The Post War Cards Newsletter #359

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Last week, Yesterday’s Heroes posted a few more of his pickups from the National, which included these six awesome signed 1948 Bowman baseball cards (plus a Joe DiMaggio-signed index card).

I was once just a few cards away from completing the 1948 Bowman set signed, and the reason I started it was simple: these black-and-white cards look incredible autographed. The signatures, especially in blue, just pop off the cards.

I joked that maybe one or two of his had once belonged to me, but it turns out that wasn’t true. Here are the same players that once resided in my PC.

And here are a few of the bigger stars I used to own. I know I had Spahn too, just can’t track down the scan.

If you’re considering jumping into this set today, Yesterday’s Heroes did mention that they can be hard to comp, but there are quite a few signed copies available for sale on eBay right now, including a few nice Stan Musial examples.

The newsletter covers the day-to-day, but there’s always more happening on the blog. Here’s what was published over the past week.

• The Hobby Library Strikes Again: Bob Lemke’s “The Bowmans That Never Were”

• Introducing PostWarCards Wire: A New Home for Hobby News

• Building the Complete 1957 Topps Baseball Wrapper Run

You’ve seen me say a few times that most Topps Vault color negatives went unused, so seeing ones that were actually used is rare. Well, here’s another for a player you may not recognize: Willie Alexander, who played nine seasons, all for the Houston Oilers.

You may not have noticed the color negative since it’s being advertised as being from 1963, when it’s actually a match for his 1973 Topps rookie card (he had a 1972 Sunoco Stamps card, too). The photo negative is available on eBay for $45.

Here it is next to the priciest sale of his rookie card, a Pop 2 Gem Mint 10 copy that sold for $209.50 in March 2018. Card Ladder now estimates its value at $1,386.

Also, what are the chances that all four of Alexander’s solo Topps cards used photos from the same shoot?!?! They at least all appear to be from the same location.