1939 was 78 years ago

i am smart enough to know that when someone emails and asks if they can send cards, the answer is yes, most of the time.  i could not say yes fast enough when mark hoyle offered to send me a 1939 playball card of dolph camilli last year

i had only one card from that set in my collection (babe phelps), and so now the number of dodger cards from that set in my binders has doubled.

when i started collecting in 1978, the oldest cards i knew about (the 1909 t206 cards) were 69 years old.  this card is 78 years old now, and it's crazy to think that someone could have bought this card brand new at the same time they might have picked up steinbeck's new novel "the grapes of wrath" or the latest issue of "detective comics" that featured a brand new superhero who dressed like a bat.  some kid might have been looking at this card, along with the rest of his collection, as he sat in front of the radio listening to lou gehrig's speech on the fourth of july.  or he could have been looking at it to take his mind off of hearing the news of germany's invasion of poland in september of 1939.  it is even possible that someone might have purchased this card on their way to the official dedication of the national baseball hall of fame in cooperstown.  this card has a history and has been witness to history in a way, but now it's retired to a binder in my basement.

thanks mark!