball. The visitors were starting to damage the albums, and I'm willing to bet things were stolen too. The 1933 Goudey Lajoie was hanging unprotected hinged by a piece of adhesive tape on the back. God knows how many people got their hands on it. |
#18
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: Pcelli60
Did they do a cavity search to ? |
#19
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: warshawlaw
I wish Hey, I'm married, whatever I can get, you know |
#20
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: m mac
This is timely given the latest flap at the National Archives. The Met should be restrictive of the Burdick collection given the information that has trickled out regarding its condition during the past 10-15 years. This is the only way that collection will be preserved for serious research 100 years from now. I'd imagine that the Met has millions of items and thousands of finding aids. The Burdick collection is probably not their most valuable collection or even their most important collection. They probably have dozens of research projects ongoing at any time. If Burdick wrote the finding aid, as it sounds likely, only an archivist who has an interest in that collection would know anything specific about the collection. It sounds like the collection is so huge that no one there is willing to spend the imense amount of time required to either learn Burdick's system or re-cataloging the collection. Hence, unless the "hobby" is willing to fund a position for the Burdick collection, it's not going to happen anytime soon at the Met. |
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: Pcelli60
I always thought that a Museum or some kind of repository for research would be perfect for our hobby. Since, it seems, that so many serious vintage collectors take a devoutly serious approach to it..It really is food for thought.. |
#22
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: m mac
I agree, but ... |
#23
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Burdick Collection Visit
Posted By: Marc S.
located in Philadelphia/Lower Merion County. |
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