Quote:
Originally Posted by muggsy
I never got to ask specifically, but I know he vacationed a friend in Clearwater down there (and eventually bought a condo there, but not until much later.) So it must have been one year he was down there, going to a bunch of games or workouts to collect the NL teams that were playing in that area. (Otherwise, too bad he didn't get a Ted Williams or DiMaggio.)
Eventually my uncle (as a young child) got a hold of it one day and drew those red lines, and ruined the condition of the pages/book. Grr! I imagine my grandfather was agonized and furious. The Cubs players got it worst, despite being a Cubs fan living in the Chicago area. Interesting is that there are very few Cubs. Maybe he kept those separately? Luckily some of the best in here, like the Stan Musial, is in very good condition.
I find it so cool—but maybe collectors that have access to all of these guys in better condition don't find it as intriguing.  |
For me (and this is just my perspective) there are 2 ways to look at this. One can view it as a collection of signatures (for which one can start considering the value of the individual signatures etc and work from there) or as a piece that captures a time and story in history.
For me a lot depends on how much story can be attached to it. The more specific and more detailed, the more (to me) it captures a time in history, and the story of an individual (as WWII created a shadow over the whole world) getting a chance to meet some of the great ballplayers of the day, getting their signatures, and experiencing baseball in a way that pretty much ceased to exist for a few years afterwards (and ultimately changed dramatically with all the changes that occurred after WWII, including but not limited to integration.)