Who Was America's First Card Collector?

[brianp-beme]

I found that article on John D. Wagner. It is actually in the Sport Americana Baseball Card Price Guide by Beckett and Eckes, volume 4 from 1982. Over the years I have tossed a few guidebooks after they had become less than useful, but always hung onto this one because of the articles in contained, and the full color pages of cards displayed like the 19th century collection of Lew Lipset and E's, T's and R cards with their designations listed beneath. It was my first introduction to a lot of the different sets.

The story on the John D. Wagner purchasing the suit for the cards is slightly different than what I mentioned earlier...man, it has been a couple of decades since I last read it. In 1919 he visited the Globe Clothing Store in Harrisburg, PA, and considered buying a $16.00 suit because of the promotion that included a complete set of cards (I assume this would be the Globe Clothing issue, which have the same front designs as the M101-4 issue), but instead decided on purchasing a $14.00 suit instead. He eventually ended up buying the complete set from another suit buyer who didn't care about the cards.

Also in the article is a little story of how in 1909 he and two other kids spotted a 4-5" high rubber banded stack of tobacco cards in an alleyway (I am pretty sure I and many fellow collectors have had a similiar dream). After a mad scramble the biggest kid of the group ended up with them, and that they got tossed in a wood burning stove by that kid's folks shortly after, leaving John to always wonder what was in that stack.

He also mentions that he had two T206 Wagners, and that he mailed one 4-5times to fellow collectors who requested to see it, and that he sent his extra one to Jeff Burdick for free, but that Burdick eventually paid him $25.00 dollars for it.

The book also has a great article by Lew Lipset on the 1933 Goudey set, and includes b/w photos of the fronts of all the uncut sheets issued with a numbering schematic beneath, which is a great visual aid in understanding the whole red panel/no panel issue. Also the article indicates when each series was issued.

Sorry, currently a man of no scans...the picture of John D. Wagner is on page 418.

Brian