[brian1961]

Centering is a very, very important part of helping a card look attractive. I agree with you that centering can make a great difference when it comes to appreciating a card.

The trouble comes when we pass on cards that we would love to have in our collection, but do not come up to "our centering standards." For instance, the Mays All-Star you show is definitely not dead centered, but 40-60 top bottom, while 50-50 left-right. I would call that well-centered, and very desirable, and PASSABLE, FOR MY OWN CENTERING STANDARDS. When I say "trouble" then, I am inferring to the possibility that by being too picky, or demanding that any card I buy must be perfectly centered, I run the risk of losing out on some very enjoyable, and cheaper I might add, cards to my collection. By all means, the choice is yours, but you will pay dearly for those cards that are dead-centered.

Being a perfectionist much of my life, I had to learn what was feasible, available, and deal with my own obsessive-compulsive behavior about wanting cards that really pleased me. In time, I began to hone in on what really bugged me in a card--- print spots, print defects, and picture registry. What good is perfect centering, when the card has print acne on the guy's face, etc.? Or "snow" all over it, even if it is 50-50 all the way around? After all, these cards were always known as picture cards until the
late '60s or early '70s, as I recall. The whole point is the picture; the border merely frames the picture.

Even here (print spots, defects, and picture registry), there are sets that you have to cut yourself some slack, if you really crave them. One example is the 1969 Topps Football, especially the second series. If the Topps guys even printed ONE second series football card without a print spot, it was surely an anomaly. Of course, I can only guage what I saw in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. Another example is the 1962-63 Post Cereal baseball. Most of the cards have little tiny spots on the player's picture. It's just how they were printed---no big deal. However, I still keep away from any of those that were printed out of focus. There I draw the line. Wax stains on the back--who cares? Unfortunately, a grading company cares about wax stains, but with Post, I would accept the qualifier and move on.

Back to the matter of centering, as an example, many guys who love the very scarce and beautiful 1954 Wilson Franks adjusted their tolerance for off-centered cards because the cards were printed with such minuscule borders. That was a wise decision on their part. Besides, less border, more picture/background area, which is what I am really looking at and loving. Another such set would be the rare 1955-56 Rodeo Meats Kansas City Athletics.

Granted, I imagine neither of us like creases, but then again, depends on the issue. ...

Just my dollar, and two cents, on the matter.
Salute. -Brian Powell