Back in action...just in time.

We escaped Germany just before the big heat wave swept through Europe.  Record heat has been logged all over Germany...in some areas hotter than Death Valley...and with little to no AC in a lot of places around Europe, it would have been miserable.  No complaints on our 70 degree SoCal weather right now, though.

At some point while I was in Germany, I picked up this two-card sumo menko lot from 1938.  It depicts hand-drawn images of the great Haguroyama as a Komusubi (#15184) and the rank-and-filer Tatekabuto who couldn't make it out of the Maegashira ranks (#85021).  What is interesting to note is the changes that Haguroyama saw during his 20-year career.  He went from competing in two annual 11-day tournaments in the early 1930s to four annual 15-day tournaments in the early 1950s.  He managed to stay alive during World War II, pushed sumo through the Occupation of the 1940s and 1950s, and helped bring sumo into the "modern" age in 1952 with the first televised bouts and into a new, modern stadium.  On top of it all, he collected 7 top-division wins during his career and was the powerhouse Yokozuna during this time.  The next changing of the guards happened in the early 1950s and by this time Haguroyama was pretty worn out ready for the next generation to take over.  He died in October 1969 at the age of 54...having just seen man land on the moon a few months earlier.

I hope everyone stays nice and cool as we enter the heat of the summer...unless you are living in the Southern Hemisphere...in that case, stay warm!

SoCal here we come!

Sumo card fans...unfortunately I have to take a ~1 month posting pause as all our household goods get moved from Germany to Southern California.  Once we get settled in the July timeframe, I'll start posting again.  Until then, enjoy the beginning part of your summer and I'll still be lurking on everyone's blogs!

European Handball - I just can't get into it

I feel like I have a pretty diverse interest when it comes to sports, but when it comes to European Handball, I just can't get into it.  Even as an Olympic sport it is isn't my jam.  There is something about it being a game that focuses too much on the offense and scoring seems way too easy.  Pull up YouTube and let me know what you think.

 

European Handball, described as a mix of soccer, water polo, and basketball is extremely popular over here in Germany.  There are tons of local clubs and the German Handball Bundsliga, or DKB, organizes the teams and players as well as controls merchandizing.  DKB issued a license this year to Victus GmbH to manufacture these stickers which is something I can get into even if I can't get into the sport itself.  Issued in paper packs with 5 stickers to a pack (see above), this method of distribution and manufacturing is popular here in Europe as collectors like to stick their cards in albums rather than plastic sleeves.  I don't have the album unfortunately.  Let's take a quick look inside this pack:


Card 1 (#184) is of Hendrik Pekeler, a 2016 Bronze Medal Olympian and winner of the 2017 World Staring Contest.

Card 2 (#437) is a mascot card of Viaduck of the SG BBM Bietigheim team.  (Wait what, BBM??)

Card 3 (#19) sparkly trophy card.

Card 4 (#494) A team photo of the Second Tier team Handball Sport Verein Hamburg.

Card 5 (#9) This looks to be the last sticker of a 9-sticker puzzle of the championship team victory celebration.  The guy holding the trophy looks a lot like Tony Romo, but it can't be since he is on a championship team.....zingggggggg.

Obligatory scan of the back.

There you have it, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this set!

2018 Year in Review

I imagine a lot of you will be posting this topic over the next few days so I am excited to read about how your collecting went.  I tend to be pretty focused with my collecting and set realistic goals to accomplish so I have some satisfaction at the end of the year.  This year was no different and I feel like I did pretty well.  Thanks for stopping by and keeping me motivated to continue this blog!

 

Here are the 10 goals that I set out for myself at the beginning of the year:

1. Discover and Catalog at least 5 "new" vintage sumo sets (pre-1997) - Grade A+
- Just when I think that there are no new vintage sets to collect, something always pops up.  I've discovered numerous fun sets this year including this tiny little 1940 pre-war beauty that I reported back on in November.

2. Add 2 more 1973 Calbee Sumo Cards to my collection - Grade A+
- This set is one that I am really going to have to get a going on with some gusto or I am going to "invest" upwards of $5000 on it before it is all said and done.  Why singles cards go for an average of $100 is beyond me.  I picked up 3 more this year, but I am still over 25 cards short of a complete set.  Here is a summary I did of this set back in 2016.

3.  Conduct some interviews of fellow collectors - A+
- I am glad I got this interview series off the ground with three interviews of Billy @ Cardboard History, Fuji @ The Chronicles of Fuji, and Tony from the Facebook Group "BBM Sumo Card Collectors."  I haven't done one in a while since I frankly ran out of people to interview.  Raz...you interested?  Give me a holler if anyone is up for it!

4.  Add at least 1 more Murai card to my collection - A+
- This set has proven to be hard as people warned me.  I picked up only 4 more from this T483 Murai World's Smokers set earlier this year as posted here and am up to 9 total in this set.  My goal is to complete this set in raw condition someday.

5. Continue to expand my German Card Collection - A+
- Living in Germany has been fun with respect to collecting German Cards.  I've walked away from many flea markets with some good stuff including these 1933 Salem Gold Film Stars detailed here.

6.  Add two more card catalog books to my library - C
- I thought this one would be one of the easier ones from me to complete.  I didn't pick up any physical books, but did get Engel's 2nd Vintage Edition of the Japanese Baseball Card Checklist & Price Guide in electronic form.

 7. Add to my Brandon Laird and Yuta Tabuse Collection - A+
- I've been whittling away at my two player collections all year long and Fuji has helped immensely along the way with this awesome Laird stash & sweet Tabuse haul.

8. Expand the B.League Basketball Sets - A+
- I love the BBM B.League Basketball Sets and will continue to collect them.  I picked up both the 1st and 2nd Half boxes this year, although I don't officially have complete sets in singles form...yet.

9. Update the BB-Series of Sumo Menko and Bromides - B+
- One of my most ambitious goals this year was to "fix" and update the BB-series of sumo cards and bromides in my book.  There were so many produced during the 1930s-1950s that is was daunting to just get to the spot where I am now....I reorganized all the sets and assigned catalogue numbers to them.  Now all I need to do is get them in electronic form in my book.  I see the goal line in sight, but unfortunately will not cross it this year, but the majority of the battle is over with.

10. Finish the 1974 Yamakatsu's Mini Card Bruce Lee Enter the Dragon (Series 1) Set and add to The Way of the Dragon (Series 2) and Green Hornet (Series 3) Sets - B-
- Gah, I'm still two short on the Series 1 set, about 10 short on the Series 2 set and about 35 short on Series 3.  I did have a nice haul reported back in June.  This set is getting harder as the years go by and maybe in 2019 I'll finally finish Series 1!

With no failing classes and some solid effort and help from friends, I am giving myself an:

2018 Overall Grade = A-
(for reference) 2017 Overall Grade = B
 

 

I'm looking forward to 2019 and I really appreciate all the support you have given this blog over the past year!  Thanks for stopping by!

German Cards and Pack Cards (Tutenbilder) - Pasler's Catalogs

I've continued my acquisition of German card collecting books and picked up the foremost authority on the post-war sets.  These are Gerd Pasler's Deutsche Cards und Tutenbilder (German Cards and Pack Cards).  These hardback monsters are definitely a work of art and really fun to thumb through.  The English-language part of the introduction section states that these books "have been put together with a great deal of enthusiasm and passion."  It contains "scans and photographs of practically ever known album covers" along with hundreds of scans of wrappers, boxes, and cards.

These books focus on sets from 1950-2013.  This is its really only downfall....it lacks focus as it contains, sports stars, cartoons, Panini stickers, UD German cards and a variety of different sets.  It would be nice for individual volumes to contain all these different subjects separately.  But this is really only a mild detraction as the quality and time put in these books is outstanding.

The first book is the entire catalog of sets....no individual cards are listed, only the sets and pertinent information on sets (# of cards, price, year released).  The second book is thinner and takes specific sets from the first book and actually checklists those sets in their entirety.  If it was up to me, I would have made 4-5 different books and checklisted the sets in each of those books with each book focusing on a different topic....sports, movies/tv, stickers, etc....

Hitting up the flea markets tomorrow...wish me luck!

German Flea Market Finds #2: Some Non-Sport Goodness

It has taken a little while to adjust German life, but it has been the most difficult having my new sumo card supply dwindle while we make the transition.  I have been filling some of my time, though, browsing German Flea Markets.  I hit up another one this morning and came away with a nice haul of some non-sport cards. The language barrier doesn't seem to be a problem as long as you bring money.  That is almost the universal language, but I am sure I could have snagged these for a few less Euro than what I paid.  All in all, I walked away with these 24 cards for about $11 or 10E.

Some German Beauties!
*Sets:
-Koberich 21146-16, Frauen-Schonheit und Anmut (Set of 20)
-Koberich 21146-17, Frauen-Schonheit und Anmut (Set of 20)
*Size :6.5" x 8.5"

--Schonheit in Film (Gruppe/Group 1, Bild/Card 13) - Carola Hohn
--Schonheit in Film (Gruppe/Group 1, Bild/Card 16) - Hansi Knoteck
--Anmut im Tanz (Gruppe/Group 2, Bild/Card 12) - Ursula Deinert
--Anmut im Tanz (Gruppe/Group 2, Bild/Card 13) - Friedl Romanowsky
--Anmut im Tanz (Gruppe/Group 2, Bild/Card 17) -Annemarie Herrmann


A walk back in time with the Egyptians (Aus der Pharaonenzeit)

*Set: Uncatalogued Aecht Franck Coffee (Set of 6?)
*Size: 2.75" x 4.25"

--1. Am Hofe eines altagyptischen Herrschers
--2. Jagd auf Wasservogel am Ufer des Nils
--3. Aegypterinnen beim Ballspiel auf einem Dachgarten im alten Theben
--4. Vornehmer Aegypter beim Sklavenhandler
--5. Pharao verfolg den Bau einer Pyramide
--6. Transport des Materials zum Pyramidenbau durch die Wuste


Famous armies of the world set (Beruhente Regimenter)

*Set: Uncatalogued (Set of 6?)
*Size: 4.5" x 2.75"

--1. Preussen (Prussia)
--2. Frankreich (France)
--3. Osterreich (Austria)
--4. England
--5. Russland (Russia)
--6. Ilalien


Some Pearls of the German Landscape (Perlen deutscher Landschaft)
*Set: Uncatalogued Aecht Franck Coffee (Set of 6?)
*Size: 4.25" x 2.75"

--Bild 7. Auf Rugen
--Bild 8. Die Sachsische Schweiz


I love me some lithographic moth cards!

*Set: Uncatalogued Kornfranck Moth (Set of 8?)
*Size: 4.0" x 2 5/8"

--Bild 2. Die Ronne
--Bild 3. Schwammfpinner
--Bild 5. Ringelfpinner


Animals!
*Set: Uncatalogued Stollwerck Chocolade (Set of hundreds)
*Size: 3 5/8" x 1 7/8"

--Gruppe 270, Bild V - Der Igel (Hedgehog)
--Gruppe 276, Bild IV - Das Opossum

Stuttgart Germany, here we come.....off the grid for a few weeks.

I'll be taking a break from blogging for a few weeks as we pack up the house and head over to Stuttgart, Germany.  Once we get settled, I'll hopefully have some cool new German cards to share along with some new sumo cards on their way over from Japan.  Cheers everyone and I'll catch you on the other side of the Atlantic!