How to best preserve Sporting Life Cabinets?

[TygeBrahe]

Hello Net54!
I have a number of loose W600 cabinet cards which are "safe" in a storage container between acid free lining, but it would be nice to figure out a more permanent solution, however having them graded would be

A) monstrously expensive given their value and
B) not really useful since there's no intention of selling any of them anytime soon.

For those of you who have a collection of W600s, do you have a general recommendation on how best to preserve them for long term storage? Is there an "off the shelf" solution which comes close to fitting these cards and can be retrofitted?

FWIW I'm not a collector per se, these are family heirlooms, so I don't have good tribal knowledge.

Thanks for any advice.

Best,

Tyge

[Leon]

I have used Mylar pages for larger items but most likely someone will chime in. There are several W600 collectors on the forum. If you have a Cobb you are doing well!
.

[TygeBrahe]

Thank you Leon. A few other folks have mentioned certain sleeve types, I really want something that will prevent sliding in the sleeves to compliment them.

I do have a Cobb. It is creased and has a large ink stain, but at least it exists.

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by TygeBrahe

Thank you Leon. A few other folks have mentioned certain sleeve types, I really want something that will prevent sliding in the sleeves to compliment them.

I do have a Cobb. It is creased and has a large ink stain, but at least it exists.

Congrats.

Would love to see a picture of it

[h2oya311]

Awesome Tyge! I’m interested in how best to preserve W600 Cabs as well. That’s awesome that you have a Cobby! Amazing! I’ll defer to the W600 collectors on this forum, but I’d also love to see a few pics of a few that you have. Might be some really rare ones in there…

[Baseball Rarities]

Would love to see an image of your Cobb. What a great card.

I use 4 mil Mylar sleeves with acid-free backings for my cabinet cards. The sleeves come in a ton of different sizes and the backings can be cut down to fit whatever is needed.

https://www.bcemylar.com/

https://www.egerber.com/catalog_archives.htm

[TygeBrahe]

Thanks all
Sounds like perhaps a second lateral layer of Mylar or acid free board in a larger protective sleeve would prevent slipping.

I understand the interest in the Cobb card. It’s tragic that it’s the most damaged of them all, but you can’t pick these things.

I also have two Honus Wagners, both subtly different. One Wagner and the Cobb are in safety deposit and I’ll need to get them out before I can snap a photo, but I’m planning on doing that soon anyways which is why I asked for advice! The other Wagner I have is not in as great shape and I can post a photo later in the week when I’m back in person with it.

I’ve received a few DMs from folks asking what all the cards in the group are, I will itemize them all for you all at some point.

In total the collection is about 30 cards.

[TygeBrahe]

Here's a couple that I pulled out.

[TygeBrahe]

Obviously this guy gets a lot of attention

[Jay Wolt]

TB man those are sweet! Especially the Wags

[BeanTown]

Agreed, great eye candy and congrats for keeping in the family for all these years.

[Bpm0014]

Being a t206 guy, I’ve always wondered if this Type I Horner was ever made into a baseball card. Now I know! Great Cabinets by the way!

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by TygeBrahe

Obviously this guy gets a lot of attention

Those are all very nice looking ones

Thanks for Sharing

If you ever decide to sell the Wagner let me know I maybe interested

[bigfanNY]

The mylar sheet with backing is great. I do that and then store them in Itoya art portfolios an 8 1/2 x 11 inch black book. That makes them easier to access and show family and friends.
The subtle differences in your Wagners is a result of them being issued over a number if years. So the decorations on the cardboard cabinets changed as well as the fonts of the lettering. Many players had both suit and tie ( Street clothes ) as well as baseball uniform issued. Your Moran is an example of street cloths. SB1 on this forum has the largest collection of these I have ever even heard of. I am sure if you reach out to him ( Scott) he can help you date them or group them by type.
Great group of cards thank you for sharing them with us.

[TygeBrahe]

One thing I imagine you would all find interesting and probably uncommonly seen...

About 10 of the cards from my storage are still in the original cellophane they were sold in 100 years ago, including the other Wagner. Pretty neat.

[Leon]

That is awesome!

Originally Posted by TygeBrahe

One thing I imagine you would all find interesting and probably uncommonly seen...

About 10 of the cards from my storage are still in the original cellophane they were sold in 100 years ago, including the other Wagner. Pretty neat.

[joejo20]

So cool


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TygeBrahe]

OK found the rest!
Here's the other Wagner in his cellophane and out.

[Snowman]

These are awesome!

[TygeBrahe]

Tyrus

[TygeBrahe]

Plus another little oddity

[sb1]

Congrats on the Cobb, only the ninth one verified to exist. A 6-figure card even in that condition.

[BeanTown]

Originally Posted by sb1

Congrats on the Cobb, only the ninth one verified to exist. A 6-figure card even in that condition.

Is that because you have a nicer copy and would benefit if that happened?

[Bicem]

Incredible collection! Wow that Cobb, easy 6 figures.

[Exhibitman]

I store my cabinets in 4 mil mylars that are three-hole punched on the left side so they can be stored in an album. bcemylar item 66B.

[sb1]

Originally Posted by BeanTown

Is that because you have a nicer copy and would benefit if that happened?

No, Mine is not for sale. I have turned down a couple of very large offers.

If and when another comes to market, do not be surprised by the price realized.

[profholt82]

While I can't offer any better advice for protecting your cabs than anyone else, I just have to chime in to thank you for sharing your collection with us. Incredible stuff, and it's a priviledge to see them.

[TygeBrahe]

Thanks everyone for the advice, I ended up ordering some gaylord archival mylar sleeves along with some acid free negative backing that I'll cut down to binder size, I'm hopeful the combo will provide some stability.

The cards still in their cellophane are going to get wrapped between acid free backingboards and a mylar sleevearound the group, and then the outer boards will be stabilized with some painters tape to make a pressed bundle. I'm hopeful that will give the cellophaned cards some stability before they get put back into longer storage. I don't know if the cellphane is a good or bad idea, but it seems novel at least, and that's how they've been for the last 110 so whatever. If anyone has an opinion on that, feel free to chime in.

I appreciate all the kind comments, this collection hasn't been seen by anyone other than my Father or I for the better part of 50 years so it's fun to share.

[sb1]

I would suggest taking them out of the cellophane holders and sleeving the holders individually. They have already done some damage to the cabinets, although I doubt they will do more after the 100 years they have been saved in them, there is no reason to leave them inside. The cabinets will display better and the cellophane will still be saved. I have lots of the cellophanes and they add no real value to the cabinet, but are neat to keep with them.

[TygeBrahe]

Great to know, thanks sb1.

[TygeBrahe]

Also: an enjoyable addition to the story of the collection- A personal letter from Babe to my great grandfather right after he got out of the hospital in '47. They were friendly and knew each other.

[TygeBrahe]

Oh, I forgot I promised a good number of you via DM that I'd post the remaining ones for tracking purposes. the rest in this set are

Christy Mathewson
Mordecai Brown
Arthur Devlin
Edward Collins
Thomas Leach
Samuel Crawford
Joseph Bates
George Mullin

[TygeBrahe]

Figured I'd report back for anyone curious:

Gaylord Archival has item # ESM584 which are 4 mil 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 mylar bags. Combined with some thick acid free backing boards cut down to size the card fit snugly but not problematically so, if you pinch the sides they gently slide in and the tension holds them roughly centered to prevent corner bumping.

It might not be "perfect" but they are thick and feel good in the hand. The mylar is clear and bright.

Any cards with cellophane have the cellophane slid into the back side of the sleeve for safekeeping.

Next up I'm researching whether any of the grading services also offer archival/encapsulation. I don't need to pay for grading but it would be nice to have the more valuable cards in the set encapsulated for long term storage. Does such a thing exist?