{"product_id":"mint-condition-how-baseball-cards-became-an-american-obsession-paperback","title":"Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDave Jamieson\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"An entertaining history of baseball cards . . . An engaging book on a narrow but fascinating topic.\" --The Washington Post\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen 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?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eMint Condition\u003c\/i\u003e, 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. \u003ci\u003eMint Condition\u003c\/i\u003e is charming, original history brimming with colorful characters, sure to delight baseball fans and collectors.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"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, \u003ci\u003eMint Condition\u003c\/i\u003e is a treat.\" --\u003ci\u003eForbes\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDave Jamieson\u003c\/b\u003e has written for \u003ci\u003eSlate, The New Republic, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eWashington City Paper, \u003c\/i\u003e among others, and has won the prestigious Sidney Award and the Livingston Award for Young Journalists. He lives in Washington, D.C., with a closetful of worthless baseball cards, all of them in excellent condition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 288\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.78 x 8.21 x 5.76 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 12, 2011\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53457758159155,"sku":"9780802145321","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0990\/0746\/3731\/files\/hHSuayG2fg9780802145321.webp?v=1781272857","url":"https:\/\/rbangel-store.myshopify.com\/products\/mint-condition-how-baseball-cards-became-an-american-obsession-paperback","provider":"The Celestial Starlit Phoenix ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}