The Original Owners of Our Cards

[orly57]

I've always been intrigued by the "life" of a baseball card. Who owned it? How many owners? Where was it stored for these 100 years? I stare at them and wonder where it was while historical events were going on. I think that may be one of the biggest draws to postcards for me aside from beauty and rarity. Messages from the past to loved ones in other parts of the country encapsulate the moment and freeze it in time forever. Here are two of my postally-used postcards.

[KingFisk]

Originally Posted by orly57

I've always been intrigued by the "life" of a baseball card. Who owned it? How many owners? Where was it stored for these 100 years? I stare at them and wonder where it was while historical events were going on. I think that may be one of the biggest draws to postcards for me aside from beauty and rarity. Messages from the past to loved ones in other parts of the country encapsulate the moment and freeze it in time forever. Here are two of my postally-used postcards.

I live in a house built in the 1920s and I often think about the fact that it has stood here through the Depression, World War II, Viet Nam, etc.,etc. Getting into tobacco cards has amplified this even more...two World Wars, the Russian Revolution, etc. Survived bicycle spokes, paper drives, annual spring cleanings. Where did these tiny cigarette premiums live and survive on their way to my collection a hundred plus years later? Fun to think about. So I truly love reading these stories you all have posted that shine a light into the past. Thanks for sharing.

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[Chris Counts]

I don't mind writing on the back of a card, especially if the writing is vintage and nicely done. I'm not sure who owned this one, but whoever did apparently wrote when and where he (or she) got it ...

[Jay Wolt]

Won these from Al's LOTG auction
Strejc was 11 years old when he got these & saved his cards until he died (1975)
They came from his family & Al had them slabbed & pedigreed, a nice tribute to a collector over a century ago

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by Chris Counts

I'm not sure who owned this one, but whoever did apparently wrote when and where he (or she) got it ...

I like the fact that the collector wrote the day of week and time of day (Wednesday evening) as well...it should help researchers pin down a more exact time frame for distribution of these E121 American Caramel cards. Rhett, are you reading?

Brian

[Bliggity]

I showed these a couple years ago, but I know a few of us have cards that were owned by a collector named Elias Beasley and were later sold by his grandson. He signed his name on the back of his cards. So far as I'm aware, he's popped up on T3s, T206 Piedmont 350s, and T209-1s. Interestingly, he signs his full name on the T3s, but just "Elias" on the T206s given their size. On T209-1s, which are ever-so-slightly larger than T206s, he fits in his last initial

Here is a short writeup posted a few years ago -

Originally Posted by T3s

Several months ago I was lucky enough to have a beautiful T3 Turkey Red find. A few of the cards have writing on the back. A handful note "Reid Pleasant Drug" across the top. My assumption is that was a local drug store - several ways the cards could be attached to the store. Best of all, one of the cards carries the signature of "Elias Beasley". Mr. Beasley was the original collector as a very young man. I purchased the cards from Mr. Beasley's grandson. During our negotiations for the cards, we talked a fair amount about the family and the story about how the cards were kept, owned, etc. I was very interested and wanted to find a way to preserve the collection (before some headed out to all corners of the earth) and document the provenance.

[nat]

I tried to track down the original owner of a few of my cards once. It's postwar, but since it's on topic, here's the original thread.

[Jobu]

I have seen Elias on T206 before! Fun to see that he collected other cards - and to learn his last name.

This one may be a few owners removed from the original owner, but this was Burdick's T206 Evers.

[Bill77]

Not baseball but I think these are pretty cool. I just received the Gil Nichols a few days ago and have had the Dave Deshler for about a year. To be honest I never got past looking at the Toy Town stamp on the Deshler card to even notice the date or Raymond Dunham's name written on it until today. And I hope John Stevens didn't pay too much for his backwards stamp.