July 15, 2021: Summer Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/15/2021
This is easily one of the most comprehensive accumulations of The Trader Speaks, the legendary publication founded by hobby pioneer Dan Dischley, and one of the truly historic archives providing a glimpse into the earliest days of the card-collecting hobby. Save only for the sale of Dischley’s own personal collection many years ago at auction, this may be the largest grouping since then at a whopping 167 issues. It breaks down to 12 issues for every year between 1970 and 1983, with the exception of 11 issues in 1971, tracking the beginning years of its tenure nearly to the end. The offered pubs are in exceptional condition, basically Excellent or better in the earliest years and improving over time to Ex-Mt, with later years falling easily into that category. The magazines, with initial dimensions of about 7-by-7 ½ inches and expanding to 6 ½-by-8 ½ inches later on, provided fascinating articles about mainstream Topps, Bowman and Fleer issues, along with the food and regionals, plus collector profiles, display advertising for some of the early dealers and a boisterous classified advertising section that was one of the most popular features every month. An interesting note for veteran hobbyists: several dozen of the issues boast mailing labels for the famed dealer Irv Lerner, another longtime hobby fixture perhaps even more well-known than Dischley. The unrivaled accumulation would provide an unmatched historical archive for any collector, an opportunity to travel back in time to the mysterious days of the hobby’s origins. It’s not for the squeamish: collectors who might be dismayed by finding the great masterpieces of the baseball card collecting world being offered for mere chump change are duly warned.
1970-83 High-Grade Collection of The Trader Speaks (167)
Click above for larger image.