Thursday, January 15, 2009

A Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Equivalent

Over the holidays, I received a huge stack of cards from dayf that were unfortunately damaged during transit. About the only card that wasn't damaged during the trip from Georgia to Illinois was this 1954 Topps card of Fred Marsh. It had the pleasure of already being damaged goods!

Seeing cards like this one make me want to invent a time machine, just to see what happens to these cards during the course of their lives. This 1954 Fred Marsh must have one great story to tell.

The corners are worn away. There are pinholes in the cardboard. Nicks, chips and creases abound! There are even two holes in Fred's neck! This card has seen a lot of history.

There is a card wide crease right under Fred's eyes that seem to prop up the crow feet around the eyes. There are scuff marks along the edges that suggest this card may have been part of some baseball card war. Perhaps even thrown into a pile of bicycle spoked tragedies.

It's dirty looking. Scruffy looking. A poor man's near Picasso. Despite it's flaws (or maybe because of them) it is now one of my favorite cards.

3 comments:

dayf said...

That's an awesome one, ain't it? I have no idea how it got in that condition.

jacobmrley said...

i have a 1955 bowman whitey ford in similar condition. i love plucking vintage beaters from dealer boxes for a buck or two. this one is a real treasure.

capewood said...

"Things" have happened to this card.