Card collecting reference books? Which do you own and recommend?

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by trdcrdkid

In addition to the books that have already been mentioned, Dave Jamieson's "Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession" is a useful history of the hobby, including the card companies themselves, collectors like Burdick and Lionel Carter, and the rise of the grading companies in the 1990s.

+1. An extremely interesting read. I also agree with the reference to Alan Hager's book/price guides issued in the '90's (don't pay much attention to the prices listed in the book, as they were excessive when it was published in '92 or '93, but the color photos of the cards and accompanying historical info are good. His Six-Sport price guide, which includes many vintage issues, together with estimates of their relative rarity, is worth having, as the prices published were pretty accurate for the time in 1995, and his rarity estimates can have value when comparing one issue to another, although he clearly botched a few of them). It is also interesting to note how much various cards have appreciated in value since 1995, and which have not done as well, thereby indicating how collecting trends have shifted in the last twenty years. I also agree that you have to have an edition of the Standard Catalog every few years, though I wouldn't pay much attention to the prices given.

Best wishes,

Larry