Gem Mint Review
Mar. 30th, 2011 09:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bluegargantuaHey,
So I finished up Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession by Dave Jamieson. It was a fun read.
The book tracks the development of baseball cards from their early days as a gimmick to sell cigarettes and tobacco products, forward to the 30's when the Topps company uses it to move bubble gum, to the investment boom and bust of the last decade. It also tracks the lives of famous collectors, card designers, card dealers and a couple of card con men.
When I was a kid, I had a lot of baseball cards...and a lot of Star Wars movie cards. I used to tape them to the wall in my bedroom. I don't think I ever had much interest in collecting all the cards. I know I didn't really care much about the sports cards, but they were colorful so I had them stuck to my wall. Today, of course, collectors complain about how it's become all about big money and how difficult it is for kids to get involved in collecting baseball cards, but those same collectors turn around and drop $100 a box on cards so...
In the end, this may be another hobby that's dying out or at least, it's moved away from baseball cards and into Magic/Pokemon/YuGiOh or whatever. And while I find collectable card games to be a little suspect, you can at least play with the cards so there's something to do.
Anyway, the book is a lot of fun and a warm-hearted look at a hobby that's grown pretty mercenary over the years.
later
Tom
So I finished up Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession by Dave Jamieson. It was a fun read.
The book tracks the development of baseball cards from their early days as a gimmick to sell cigarettes and tobacco products, forward to the 30's when the Topps company uses it to move bubble gum, to the investment boom and bust of the last decade. It also tracks the lives of famous collectors, card designers, card dealers and a couple of card con men.
When I was a kid, I had a lot of baseball cards...and a lot of Star Wars movie cards. I used to tape them to the wall in my bedroom. I don't think I ever had much interest in collecting all the cards. I know I didn't really care much about the sports cards, but they were colorful so I had them stuck to my wall. Today, of course, collectors complain about how it's become all about big money and how difficult it is for kids to get involved in collecting baseball cards, but those same collectors turn around and drop $100 a box on cards so...
In the end, this may be another hobby that's dying out or at least, it's moved away from baseball cards and into Magic/Pokemon/YuGiOh or whatever. And while I find collectable card games to be a little suspect, you can at least play with the cards so there's something to do.
Anyway, the book is a lot of fun and a warm-hearted look at a hobby that's grown pretty mercenary over the years.
later
Tom
