(Happy National Pet Day. There was a point a couple years ago when I thought there'd never be another pet in the house. I even wrote about it. Today, there's a cat who is about to turn one all up in my business. Knocked over a bunch of cards today. She's officially part of my hobby. Time for Cardboard Appreciation, this is the 351st in a series):
I reached a collecting milestone yesterday when this 1941 Play Ball card of former Brooklyn Dodgers MVP first baseman Dolph Camilli arrived.
Although I have a modest number of pre-1950s baseball cards, this was the first time I ever purchased one. Everything else pre-1950 has arrived as a gift or in a trade.
I've written many times that I collect cards for which I feel a connection. Those are mostly cards related to my childhood, my adolescence, my first disposable income days and all the way to the present time. If I know the players -- especially if I have seen them play and read about them when they were playing -- then those are the cards I want the most. I have extended that to the '50s and '60s, though I didn't see most of those guys play, because of other connections -- much-older kids had '60s cards, that big grocery bag of 1956 Topps that my dad brought home, etc.
But for pre-1950s, there's nothing there. Maybe if my dad's collection wasn't thrown out, there would be.
An easy way to make a connection is to read about and do research on those players. I've done a little of that but not much. Still, it has been enough that I've felt more of a pull toward 1940s cards. It's not a big desire, won't dominate my collecting pursuits at all. But you see an actual 1941 Play Ball card here now, so something's up.
I have enough Dodgers reprints from that set -- and several other notable pre-World War II sets, like Goudey and American Caramel, etc. -- that I know the ones that appeal to me most. 1941 Play Ball is much more colorful than the 1939 and 1940 Play Ball sets -- it features colorized black & white images and a pastoral look.
These are the 1941 Play Ball reprint Dodgers I own, all except the Whit Wyatt card. I've been quite happy with sticking with the reprints over the years, and that will remain the case with many of the reprints I own (I don't anticipate every owning the Pee Wee Reese from this set). But the Camilli card has always appealed to me more than the others.
The four-color background makes it the most colorful card in the team set. Camilli was also a big name in 1941, winning the National League MVP award that year. And when you consider everything going on in the world at that time, it's nice to have a piece of that history in card form.
I suppose that's why collectors collect pre-war. But I see this is as just a once-in-awhile visit. When it comes to vintage cards, I can think of a whole lot of '50s, '60s and '70s stuff I'd rather add to my collection than something from a 100 years ago.
That doesn't mean that earlier stuff isn't cool.
When Jason sent me that package a couple weeks ago, he also added these T206 replica Brooklyns, all printed on thin paper. I don't know where these come from, but all of the Dodgers from that set are here, I think, at least most of the front variations, too. That's neat.
I do have two real cards from this set. One day I may add a couple others. But, wow, that was so long ago. I might just stick to the '40s for ancient-to-me cards ... at least until all that's left are Jackie Robinsons.
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(Back to National Pet Day: It's Frannie in a card room drawer from earlier today!:)
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