I know 1991 Fleer is the more click-baity set, but how many of you sent in for one of these 1992 Fleer "limited-edition" Rookie Sensations promotional sheets?
How about this for some amazing auction history: A group of eight uncut 1933 Goudey proof sheets from The Official 13th Annual National Sports Collectors Convention Auction, July 8-10, 1992.
A couple of older hobby periodicals have so much alpha that I recommend completing the back issue runs to everyone. One example is Topps Magazine; sure, it had a lot of self-advertising, but it also had great pieces like this one about Topps' Non-NFL sets.
GM
It was a big-time hobby event in the spring of 2009 when REA sold the nicer of the two known 1915 E145 Crack Jack Advertising Posters for $152,750. The lot's description said it had never been sold before at auction, but Goober's seems to have offered it in their September 1991 catalog.
One of the rarest team-issued photo sets, the 1950 Pittsburgh Pirates Picture Pack is a 26-photo gem, with several images used as the basis for 1951 Bowman cards. Kiner is the set's highlight, but its original envelope is rarer and nearly impossible to find.
Here's another great mid-90s article from Sports Cards Magazine about the unopened collecting niche; this one from Doug Koztoski includes info from Mark Murphy, the Baseball Card Kid.
After REA sold a 1954 Topps One-Cent Wrapper for $480 last October, I wondered if there were any complete packs out there. Yup, here’s an example Mastro offered for sale in April 2006.
This 1979 Diamond Greats baseball card set advertisement published in the February 1980 issue of The Trader Speaks offers a fascinating look into Jack Wallin's tribute to baseball's icons.
I ran across the following promo for the 1993 Yoo-Hoo Baseball Legends set in the Summer 1993 issue of Topps Magazine. Berra had a promotional relationship with Yoo-Hoo dating back to the '50s!
Leslie Hindman Auctioneers ran The Official 14th Annual National Sports Collectors Convention Auction on July 22 and 24, 1993. This 1948 Leaf boxing complete set on an uncut sheet was one of its standout items.
Here's the original artwork used for John Schweder's 1952 Bowman football rookie card. REA sold it for $1,800 in the fall of 2014, but its sales history goes back to Guernsey's Topps Auction in 1989 and the 13th Annual NSCC Auction in 1992.
Kudos to Sports Card magazine and its readers in late 1993 for the "All Most Valuable Rookie Card Team," along with the Best Name, Not as Famous, and All Ears Teams.
I'm lucky my office/Hobby Library walls don't have any space left, or I'd be all over vintage baseball star advertising memorabilia like this ad for Popsicle featuring Bob Feller. Popsicle is Topsicle!
In its Summer 1990 issue, Topps Magazine published Kenneth M. Liss's great article about "The Rarest 'Rookie Cards.'" PSA has only slabbed 252 cards from this 35-card (ok, 36-card) set!
Ron Oser Enterprises offered a collection of five 1960 Topps World Series Cards' Original Artworks in their December 2000 auction. A sixth showed up for sale in 2013 before REA re-sold the five from 2000 in the summer of 2020. I'm still hunting for the original artwork for Hodges' Winning Homer (card 388).
The Cleveland Indians hired San Francisco photographer Pat Johnson to create the cover for their 1993 media guide. The Cleveland expat mainly used his collection to create one of the greatest collages the hobby has ever seen!
I ran across this super cool cardboard display sheet, advertised as being from the 1950s, in an older auction catalog from December 2000. I've found a few more examples online, but with no additional historical info.