The collection ranges from Basketball's inception until about 1970
I've always had an affinity for rare collectibles. Modern cards arguably offer many rarities in the form of inserts, variations, short prints and serial-numbered cards. These limited cards, made to combat today's overproduction, are intriguing, but something about the idea of manufactured scarcity has always turned me off. I suppose I prefer rare cards that were not intentionally made that way.
With vintage cards, scarcity was not deliberate; it was merely the outcome of smaller regional releases, printing processes and the demand at the time, as well as the fact that many people didn’t safeguard their cards or keep them as treasures the way today’s collectors do.
Nothing new or shiny stimulates me quite like a vintage card does. I simply prefer and admire the artwork and design of vintage cards. They feel more organic, unrefined and authentic to me. Perhaps I'm just a retrophile at heart.
Nostalgia often leads people to collect things from their youth, but I grew up in the junk wax era, and I have no desire to revisit that familiar territory. When I got back into collecting cards as an adult, my ambition was to dig into the past rather than catch up on all the cards I had missed in the interim. The appeal of looking back beyond my era wasn't guided by personal nostalgia. It was inspired instead by my general passion for history and its relics, and by my fascination with the chronology of basketball.
I've spent countless hours reading and researching these bygone eras, finding myself engrossed by the human narrative and the evolution of the game. The players and teams may be well before my time, but I find fulfillment in educating myself. Much of the history and many of these older cards were completely new to me before I re-engaged with this hobby. I've enjoyed the learning and the search for cards that are meaningful to me.
When I started this collection, I had barely scratched the surface of the vintage basketball card world. My early research was done mostly online and focused primarily on American cards featuring players and teams from the United States. Like most collectors, I was already aware of the classic major releases: 1948 Bowman, 1957 Topps and 1961 Fleer. More searching quickly revealed the 1910 Murad College Series, the 1933 Sport Kings and some of the small oddball sets of the 1950s. Over the years, combing the internet and consulting with other collectors has made me aware of many more early basketball cards.
Many of the lesser-known American cards are prizes in any condition, such as Scott's Potato Chips, Bread For Health/Energy and Royal Desserts. These scarce releases seldom come to market and are revered by a niche of avid collectors. This collection features several remarkable and unique American cards, although many others elude me because of their scarcity (or price), so the search continues.
The fun of avocational archeology and the inadvertent rarity of the objects are what really drive my reverence for vintage card collecting. I find it crucial, however, to focus my collection on a unique niche and time period so as not to overwhelm myself with a seemingly infinite number of options. To do just that, I set the parameters of my collection to cards produced before 1970.
