1934,1935,1936 Diamond MatchbooksDuring much of the Great Depression, matchbook collecting swept the country ! Sports matchbooks started appearing in the 1930s, most issued by Diamond Match Company of New York. Over the next few years, several series were issued with similar designs; b/w photo of the player on front with short write-up and stats on back. The player's name and team was also printed on the 'saddle'.
Please consider the following info as approximate. 1935's issue was tiny with only 24 total covers (8 red,8 blue,8 green). A third series was later released with 200 or more different covers (players/colors). 1930's matchbook covers appear to be huge bargains for collectors as their current values are fractions of the value of Goudey and other baseball cards from the same era.
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1935-1936 Diamond Matchbook Checklist and Prices
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1954 Quaker Oats Sports Oddities |
1948-1949 Leaf Baseball Cards |
There are many different ways to protect, organize and store your sports cards.
Soft Sleeves also called "penny sleeves" are the most basic protection for your cards. Made of thin plastic, they come in packs of 100 and are very inexpensive.
Top Loads are rigid plastic holders and a step up in protection over "soft sleeves". Called top-loads because you place the card thru a thin opening at the top. They come in many sizes for regular cards upto 8-1/2 x 11 for magazines and even larger.
Screw-Down Acrylic Holders
These are sometimes used for better, more expensive cards. Small screws hold
two pieces of clear acrylic together. In a variety of sizes and thickness
that not only protect the card but can funciton as a paper weight or display
item.
There are also Single-Screw Screw-Downs that use only 1 screw to seal the holder. They are easier to use and provide the same type of protectionas regular screwdowns and they are also much less expensive costing as little as .30 in quantity while 1 inch or 2 inch acrylic screw-downs can cost upto several dollars.