The Other John Wagner

[brianp-beme]

And another interesting tidbit in the article...Mr. Wagner had a complete sheet of 1909 Obaks that he cut into individual cards. Anyone that has delved into the the 1909 set has noticed that are quite a few hand cut cards floating around. Maybe some of them are the work of John W. himself.

Brian

[Leon]

Thanks for sharing that, David. For anyone that cares to read that lengthy and freaking awesome article, you will start seeing some of what the article is talking about very soon. Fortunately Wagner kept at least some of his letters he revceived when he was advertising in Hobbies Magazine in the mid-later 1930s and 1940s. There are around 30 letters from the 1930s and maybe half that many from the 1940s.....Thanks again David, great stuff *(and all true from what I can discern)

[trdcrdkid]

Come to think of it, I have a 1909 Obak that looks hand-cut -- maybe it's from Wagner's sheet!

[Leon]

Originally Posted by trdcrdkid

Come to think of it, I have a 1909 Obak that looks hand-cut -- maybe it's from Wagner's sheet!

I believe the article but am quite sure, from proof, that some of the '09 Obaks were hand-cut from the factory. All of these below, except the little misprint on bottom right, were pulled from packs by the gentleman's grandfather I got them from......They have never been in the hobby until they saw my collection. They are part of the Trucker Boy find from around 10 yrs ago....

[trdcrdkid]

Ah, well. Obaks are still awesome, regardless.

[brianp-beme]

I couldn't remember from memory which back type (framed or not framed) is associated with all the hand cut cards, but Leon's examples remind me it is probably the unframed backs. It certainly raises the possibility that the unframed back versions were at least partially released in full sheet form, and that the temptation to cut them into individual cards was just too powerful to overcome.

Brian

[Cozumeleno]

"John Wagner became famous among card collectors because he was one of the first hobbyists to own both the Wagner and Plank cards in the T206 set. He constantly received letters from other card collectors across the country asking him to confirm the existence of these two cards. He even mailed the cards out “four or five times” to people who wanted a first-hand look."



I'm sure you guys have probably seen this before, but ... wow.