REA , 35 years and going

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Posted By: Jay Miller

Having nothing to do this evening I started reading through the latest issue of SCD. In this issue in the Auction Circuit feature is a description of REA very successful last auction. The part that hit me as kind of strange is the statement that "Lifson termed the sale as the most successful auction in Robert Edward Auctions' 35-year history". Now I'm not sure how old Rob is (he still looks like a teenager) but I would guess that the entity REA has not been around for 35 years. The first auction I ever saw Rob do was in the mid-1990s. What am I missing?

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Posted By: joe

Not sure either, saw the same article, but I know Lifson has been around quite a while. Used to see him and Mastro at shows in late 1970's.

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Posted By: Wp

I remember an auction he ran in 1990 it was a small SCD auction.

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Posted By: Robert Edward Auctions

I started dealing in vintage cards in a big way in 1969, so maybe I should have used 36 years! I actually started collecting in 1965 but for some reason was always interested in older cards. Everyone thought it was really strange but my family humored me. By 1968 I was able to acquire quite a collection of old cards, a lot of it for free by asking parents of friends (cards had very little value at this time), a lot of it by making purchases, trading and selling. I actually went door to door back in 1969-1970, literally casing the neighborhood for old cards. (This was a different world at this time, no one would ever allow a kid to do this today). By 1969 I had near complete sets of Play Balls, hundreds of Bowmans, a sampling of tobacco cards, and really a little bit of everything in-between. I am 45 years old. In 1969, I was nine years old. By 1972 I was one of the most active dealers in the country in vintage cards. My first auctions were in the early 1970s (they were a lot smaller back then, sometimes just a quarter-page in the old Trader Speaks and the early years of SCD, sometimes a page or two), as were my first fixed price sales. In the early 1970s all bids were only by mail. I was dealing with adults from all over the country by the time I was 12 years old. I have ridiculous pictures of me in SCD and various newspapers which appeared with articles about vintage card collecting and dealing in the early 1970s which fortunately I don’t know how to post. Back then I didn’t know about anything but baseball cards, which in retrospect may have been my greatest strength, because no one told me I could not buy, sell, and trade baseball cards with adults. I took a loan out from the bank to expand the business in 1973 (my Dad co-signed), which I repaid over the next two years. I purchased the Kurzrok collection from Dr. Lawrence Kurzrok’s family a year following his passing (I did a lot of dealing with Dr. Kurzrok for many years. He was impressed by my enthusiasm, dedication, and interest in the business, and he instructed his wife to contact me and sell me the collection when he passed away). Dr. Kurzrok passed away in 1975 and I was 16 years old in 1976 when I purchased his collection. This was perhaps the largest collection, or at least one of the largest collections, of vintage cards to ever trade hands, and was probably the largest vintage baseball card deal in the history of collecting at the time in terms of dollars. The total cost was over $20,000 (that was really a lot more in 1976 than it sounds today, there just weren’t any deals that big in those days). The collection included among other cards over 2000 Old Judges (including many of the ones I sold you many years ago, Jay), dozens of E card sets, hundreds of Cracker Jacks, hundreds of Ramlys, hundreds of Allen & Ginters, hundreds of T202s, etc. In the early days I was a dealer who also worked extensively with consignments. Over the years this has evolved to all consignments. In 1990 I changed the name of the business to Robert Edward Auctions to better reflect the nature of the business. This was a change in name only as I was still a sole proprietor. For how long I’ve been around, many people assume I am older than I am. I have not just been around for 35 years, I have been very active on a daily basis this entire span. I count myself very lucky to, by pure chance and circumstance, bridge the gap between the days of Charles Bray (the first real card auctioneer and dealer, who I used to bother to no end as a kid) and the modern era. I hope this helps clarify where the 35 years comes from in REA literature and articles. I think I’ve got another 35 years in me and I’m hoping someday to be referring to 70 years in the business!

Sincerely,

Robert Lifson

President
Robert Edward Auctions
www.RobertEdwardAuctions.com

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Posted By: Judge Dred

Robert,

Thanks for the biography, now about that Masters degree.... just kidding.

Your auctions are great, I look forward to them (as do many others).

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Posted By: Julie

like me.

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Posted By: Anonymous

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Posted By: Richard Masson

Sorry, Rob. I apologize.

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Posted By: Joe_G.

Now that is a classic pic, thanks for sharing

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Posted By: Julie

sho nuff.

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Posted By: Preece1

I was going through some of my uncle's old baseball card papers (my uncle is long time collector Don Schlaff), and I came across an article from October 1982 on rare cards featuring Rob as a "veteran" collector and dealer (23 years ago).

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Posted By: bruce dorskind

I became a serious collector of rare baseball cards in 1974
and still have correspondence from the early days with
historic collector/dealers like Gar Miller, Bob Richardson,
Joe Michaelowitz. Buck Barker and Frank Nagy.

When I wrote to tjhem about super rare type cards that
I wanted like Four Base Hits, Kalamazoo Bat Cabinets
and Just So---they all said there were only two people
who get for you- if you were willing to pay
Rob Lifson
and Bill Mastro

The late George Lyons was a dealer then (but Rob was his major source)

At my second Philadelphia show in 1975 - I arranged to meet
Rob- who would later attend Wharton (where I had graduated in 1973)
and bought four near mint cards; I paid a record total price of $3000
and so began a 30+ relationship


Four Base Hits
Just SO
NY Kalamazoo Bat
and a Yum Yum

To this day, still have three of the four cards- all in near mint condition


Rob is the most knowledgable dealer I have ever worked with.
He knows cards, he knows value and most importantly he knows
where the bodies are buried.

The only regrets I have are not buying some of the items he offered
me very early on- like a mint cracker jack poster (8,000) or
near mint Lajoie (5000)

With Rob...where there's a bill (1000+) there is a way.

And unlike most of the dealers - he understands what customers want
and how to make money---this is now a business-which everyone forgets.

Bruce

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Posted By: Eric B

Bruce, thanks for the history. It is always neat to hear stories from the past. I always wondered what happened to George Lyons. His was the first collection I ever read about. There was a cover article in some antique magazine in the 70's (1977 I think) I was just 9 years old and I was facinated.(i.e. hooked). Do you know if his collection ever sold? Just curious. Thanks again.

Eric Bennett

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Posted By: Paul

I'd be very interested to hear whether Rob still believes the estimates he gave in that 1982 article are still accurate. Are there really only 20 E125s and 40 T208s, or have more been discovered since '82?

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Posted By: jay behrens

My guess would be that both have increased. I know for a fact that that 6 Firesides I acquired would not have been included in his 40 estitmate as I got mine from an antique dealer that did not deal in cards.

Jay

My place is full of valuable, worthless junk.

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Posted By: Darren J. Duet

Does REA print out a finalized price list for its auction?

If they do and anyone has it please send me a copy.

Thanks

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Posted By: Andy Baran

The Robert Edward Auction Prices Realized are available on the website:

http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/site/price.asp

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Posted By: Anonymous

Eric:

Bruce, thanks for the history. It is always neat to hear stories from the past. I always wondered what happened to George Lyons. His was the first collection I ever read about.

FYI -- George Lyons, who was in ill health for several years, passed on about 18 months ago (I'm not sure of exactly when). His two brothers are still very active in different ways. You may or may have heard of his brother Jeffrey (The Movie Critic) or his other brother (whose name escapes me right now) -- who has issued several baseball books featuring obscure happennings in Baseball.

Rich Klein

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Posted By: Jim Clarke

That's amazing that people still have the old articles and remeber where they filed it... I would have liked to seen Rob put down prices on the rare items he mentioned. Then we could compare it to today's prices. I think I going to take his advice and sell the T-206 Wagner and buy all the other stuff..... LOL JC