The Set Collector Gene

[frankbmd]

I recently posted some of this on the Box of 20 thread, but perhaps it deserves a thread of its own.

The Set Collector Gene, that many of us carry, has been exploited by tobacco, gum and candy manufacturers for over a century. The realization that the short printing of Arthur Schlembowski led to a three fold increase in the sale of wax packs, cigarette packs and Cracker Jacks has driven the capitalist gum, smoke and sugar barons for decades.

Those of us who carry the Set Collector Gene may find it suppressed for years at a stretch, but it never actually goes away. Twenty years ago I reconstructed my childhood 1956 Topps Baseball Set several cards at a time. Yes, my mother dumped my cards, when I went to college. Actually reconstructed is a misnomer, because I know I never finished that set as a youth. Other quests have followed. The aging process has taken me backward in the collecting process. Vintage collectors seem to appreciate vintage cards more. Ask my sons for verification.

One hundred years ago the Monster was created. With virtually no hope of a Wagner, Plank, Magie or Doyle falling in our laps, many of us continue to pursue completion of this beast, knowing full well that we will fail. We don't need to read "The Myth of Sisyphus", we live it. My goal has recently been recently been reduced by 24. I am climbing K2, not Everest. I will not pay thousands for a mid range St Louis Demmit, dammit. O'Hara belongs in NY and O'Hare in Chicago, not in St. Louis. Dahlen could have seven different colors of B on his chest. I don't care, one is enough. Chance, Chase and Cobb portraits are print variations of the same card. Green, Red, Yellow, Blue, Pink....so what....one of each is enough already.

But I have the gene, i need eleven more cards to reach the K2 summit of 500. I can smell it. Every day I comb the Web looking for my guys in a condition and at a price I can live with. They can run, but they can't hide......Chesbro, Jimmy Collins, Cranston, Doyle (NY), Hickman, Johnson, Paige, Shaughnessy, Carlos and Sid Smith and Thornton are in the crosshairs and they know it. I will ultimately succeed, hopefully this year. I am a set collector and proud of it. Make me an offer I can't refuse and your check is in the mail (or a Paypal gift if you prefer).

My only album on this site contains only one card, an A & G N2 rendition of Bull Head from 1888. It is one of my favorite cards, because it was printed two years before Bull Head became forever famous for killing Sitting Bull in 1890 as part of the Indian Cavalry. Once I finish the K2 monster, I will only need 49 more Indian Chiefs to complete the set. Yet another hill to climb. I wonder if Lewis & Clark were disappointed when they reached the coast. I will be.

Cheers, Frank

[alanu]

I definitely have the "set collector gene", but unfortunately I wasn't blessed with the "set finisher gene". Alot of it is due to my short attention span and habit of getting involved in too many sets.

[darrend505]

I have the set collector gene! My collection consists of about 50 complete sets! I only have a two projects going at the moment!

[sportscardpete]

You could infer that set collectors are very detail oriented, while type collectors are the complete opposite, people who might be a tad unfocused.

I consider myself a type collector, and I am the farthest from detail oriented.

[T206Collector]

I am now dabbling in strip cards, because a set seems plausible. I'm a little over a dozen away from W515-2.

Don't ask me why.... just call me W515-2Collector...

[WWGjohn]

I too have the gene, as I started with 54 and 56 Topps sets and moved to the 30's. I've completed several sets (Diamond Stars, Tattoo Orbit, 34 Goudey) but often run into the dreaded cost roadblock (33, 35, and 38 Goudey) of the Ruths, Gehrigs, Dimaggios. As previously posted, with some sets, I consider them "complete" when I reach the roadblock. My "holy grail" is to finish the 33 WWG, English-only back set, which I've been working on for 15 years (finished the Fr/Eng backs years ago); but as also previously posted, the fun is in the chase.

John

[tonyo]

I have the set collector gene. Most recently approaching infinity on t206, completed 52 bowman and 73 topps.

My tendency is to want to complete sets...unfortunately I usually can't justify the expense for the commons required to complete pre-war sets. On the bright side, I'm practically as happy completing subsets....It seems that all my gene really requires of me to have a well-defined target to aim for and achieve.

For example I'm six cards short of completing my "late 40's/50's hofer type set" meaning at least 3 hof examples of all the main topps, bowman, and leaf issues from 1948 to 1959 and at least 2 of each hofer that played in that era.