I wish it was a set I could finish this year, but I believe that the 1973 Calbee set will take quite a while to finish with all the SPs toward the end of the set.
However, I did come across some of those SPs last year at a couple shops and via some auctions:
Calbee's 1973 set really has a classic Kodachrome feel to its photos. I also like how I can see the stadium clearly in two of those cards, quite likely photographed on the same day.
Those cards are great, but this card is key:
Literally. This is the most expensive card in the set, going by price guide values... except for Shigeo Nagashima's iconic card #1. Which I still need. It's a good photo, too, mainly because it's just one studio shot in a set full of in-field images. Uniqueness is key!
That is a unique pose for sure. Reminds me of the quirky 1970s family photos. Cool cards and good luck on this set!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It's moving super slowly.
DeleteLove the Yutaka Fukumoto card!
ReplyDeleteWent down a bit of a research rabbit hole trying to figure out the stadium on the Yamaguchi card. He's in a home uniform so it should be Osaka Stadium but I had remembered that Korakuen Stadium had a bowling alley outside of it (which is actually still there I think) so I was wondering if it was Korakuen instead. Nope - Osaka Stadium had one too!
The Fukumoto card has a really good shot of his uniform, but I dunno how much I really like it.
DeleteMy original scan of the Yamauchi card isn't good enough to make out the signs. When I'm home and thinking of it, I might get a clue by reading them.
Sweet Calbees! Each of these cards offer excellent photography. Congratulations on adding them to your set.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I came across a couple more this weekend, but they were way too expensive for my budget.
DeleteThose are beauties! There are a lot of good cards of Lions, Hawks and Tigers players in that 73 set which have pretty good views of the stadiums in the background, which I agree is great. I have that card of Enatsu and Kakefu but my copy is pretty ragged!
ReplyDeleteThe wide shots are much better than today's hyper-cropped out-of-focus-background images (in general, not just Calbee). Yes, the photo quality is better, but the action itself is removed from the card. Granted, older Calbee cards weren't so focused on single players, where today's sets are specifically geared toward individual player cards.
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