Hobby history: Card collectors' Hall of Fame, 1970-71

[Leon]

Thanks again for posting these publications, David. I think Mr. Burdick's memorial and accomplishments, right above, should be required reading (sort of like the ABC's) in order to collect cards (and for us, baseball cards). There will, and can never be another collector like he was. He stands alone at the top, imo.
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[lahmejoon]

This is very cool. Thanks for sharing!

[Jay Wolt]

David, enjoyed reading about the hobby greats, thanks for posting

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by Leon

Thanks again for posting these publications, David. I think Mr. Burdick's memorial and accomplishments, right above, should be required reading (sort of like the ABC's) in order to collect cards (and for us, baseball cards). There will, and can never be another collector like he was. He stands alone at the top, imo.
.

Agree that Burdick is the single most famous collector of all time, especially since his collection will forever be kept at the Metropolitan Museum. Living in NY, I've had the chance to see it on several occasions over the years.

[tiger8mush]

weird question - was Burdick known to have a "favorite" card or set?

[trdcrdkid]

Originally Posted by tiger8mush

weird question - was Burdick known to have a "favorite" card or set?

Not that I'm aware of. His collecting interests were very diverse, though his focus changed over time. In the late 1940s, after he had checklisted most of the major insert card sets, published the 1946 American Card Catalog (with the numbering system we know today), decided to donate his collection to the Met, and handed off Card Collector's Bulletin to Charles Bray, Burdick's interest turned almost entirely to postcards. His last two books were about postcards (Handbook of Detroit Co. Postcards, 1953, and Pioneer Postcards, 1957), and his articles in CCB in the 1950s and early 60s were primarily about two subjects: postcards, and his progress organizing and shipping his collection to the Met. He was never all that interested in sports cards, and relied on Lionel Carter, Buck Barker, and John Wagner for a lot of research in that area. When he needed a T206 Wagner in 1948 or 1949 before sending his T206 set to the Met, he announced that need in Card Collector's Bulletin, and I think it was John Wagner who sent him one (the one that's still there glued into an album in the Met).