Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession - Dave Jamieson

"How come that Frank Thomas rookie card you stowed away in 1990 is now worth less than a Happy Meal? Chalk it up to the baseball card bubble of the late 1980s and early 1990s. In a new book, Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession, Dave Jamieson tells the story of how baseball cards evolved from a tobacco marketing gimmick in the 19th century into a massive, big-money industry of their own by the late 20th century. In this excerpt, Jamieson explains how baseball cards first became seen as promising investments, setting the stage for a decade of speculation and overproduction."
Slate: The Great Baseball Card Bubble, Slate: Can Topps Save Baseball Cards?, Slate: Requiem for a Rookie Card, Slate: The Secret Lives of Baseball Card Writers, Slate: Junior Mint, Slate: The Autograph Man, amazon, Dave Jamieson