Back in July, Mark Macrae saw my posting in Mark Bowers' National want list thread and let me know he had recently acquired a card with Howe's stamp on the back, and asked if I was interested. When I saw the scan, I was a very happy guy. It was the Mathewson white cap that was on my known-but-lost list, having lost track of it when Jim Schnieder sold it on eBay after winning the near complete T206 set from Mastro back in 2008. Mark had just gotten it from the estate of a collector who had around 400 T206s, and it was one of them. Mark was nice enough to drop it off here in Omaha on his way through to the National. It is actually card #257 in the rebuilt collection.
Last week, long time board member Frank Bennett reached out to let me know he had just acquired a Wiltse card with Howe's stamp. This one was new, or news to me, as I hadn't heard about or seen it before. Thanks for such a quick deal, Frank, and getting this card back with the others. It is actually #260.
Back in late 2012, board member Troy reached out to me and let me know he had a card with a lot of sentimental value that had Howe's stamp on the back. He sent scans of that beauty, and about two weeks later let me know he had found another card in his collection that had the stamp also. It wasn't until about two weeks ago, while going back through old emails that it dawned on me that I never asked if the second card had any sentimental value to him, or if it might be purchased. It arrived yesterday morning in the mail, becoming #261 in the rebuilt collection.
In the last three months, I've gotten three previously unknown cards, one that had been lost for six years, and another that I knew the owner of, but hadn't been able (or just hadn't asked) to purchase. My post on the B/S/T thread let me know of another that I now know the owner of, and also let me know of one that I had known the owner, but it has changed hands, without the benefit of knowing where it went. That keeps the total number of cards I know that have the stamp out there at 33. 11 I know the owner of, 22 are lost in the general population.
Thanks to everyone on this board who have been so helpful this past seven years as I've tried to rebuild the collection. I'll never know if or when it is complete, but it sure is fun seeing all the great cards Howe owned at one time.