Modifications to Vintage Baseball Card Sets' Year(s) of Issue

[rman444]

I think that if Burdick had known how serious people would be taking his work, and how anal and inflexible they would be about his ACC designations, he would have been a bit more careful and perhaps taken more breaks from his dark stuffy little room.

[barrysloate]

I would venture to say that if Coupon cigarettes only issued a single series of cards in 1910, and were never heard from again, Burdick would have unquestionably included them as part of T206. It is only because Coupon issued subsequent series in 1914 and 1919 did he face a dilemma: include them with his T206 designation, or join them with the later Coupon issues? If there is any correspondence about it from that era I'm sure he was asking other collectors what they thought. In the end he had to make a choice, and the three Coupon series became T213-1-2-3. That's my theory.

And regarding Leon's point that the ACC is sacrosanct and shouldn't be changed, I fall somewhere in the middle of the argument. There is no reason to make any major changes to it, as Burdick did an incredible job given how little was known about the history of cards. But a little tweak now and then couldn't hurt. I bet even he would be for that.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

And regarding Leon's point that the ACC is sacrosanct and shouldn't be changed, I fall somewhere in the middle of the argument. There is no reason to make any major changes to it, as Burdick did an incredible job given how little was known about the history of cards. But a little tweak now and then couldn't hurt. I bet even he would be for that.

Burdick always said his ACC was a work in progress. IMO he was a genius at collectible cards.

[barrysloate]

Burdick was a genius when it came to understanding the origins of those little cards that were issued with cigarettes and other products. And from what else I've read about him he was likely very intelligent, period. But his singlemindedness towards his project of putting all those albums together for the Metropolitan Museum, and doing almost nothing else with his life for almost thirty years (?), is a little scary.

Leon- so if Burdick himself admitted the ACC was a work in progress, making a few changes is not only a good thing but something he would have encouraged. He would have respected a collector and scholar like yourself, and expected that you and others after him would find something new to add to the history.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

Burdick was a genius when it came to understanding the origins of those little cards that were issued with cigarettes and other products. And from what else I've read about him he was likely very intelligent, period. But his singlemindedness towards his project of putting all those albums together for the Metropolitan Museum, and doing almost nothing else with his life for almost thirty years (?), is a little scary.

Leon- so if Burdick himself admitted the ACC was a work in progress, making a few changes is not only a good thing but something he would have encouraged. He would have respected a collector and scholar like yourself, and expected that you and others after him would find something new to add to the history.

Barry- I could give into the "T213-1 is a T206 argument." It's close enough. But on many other issues do you really think there could be a consensus enough for a change? BTW, my post count is soaring today, I better find something worthwhile to do .

[Brian-Chidester]

I was surprised to see someone above post that they thought the T213-1 cards would go up in value if included in the T206 set.

[barrysloate]

Well consensus is always tough to get, regardless of the topic. But in the case of adding the Coupons to T206, wouldn't you say the board is at least 80% in favor? Couldn't we call that a super majority?

[Leon]

Originally Posted by rman444

I think that if Burdick had known how serious people would be taking his work, and how anal and inflexible they would be about his ACC designations, he would have been a bit more careful and perhaps taken more breaks from his dark stuffy little room.

We have to remember that Burdick wasn't just about baseball....Most of his work was with non sports, post cards etc.....Again, whomever made up the English Alphabet, and dictionaries, are guilty of the same thing. And we aren't changing them, that I am aware of . (of course unless you are from Texas...we sometimes have our own language)