Here are a couple of posts of mine that include the early history of the Card Collector's Company:
First, its origins in the 1950s with Sam Rosen, Woody Gelman's stepfather, and the earliest price lists after Woody took over following Sam's death on 12/31/58. He launched The Card Collector newsletter shortly thereafter to compete with Gordon Taylor's Card Comments:
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=233137
This post is about the competition between Gelman and Taylor in the early 1960s, which Gelman won when Taylor went bankrupt:
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=233392
Finally, this post is mostly about Bruce Yeko and Marshall Oreck, but it has a bit at the end with the 1968 Card Collector's Company price list, the first year Gelman started charging more for star cards:
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=233772