{"id":40384,"date":"2026-07-24T00:20:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T00:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hobbylifeafterretirement.com\/?product=mint-condition-how-baseball-cards-became-an-american-obsession"},"modified":"2026-07-24T00:20:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T00:20:02","slug":"mint-condition-how-baseball-cards-became-an-american-obsession","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/hobbylifeafterretirement.com\/?product=mint-condition-how-baseball-cards-became-an-american-obsession","title":{"rendered":"Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession"},"content":{"rendered":"

Price: $19.00<\/del> - $13.00<\/span>
(as of Jul 24, 2026 00:20:02 UTC – Details<\/span>)<\/small><\/i>
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“An entertaining history of baseball cards . . . An engaging book on a narrow but fascinating topic.” \u2014The Washington Post<\/p>\n

When award-winning journalist Dave Jamieson’s parents sold his childhood home a few years ago, he rediscovered a prized boyhood possession: his baseball card collection. Now was the time to cash in on the “investments” of his youth. But all the card shops had closed, and cards were selling for next to nothing online. What had happened?<\/p>\n

In Mint Condition, his fascinating, eye-opening, endlessly entertaining book, Jamieson finds the answer by tracing the complete story of this beloved piece of American childhood. Picture cards had long been used for advertising, but after the Civil War, tobacco companies started slipping them into cigarette packs as collector’s items. Before long, the cards were wagging the cigarettes. In the 1930s, cards helped gum and candy makers survive the Great Depression. In the 1960s, royalties from cards helped transform the baseball players association into one of the country’s most powerful unions, dramatically altering the game. In the eighties and nineties, cards went through a spectacular bubble, becoming a billion-dollar-a-year industry before all but disappearing, surviving today as the rarified preserve of adult collectors. Mint Condition is charming, original history brimming with colorful characters, sure to delight baseball fans and collectors.<\/p>\n

“Jamieson explores the history of card collecting through an entertaining cast of characters . . . For anyone who can recall being excited to rip open their newest pack of cards, Mint Condition is a treat.” \u2014Forbes<\/p>\n

Publisher \u200f : \u200e Grove Press
Publication date \u200f : \u200e April 12, 2011
Language \u200f : \u200e English
Print length \u200f : \u200e 288 pages
ISBN-10 \u200f : \u200e 0802145329
ISBN-13 \u200f : \u200e 978-0802145321
Item Weight \u200f : \u200e 9.6 ounces
Dimensions \u200f : \u200e 5.76 x 0.78 x 8.21 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #97,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #6 in Antique & Collectible Sports Cards (Books) #146 in Baseball (Books)
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