Greetings from the outskirts of Colonial Williamsburg, where we opened the month with a huge Fourth of July celebration. But that's old news. A lot has happened since then.
1952 Topps Low Numbers COMPLETE
I once heard someone describe collecting the 1952 Topps set like this: The set is complete at 407 cards, but the set is done at 310. This month I added a Wally Post card to my collection, bringing a close to the first 310 cards of the '52 Topps checklist. SET (partially) COMPLETE!
1949 Leaf Baseball and Beckett
Last month I published a study looking at just how rare certain variations are in the 1949 Leaf set. I also absurdly mailed a wallet card to Dr. Jim Beckett as a TTM autograph request. Why not combine the two? Dr. Beckett is one of the deepest wells of knowledge on vintage Leaf cards and we were able to connect and discuss the conclusions of my article. This conversation became the basis for a follow up post about the set on CardBoredom, as well as an interview on Beckett's SportsCards Insights Podcast.
Other Items to Read
My Charlie Bishop collection expanded with the addition of a new card this month, and I've added it to the backlog of things to write about the Athletics pitcher who is sorta-kinda-maybe related to CardBoredom. This month I looked at an original Philadelphia A's payroll check made out to Bishop, and took things a step further by reframing the story of the team as if it were a Game of Thrones spin-off.
Speaking of things that could exist in my nightmares, someone stole a nearly complete autographed set of 1993 Finest Refractors from a collector near Chicago. I've included pictures and linked to a way to contact him if you see any of his cards.