[Howe’s Hunter]

Yes, I could!

Years ago, when I was trying to gather every card that Howe had owned, the first image, that of the Hindu-backed Killian was shared with me by a board member who owned the card. Over the course of time, I somehow convinced myself that I owned the card, while in actuality, it remains with the owner who shared the scan almost 15 years ago.

But last week, Colton shared with me that he had a couple of Howe’s cards he had purchased from Scott and was thinking of letting them go. One was the Becker, with a fingerprint. It reminded me of the Killian with a fingerprint, and a whole new rabbit-hole of collecting began.

The cards from the Goldin auction that Scott won had very few owners, if more than two. The gentleman whose family brought the cards to Goldin said he had purchased them around 1970 during a trip to Florida. Howe’s daughter’s boyfriend last saw Howe’s collection in boxes in 1969, and Howe told him in 1972 that he had sold all but his favorites the year before to a dealer in Miami.

Both cards would be from the 350 series, and even with different brand backs, have the same color of stain on the fingerprint. Just a wild guess, but one night, during the stamping process, Howe had something on his fingers and left behind his fingerprint during the process of stamping them.

Just a wild guess, but a new way to pursue rebuilding the collection. One example of every card he owned, and now, the fingerprint collection. The first collection stands at 408, the second at one.

Every collection starts somewhere...