Pre-War Card Collector

Wish I knew! The Muhlen Francks are somewhat easy to account for but the overall Garbaty checklist is quite large and I'm not sure I've ever seen it entirely.

A play in three acts.

First cool pickup of 2026 are these three 1930s Seal Craft Disc sheets that are complete with the cards not having been separated. I'd only seen one such sheet before in an REA auction. These were to be tied together with string to make crafts. Also have the original envelopes. #Cardsky

Walter Hagen’s No Good, Very Bad, Horrible, Rotten Rookie Card Well, I suppose I’ve seen worse

Let's talk about Walter Hagen's rookie card. prewarcollector.com/2026/01/05/w...

Shirley Temple on the Gridiron: A Collection of 1930s Football Cards The popular actress is on a trio of football cards — from the Netherlands

My latest article on the site takes a look at a handful of 1930s cards picturing Shirley Temple as a ... football player?

lol -- nice!

I haven't had to buy any in a while. It's been over a year, I think. So I haven't been looking. I still see some individual ones on eBay, where I've bought some. But not seeing them on Amazon. You used to be able to buy packs of 3, 4, 5. of them. But not seeing that now -- just some individuals.

Collector Stories | Old-School Allen & Ginter Prewar Cards Anson Whaley’s interest in vintage cards led him to complete the pre-war N28 and N29 Allen & Ginter runs, but that’s just part of his impressive collection.

To kick off its 2025 Allen & Ginter launch, Topps interviewed some collectors about their A&G collections. Really cool that they wrote an article on my original Allen & Ginter 1888 and 1889 (N28/N29) 'Champions' set builds. You'll find it here: ripped.topps.com/collector-st...

I'm often asked how so many trade cards from pre-1900 can exist. This one offering medicine explicitly says on the back that more than FIVE MILLION of their cards alone were printed. Millions of cards have been discarded but that helps explain how so many have survived. #Cardsky

The Most Popular Roller Skating Card of Them All: A Harley Davidson (No, not that one) Harley Davidson’s T224/T229 Pet/Kopec Cigarettes roller skating card is arguably the most famous of them all

I recently posted the rare card of Harley Davidson that I acquired but what is it? Here's a rundown. prewarcollector.com/2025/12/01/h...

What’s the Deal with John Clarkson’s 1894-95 Mayo Card? The card of John Clarkson in the 1894-95 N300 Mayo baseball card set is a mystery

Is it John or is it Arthur? My latest article is a rundown of the confusing 1895 Mayo baseball card that was either intended to feature a Hall of Famer or a journeyman. prewarcollector.com/2025/11/30/j...

If you had told me at the start of the year that one of my bigger card purchases would be a roller skater, I would have thought you were insane. Yet, here we are. #Cardsky

Yes, correct.

It's a very interesting card. The red rectangle is cutout and affixed to the card. The silhouette is not a separate layer. It's merely an area where the red didn't color. As if they cut out the image of the player, colored in around it, and then stuck that to the card.

I've wanted the famous 1966 Topps Batman No. 1 card for some time now. I just wasn't enamored with one enough to buy it. That changed when I found this hand-cut, blank back scrap rarity. I've seen a few proof/scraps for other cards in the set before, but never on the key No. 1. #Cardsky

Different colors. I remember seeing a blue or purple one. Not sure of the others, though.

One of the great pre-war mysteries are these handcrafted cards using silhouettes of seemingly either E94 Close Candy or M131 Baltimore News cards. I've seen 2-3 of these and have heard of a collector with several more. Backs signed by someone named Richard Montague. Here's my Red Murray. #Cardsky

Just some peas in a pod on this early baseball trade card that is likely from the 19th century. This one is designated as No. 222 by Frank Keetz and features miniature men (brownies) playing a game of baseball using peas as the baseballs. #Cardsky

1920s baseball and non-sports strip cards are common. But to date, the only hockey strip card I've ever seen is the one in the W542 multi-sport strip card series. Anyone know of any others? #Cardsky

A card you don't see everyday -- 1921 D48 Invisible Color Pictures issued by bakeries. When you add water, they filled in with color. This one avoided that fate. This is the baseball card in a mostly non-sports set. I believe mine is the only graded example by either SGC or PSA. #Cardsky

I was having a hard time finding the title of the N85 Duke Stamps card on the left. That's because it wasn't there. While normal variations of this card title it, "First Letter Carrier," this one has a print error and is missing the title. First one I've seen missing from this set. #Cardsky

Setting the Record Straight on a Babe Ruth Stereoview Card Let’s clear up some confusion on a popular Babe Ruth card

About time I get another new article up on the website - #Cardsky

prewarcollector.com/2025/11/10/b...

Pretty much. But these were created a couple of years before it was built/completed. I think the base was the last part to be finished -- it was paid for by the US, I believe. These were renderings so the base design likely changed.

I already had the Pratt's Astral Oil version of the 1883 Root & Tinker trade card of the Statue of Liberty. In today's mail was the New Singer variant, advertising sewing machines. These are often cited as the first cards of the famous landmark. #Cardsky

Alright, fine -- #Cardsky

I sadly don't even have any glasses to look at it yet. I need to get some as well as one of those contraptions to look at stereoview cards. They're pretty cheap on eBay.

Another interesting post-war pickup is this 1953 Fher Sport Magico card of the Harlem Globetrotters. Tough set designed to be viewed with 3D glasses. More importantly, it is recognized as the first card of the famous basketball team. This is the only graded SGC example. #Cardsky

T205, T206, and T207 -- Baseball card masterpieces. #Cardsky

I've seen them called fans and cheerleaders. Have never figured out which is truly correct.

This is one of those sets that I built but didn't really focus on. I picked up these 1905 Ullman College Sports postcards on occasion and today, secured the Chicago card, the last one needed. That's 8/8 on this unique set that includes seven football and only one baseball card. #Cardsky