Real nice show today, Sunday, November 2, 2014, at the Best Western Plus in Schaumburg, Illinois -- which is apparently changing its name again. I haven't been able to confirm the new name of the hotel yet. I'll pass it on when I get it.
I was pleasantly greeted early this morning by Dave X., who drove up from Indiana to take a look at my newly reloaded 1969 Topps baseball binder. Dave picked up a nice pile of '69s along with some '75-76 basketball and some '57-'58 basketball. It was great to see Dave, who I haven't seen in a while. Dave also picked up some high-grade '57 baseball from Don. A bunch of my usual suspects purchased cards like Chuck and Randy and some other guys.
It was nice to meet Ryan and his wife today. Ryan came out to the show looking for some 1968 Topps baseball after learning about the show through my blog. Ryan had a great story on how he began his '68 set. Back when he and his wife were just dating, she sold her car and gave Ryan the proceeds to purchase cards. He purchased some '68s among other cards and the rest is history. Every once in a while, I make my wife sit down and read this blog. I think she needs to read this one and should probably sell her car and give me the proceeds to purchase some cards. I might get slugged making this suggestion, though.
Anyway, this blog has developed quite a nice following which inspires me to keep it up. I am usually pretty tired after shows but I put in the effort to write the blog because I enjoy regularly meeting other baseball card enthusiasts through my blogging efforts. I can't say how cool it is when someone like Ryan comes out to the show and tells me they are a fan of the blog. Baseball cards are truly a great hobby.
My Uncle Morty made an appearance today. He had a couple of stacks of cards he wanted to sell or trade. Quite a few of the cards were ones I had previously sold him. As I've probably said before, I regularly buy my cards back. With doing shows every weekend along with posting cards on eBay, I sell a TON of cards and in constant need to replenish. So I really don't mind buying my cards back. Mort spent quite a bit of time at my table but could not find anything to catch his fancy today. So we didn't trade and he didn't seem to want to sell the cards. Mort gets that way. I know he frustrates a lot dealers but I don't mind him.
Mort aside, I was able to purchase quite a few cards. The guy from last weekend with the Post Cereal did not show up, which was a good thing because I spent quite a bit on cards today and would not have had any money for him. I picked up a 1966 Topps Mickey Mantle and a Pete Rose from one guy then purchased a nice group of 1966 commons from another guy. I also picked up a bunch of 1968 Topps football stars.
Then I purchased a group of "Mutoscope" band leaders. The cards look like they are from the 1940s and feature a lot of the band leaders I remember from my parents' old record collection like Xavier Cugat, Lawrence Welk, Count Basie and the like. They are in really nice condition and are pretty cool. I seemed to be drawn to Exhibits lately and have been purchasing quite a few of them this past year. The seller said these were put out by the Exhibit Supply Company but I don't think so. I've been doing some online research on these things and it seems the cards were manufactured and distributed by the American Mutoscope Company of New York City in either the 1930s or 1940s. Like Exhibits, they were sold in penny arcade machines. The Mutoscope Company seems to be notorious for their "Cheesecake" cards featuring drawings of scantily clad women. I also learned that the Mutoscope was a machine where viewers could watch some sort of animation for a penny. It was first developed in 1895. The company made all sorts of arcade games and was one of the first Hollywood movie studios, making silent films in the early 20th Century. There is something cool, pulp, about these Mutoscope postcards. The postcards are black and white but seem to have a shiny silver tint to them. You definitely need to hit that Xavier Cugat video above while looking through these Mutoscopes.
I was pleasantly greeted early this morning by Dave X., who drove up from Indiana to take a look at my newly reloaded 1969 Topps baseball binder. Dave picked up a nice pile of '69s along with some '75-76 basketball and some '57-'58 basketball. It was great to see Dave, who I haven't seen in a while. Dave also picked up some high-grade '57 baseball from Don. A bunch of my usual suspects purchased cards like Chuck and Randy and some other guys.
It was nice to meet Ryan and his wife today. Ryan came out to the show looking for some 1968 Topps baseball after learning about the show through my blog. Ryan had a great story on how he began his '68 set. Back when he and his wife were just dating, she sold her car and gave Ryan the proceeds to purchase cards. He purchased some '68s among other cards and the rest is history. Every once in a while, I make my wife sit down and read this blog. I think she needs to read this one and should probably sell her car and give me the proceeds to purchase some cards. I might get slugged making this suggestion, though.
Anyway, this blog has developed quite a nice following which inspires me to keep it up. I am usually pretty tired after shows but I put in the effort to write the blog because I enjoy regularly meeting other baseball card enthusiasts through my blogging efforts. I can't say how cool it is when someone like Ryan comes out to the show and tells me they are a fan of the blog. Baseball cards are truly a great hobby.
My Uncle Morty made an appearance today. He had a couple of stacks of cards he wanted to sell or trade. Quite a few of the cards were ones I had previously sold him. As I've probably said before, I regularly buy my cards back. With doing shows every weekend along with posting cards on eBay, I sell a TON of cards and in constant need to replenish. So I really don't mind buying my cards back. Mort spent quite a bit of time at my table but could not find anything to catch his fancy today. So we didn't trade and he didn't seem to want to sell the cards. Mort gets that way. I know he frustrates a lot dealers but I don't mind him.
Mort aside, I was able to purchase quite a few cards. The guy from last weekend with the Post Cereal did not show up, which was a good thing because I spent quite a bit on cards today and would not have had any money for him. I picked up a 1966 Topps Mickey Mantle and a Pete Rose from one guy then purchased a nice group of 1966 commons from another guy. I also picked up a bunch of 1968 Topps football stars.
Then I purchased a group of "Mutoscope" band leaders. The cards look like they are from the 1940s and feature a lot of the band leaders I remember from my parents' old record collection like Xavier Cugat, Lawrence Welk, Count Basie and the like. They are in really nice condition and are pretty cool. I seemed to be drawn to Exhibits lately and have been purchasing quite a few of them this past year. The seller said these were put out by the Exhibit Supply Company but I don't think so. I've been doing some online research on these things and it seems the cards were manufactured and distributed by the American Mutoscope Company of New York City in either the 1930s or 1940s. Like Exhibits, they were sold in penny arcade machines. The Mutoscope Company seems to be notorious for their "Cheesecake" cards featuring drawings of scantily clad women. I also learned that the Mutoscope was a machine where viewers could watch some sort of animation for a penny. It was first developed in 1895. The company made all sorts of arcade games and was one of the first Hollywood movie studios, making silent films in the early 20th Century. There is something cool, pulp, about these Mutoscope postcards. The postcards are black and white but seem to have a shiny silver tint to them. You definitely need to hit that Xavier Cugat video above while looking through these Mutoscopes.
Next show is this Saturday, November 8, 2014, at the Clarion Hotel in Milwaukee. This is the third Smith & Gordon show. My, how time flies! As I write this, we are planning to be in the Rembrandt Room. However, if we sign up some more dealers we will expand into the ballroom. We have two new dealers for this show in Ryan, who regularly sets up in the Chicago area and deals in modern cards and supplies. Then we have Seth Murray, a vintage dealer from Indianapolis. I am working on reloading 1971 Topps football for the show. I'll also have some new stars for my display cases. I'm getting all sorts of calls and emails about the show and I think this will be another great one. We're running another ad in Wednesday's Milwaukee Journal. My biggest concern is food after the show. With the Nite Owl closing up for the winter, we need someone local to direct us to another fine Milwaukee restaurant.
Also, an update on the south-suburban Chicago show. Mark and I have been checking into venues and have been given some really high prices for room rentals. We're still looking for a place we can rent for a reasonable price. It would help if any dealers planning on setting up at our south-suburban show could touch base with me. I need to know the size of the room we will need. That's all for now. I'm looking forward to Smith & Gordon Part Tre on Saturday!!
Also, an update on the south-suburban Chicago show. Mark and I have been checking into venues and have been given some really high prices for room rentals. We're still looking for a place we can rent for a reasonable price. It would help if any dealers planning on setting up at our south-suburban show could touch base with me. I need to know the size of the room we will need. That's all for now. I'm looking forward to Smith & Gordon Part Tre on Saturday!!
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