The flea market scene here in Germany is pretty legit. There seem to be dozens around every community each weekend and even in the rain, the vendors are out braving the elements trying to make a Euro or two. I stumbled upon these two albums and was able to snag them at a decent price. I've seen them before, but have never been able to find ones that appealed to me. These 1933 albums and cards were printed by the Salem Cigarette Company out of Dresden Germany. The catalog numbers for Album #1 and #2 are 21903-5 and 21903-6, respectively. The cards are amazingly beautiful with the gold ink and you can see how it reflects in the photos below. There are some big names in these sets as well: Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, Gary Cooper, and John Barrymore to name a few. Album #1 has 180 cards in it while Album #2 has 270. I was looking online for a checklist, but wasn't able to find one so I'll post one to the Trading Card Database for Series 1 and Series 2. Thanks for stopping by.
I am so envious of you for getting to go to those flea markets! It's funny I love these book, but I hate that the cards are glued into them (yes, I know, common practice back then). My absolute favorite card set (two actually) of all-time is a German tobacco card set, and even though they made a tens of thousands of them, I have had a devil of a time trying to find the ones I still need and not have them be in a book, or taken out of a book with glue residue all over the backs.
ReplyDeleteI would love to just collect the cards, but they are so hard to find unglued. What cards are you looking for? I can keep an eye out for you. Flea markets are fun, but I have to pace myself as I could walk away with a ton of stuff and an empty wallet.
DeleteThe set is called Der Kunsterische Tanz (there are two series'), released in 1934 by Eckstein-Halpus. Since they aren't the easiest things in the world to find, I have yet to put up a needs list up on my blog, as what are the odds that someone will actually come across them (especially in the U.S.). Even if you did find any, I'd probably never have anything of interest to trade for them, but I guess there's always the option of monetary reimbursement.
DeleteI sent out a few feelers to German collectors to see if they have any. I'll let you know what they come up with. If it works out, don't worry about reimbursement....that isn't my style. Pay it forward.
DeleteThank you for trying to help with the sets! Even if you aren't able to find any, I am still very grateful for the effort. It's been a couple of years since I've been able to add even one card to either set, as I'm not willing to pay the $5 per card price tag of the one's sitting in eBay stores, and since I've yet to encounter anyone else collecting these, I don't think anyone else will be buying those eBay cards anytime soon either.
DeleteDozens of flea markets around each community... rain or shine? Now that's my kind of country. These albums are sweet! Are the cards glued into the album?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately they are glued. I took a look at one of the cards to see if I could remove it, but these are really stuck in there. Having flea market apps is a must as the Germans are ruthless on attendance.
DeleteGlued or not... these are still really cool. Congratulations on the find!
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