Hobby Library

The Illustrated Wrapper Checklist Compiled By Christopher Benjamin

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While you can find all of the information from The Illustrated Wrapper Checklist on TCDB or online auction house archives, Christopher Benjamin’s project was significant in 1980.

If that name sounds familiar, that’s because Benjamin was a prominent hobby writer, particularly for non-sports cards. The following ad was in Alan Kaye’s Sports Cards News & Price Guides premier issue and included the following bio, “Christopher Benjamin has published The Card Collectors Bulletin, the “original” hobby magazine. He is editor-in-chief of Non-Sports Update and has authored more than a dozen books and monographs about cards and collecting.”

The guide started with a few words to the collector, thanking them for their purchase, explaining the project, and thanking folks for their contributions.

Then, there were sequential photos of significant baseball, football, basketball, hockey (they’ve always been tough to track down), and non-sports wrappers.

I particularly like that Benjamin included a few boxes and tins on the inside back cover.

If you’re a fan of hobby publications, The Illustrated Wrapper Checklist is a must-get, just are back issues of The Wrapper which was advertised on the back cover.

Topps 40 Years Of Baseball Four Decades Of Greatness Feature

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In 1991, Topps Magazine ran a feature called Four Decades of Greatness, featuring four players in each issue, one from each of the previous four decades, who were great players and a large part of Topps baseball cards.

Here’s a list of who they included for each decade:

  • 50s: Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Yogi Berra
  • 60s: Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente
  • 70s: Reggie Jackson, Carl Yastrzemski, Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose
  • 80s: Nolan Ryan, Ryne Sandberg, Jose Canseco, Rickey Henderson

When I first shared these on X, one collector wrote, “Well the thing that jumps out most immediately is including Musial in the 50s, when Topps made like two cards of him in that decade. And The Man appeared on Bowman, Red Man, Red Heart, Berk Ross, and others in that time, so it’s not like he was exclusive.”

What do you think? Biggest snub? Oddest inclusion?

The Official Pete Rose 1983 Price Guide To Baseball Cards

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I was flipping through the June 1982 issue of Trader Speaks when I came across this ad for The Official Pete Rose 1983 Price Guide to Baseball Cards. It looked familiar, and that’s because I have a copy of the book in the Hobby Library!

The ad is great, and I love how they highlighted Burger King, O-Pee-Chee, SSPC, and TCMA, along with Topps, Donruss, Fleer, and Bowman.

The book is “pocket-sized” at ~4 1/4” x 5 3/4” but is jam-packed with information. Thomas E Hudgeons III edited it via The House of Collectibles Inc. To follow are a couple of scans from the book (which you can pick up for $7-8 on eBay).

I love how the card producers helped prepare the book!

Here’s the table of contents; it’s always nice when guides have something unique beyond prices and checklists, and this one has quite a bit, including some information from Pete Rose (of course).

The first sets in the guide were 1951 Topps Blue and Red Backs, followed by the 1952s.

This is the ‘Full Color Collectors Card of Rose’ highlighted on the cover.

And lastly, here’s the back cover.

1962 Topps Baseball Unopened Stamp Album Box

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I was surprised to see this empty 1962 Topps Baseball Stamp Album and Record Book display box sell for so much on May 27, 2024.

You can see the closing price was $456 on eBay. At first glance, that price doesn’t seem that out of the ordinary for a relatively scarce vintage display box. However, a BBCE-authenticated full box with 12 albums inside sold for just $288 at Rockhurst Auctions on April 25, 2024, just a month earlier.

I contacted the new owner of the BBCE box, and he mentioned that the Rockhurst Auctions lot had a strangely worded description that made it tough to tell whether it was a full box or just the display box (I overlooked the auction last month entirely). He also said the seller on eBay has a big following, and their items tend to get bid up. And as much as folks like to complain about eBay, they have a HUGE reach.

Anywho, as a hobby library adjacent collectible, I’m in the market for one of these boxes if you have one. Happy collecting!

Topps’ Little Cracker Jack Idea

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Topps used its early 90s magazine to advertise many of its own releases, including its partnership with Crack Jack in 1991.

This partnership was included in a section of the magazine called “Topps in the Field: News From Around The Collecting World” and shared the page with a few words about Topps’ partnership with Bazooka and Nintendo Systems Base Wars game. 

Here’s the text accompanying the “Little Cracker Jack Idea” image.

The promotion must have been successful because a second Series was eventually released, making the set a total of 72 approximately one-fourth-scale cards. 

And don’t worry, the cards weren’t thrown in loose with caramel corn.

1991 Classic Basketball Draft Picks – The Premier Edition

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This 1991 Classic Basketball Draft Picks advertisement takes me back.

We all wanted that Larry Johnson card, thinking it’d be worth a million bucks, but it turns out they printed 450k sets (not exactly a limited production, eh?)!

PS: Here’s the cover of the September 1991 edition of Baseball Cards Magazine, from which I scanned the ad. 

1952 Parkhurst Hockey Set And Album

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As the hobby library guy, I love seeing vintage sets bundled together for sale with the albums manufacturers produced for them. The 1952 Parkhurst hockey album is a tremendous post-war example; Mastro offered this one with the complete set of 105 cards in May 2000.

Albums were available to collectors as a 25-cent mail-in offer on the back of the cards. Here’s an example from Tim Horton’s card #58 (photo from Robert Edward Auctions).

The album measures 9” x 11′ and includes 13 pages, each with slots for eight cards via corner mounts. While 13 times 8 is only 104, short of 105, there is a paste-in space for “My Favorite Hockey Star.” 

These days, empty albums can be found for a little over $100, while complete sets are $2.5k++.