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Friday, July 30, 2010

My National was today

Everyone's all geeked up for The National, but I got my card show fix earlier today at a Roger Neufeldt mini-show at the Courtyard Marriott on Delk Road in Atlanta. Any vintage card lovers in Atlanta this weekend should check it out, this is that show I posted about a long time ago. I almost missed this one, I either didn't get or misplaced the usual green postcard that announces his shows for people on the mailing list. BP Sports bailed me out when I got an e-mail from them on Wednesday advertising the show. It pays to be on mailing lists...

I unfortunately had even less time to look than last time, plus I had the kids in tow. Thank the Maker for Nintendo DS. The good news is I actually had some cash this time and I managed to pick up 40 cards off my 1953-1956 Topps wantlists. I also met an old friend of mine that I traded cards with in elementary school that I hadn't seen in at least a couple of decades. A pretty dang good day if you ask me!

I'm going to show off the baseball cards in good time, but you know I can't go to this show without picking up a few old non-sports cards. Here's the three I picked out from the bargain bin. 

1954 Scoops 1939 World's Fair


This was the one card I new I had to leave the show with even if I got no other cards at all. I've heard a lot about the 1939 World's Fair. My grandfather was the maƮtre d' at the restaurant at the British pavilion, which was a nice trick for an Italian kid from Chester, Pennsylvania to pull off. I think he even served the Queen, if I am remembering his numerous stories correctly. The fair introduced the world to color photography and air conditioning, and indirectly inspired a TV show.


This is my first Scoops card and I'm still not entirely sure how the Winnipeg Free Press ended up being featured on the back. The scene on the front appears to be the Communications building according to the postcard here and a photo here. The painting puts the two towers behind the building unlike the photo which has them up front. Odd, but charming. Topps had to commission a painting of the scene back then instead of ganking images off of Wikipedia like they do today.

This may disappoint some people, but I had a chance to get my very first Mars Attacks! card today and I passed it up. It was #29 Death in the Shelter, and I just didn't like that card. You know, if I am going to spend money on a Mars Attacks card, I want a dadgum alien on the thing, not a giant bug chomping Ward Cleaver's neck. I think I should probably just hold out and save up for #21 Prize Captive which is quite possibly the greatest non-sports card ever printed. Don't worry, I brought home horror and gore nonetheless.

1962 Topps Civil War News #72 The Cannon's Victim


Boom goes the cannonball! This is from Topps' other shockingly graphic card set, Civil War News. The censors could squawk all they wanted about murderous aliens, this was history! This one's pretty horrible too - check out #5... and 21... and 23... and 65... and about 3 dozen others.... the difference is that while the Mars Attacks! set depicted horrific scenes of gore and violence from a fictional story, this set depicted atrocities that actually happened to real, living human beings, making it perfectly acceptable for children.


Besides the Mythbusters appeal of the big boom on the front, I had to get this for the Atlanta angle. I can sneak this into my vintage Braves binder along with my '33 Goudey Atlanta Cracker and Indian Gum card. The Battle of Peachtree Creek was a nice bloody useless futile battle in a war chock full of 'em. The battleground is now an upscale part of town where you can get utterly pershnockered at one of their many bars and quite possibly shot. As you can tell, I'm lukewarm at best about the Civil War despite my home state's seeming adoration of the whole thing, but boy, I do love my violence. The card goes in the 'cool' binder until I decide whether I sneak it in with my '62 Braves set or not.

1950 Topps Bring 'Em Back Alive 
#73 Terror of the Jungle


If you haven't noticed, every time I go to this show I have to bring back a card with a crazed tiger locked in a death battle with some other critter. Today was no different, and I chose this card of a tiger totally PWNING some hapless water buffalo. Steak for dinner tonight!


What the deuce?! BUFFALO ROPE A DOPED THE TIGER! I guess that bull had some hap left after all. Tiger will get him in the rematch!

2 comments:

gritz76 said...

You gotta love the old non sport stuff! My mission before the end of the years is to get a start on the Mars Attacks set. Not that I ever intend to finish it, but they are just so damn cool!

AdamE said...

Is that a fountain on your card or are you just happy to see us???