[brian1961]

I am well aware 95% (give or take a few) of all collectors loathe reprints and fantasy cards. It's as if they feel it's their sworn duty to abhor them, turn their face away from them, and never waste so much as a dollar on them.

As one who has always had an appreciation for reprints, ever since responding to an ad Mike Aronstein placed in THE SPORTING NEWS in 1972 for a complete set of 1933 DeLong baseball cards for the "princely sum" of around $5, plus a fair s&h fee, I was delighted when I got his small package in the mail. The 24 cards were magnificent in color and reproduction, printed on a quality thin cardboard stock, in time I discovered Mike's cardstock was a strong improvement over the original. The cards' gloss was a telltale sign they were simply reprints. I don't remember if Mike printed a disclaimer on the backsides, but I was at the huge Midwest Convention in July 1972, and nobody squawked about their quality. I was really into the 30s at the time, and as a widow's son, could never afford a genuine card. In reality, I had never heard of DeLongs until the previous year, when I had read Lionel Carter's feature of the set in THE SPORT HOBBYIST.

Please understand. I fully agree with you that reprints or fantasies are not the same, in the hand, as the real McCoy. It's not a historical relic. They will not increase in value, for the most part.

On the other hand, they most assuredly are an art piece that very much represents the point in time of the original. I shan't waste time explaining why I love the Card Collectors Company reprint of the 1960 Home Run Derby cards, but I declare they are so close to the originals, and are marked as such to prevent almost any idiot from purchasing them as originals.

I have an even softer spot for fantasy cards. There are all sorts of reasons why players were not selected for inclusion in a favorite set of ours, or a set that never was but in our minds "should have been done". Purchasing some of these fantasy cards has given me some genuine hobby joy. Creating and producing a few fantasy cards for my own enjoyment has been fulfilling. I mean--- very nice representations of 1954 Wilson Franks Mickey Mantle and Jackie Robinson. I love them and place them with original period baseball cards I have. The late Bob Lemke produced a few fantasies that I treasure. I suppose they might appreciate in value, but I appreciate them too much to sell them. I simply bought them from Bob because I liked his work---1955 Topps All-Americans of Broncho Nagurski and Jackie Robinson, his Red Man Chewing Tobacco Mantle, his 1963 JELL-O box with a variant photo of Mickey Mantle. I must emphasize--- when the creator selects photos with good taste, and are appropriate for the given fantasy card, it makes for a commendable work of art. I love some of them; they look terrific. I get a kick out of them for what they are, not for what they are not---the real thing.

You must also understand I have a decent remnant collection of "the real thing". I most assuredly have some nice pieces in my collection. I could do the top ten against your top ten thing, and perhaps send you away with your tail draggin' the ground, or me becoming maroon-faced with embarrassment, but that wouldn't really prove anything, would it? Some of you guys "get it" that some of us like a good reprint or fantasy. I thank you for at least trying to understand.

Back in the day when reprints were first introduced to the hobby, several big names were outraged and very vocal about their feelings. I never recalled reading why they were so vehement about reprints. Perhaps those collectors who'd worked so hard, and/or spent so much to build up their collections felt very threatened by the reprints. Perhaps they were worried an abundance of reprints in the hands of collectors would cheapen their holdings, causing their collections not to vault in value the way they demanded they do. Or, maybe it was simply they liked the idea of having great cards few others could possibly own, and enjoyed bragging about them and lording over their fellow collectors who were severely challenged to acquire anything worth a havin'. For many years I was on the outside looking in, and I know how excluded it felt.

I'm honestly not trying to convince you to collect reprints or fantasy cards. I felt I must articulate some of my feelings about them, and to say they're not just worthless junk. To you, they are. That's fine. My mature and refined imagination find some, repeat some, of them endearing.(Insert a smiling wink and roll of the eyes--HA!)

I sincerely wish all of you happy collecting, whatever that may be. I know it's not postwar regional / food issues, 'cause only 35 of you bought my book, with a few dozen more purchasing the Amazon digital version.

--- Brian Powell