Jefferson Burdick
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Jefferson R. Burdick (1900–1963) was an American electrician and a collector of printed
ephemera Ephemera are items which were not originally designed to be retained or preserved, but have been collected or retained. The word is etymologically derived from the Greek ephēmeros 'lasting only a day'. The word is both plural and singular. On ...
, including postcards, posters, cigar bands, and other types of printed materials dating from the mid-nineteenth century to the early 1960s. He is best known for collecting
trading Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market (economics), market. Traders generally negotiate throu ...
and
baseball cards A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. In the 1950s, they came with a stick of gum and a limited number of cards. These cards feature one or more baseball players, teams, s ...
in ''
The American Card Catalog ''The American Card Catalog: The Standard Guide on All Collected Cards and Their Values'' is a reference book for American trading cards produced before 1951, compiled by Jefferson Burdick. Some collectors regard the book as the most important in ...
'', otherwise known as the ''ACC''. Burdick is often considered to be the greatest card collector in history, and has been called "The Father of Card Collecting."


Biography


Early life

He was born in
Central Square, New York Central Square is a village in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 1,848 at the 2010 census. The village is located in the southern part of the town of Hastings on Route 49 and U.S. Route 11. The village is west of Inters ...
in 1900. Growing up on a farm, Burdick began collecting cards from soda and tobacco companies as a child, and asked his father to smoke different cigarette brands so he could collect them all. Burdick graduated from Central High School in 1918, and worked as a farm laborer with his family before attending
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
in late 1920. In 1922, he received a two-year business degree from Syracuse University. He held a variety of jobs after graduation, including working in advertising at ''
The Syracuse Herald The ''Syracuse Herald-Journal'' (1925–2001) was an evening newspaper in Syracuse, New York, United States, with roots going back to 1839 when it was named the ''Western State Journal''. The final issue — volume 124, number 37,500 — was publi ...
'' before becoming an electrician, which was his primary occupation. He developed
arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...
during his thirties, which continued to affect him throughout his life.


Return to collection and publications

Burdick became interested in collecting again in 1933, when he began amassing cards and stamps in earnest. Beginning in 1937, he published a ''Card Collectors Bulletin''. He established his system of cataloguing cards in the ''CCB''. In total, he collected around 306,000 cards which he glued into 394 albums. The reasons why Burdick chose to glue his cards into albums is unknown, as he advised collectors to use corner mounting to preserve cards in the ''CCB''. George Vrechek, in "Burdick Revisted", theorizes that Burdick chose glue to ensure that cards were not lost and the collection remained complete so that posterity could enjoy it. By 1940, Burdick was living as a lodger with a Syracuse family and earned a salary of $1,065 per year as an assembler at
Crouse-Hinds Company Crouse-Hinds Electric Company, a manufacturer of high grade electrical specialties, was established in 1897 in Syracuse, New York. They later shortened their name to Crouse-Hinds Company and beginning in the early 1920s specialized in the manufac ...
. Despite his meager wages, he continued to spend the majority of his earnings on publishing his bulletins and growing his collection. Burdick donated his entire collection to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
in 1947. Writing in 1948, he stated his belief that it should be "a national collection belonging to everybody." That year, he created a guide to the collection with art historian
A. Hyatt Mayor Alpheus Hyatt Mayor (1901–1980) was an American art historian and curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a leading figure in the study of prints, both old master prints and popular prints. Biography Early life A. Hyatt Mayor's father ...
that explains the background and organization of the collection.


Later life and continued work at the Met

He retired from Crouse-Hinds in 1959 due to disability, and moved to
Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...
where he could be closer to the Met. Burdick spent 15 years working at the museum's drawings and prints department to accomplish the task of cataloging the collection, which he finished in January 1963. He was hospitalized at
Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States ...
in 1962. He died the following year. In 2018, Burdick was posthumously awarded the
Henry Chadwick Award The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and statistical record of baseball. The organization was founded in Cooperstown, New York, on Augu ...
by the
Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and statistical record of baseball. The organization was founded in Cooperstown, New York, on Au ...
(SABR). SABR also created the "Jefferson Burdick Award for Contributions to the Hobby".


The Burdick Collection

The Jefferson R. Burdick collection is the second largest public collection of baseball cards, second only to that of the
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United St ...
. A small part of the collection is on display at the museum on the first floor of the American Wing. Burdick’s donation to the museum included over 300,000 items; however, only a small percentage of the items donated by Burdick were baseball cards. The Burdick system is still widely used today by collectors and dealers of baseball memorabilia. The famed
T206 T206 is a cigarette card, tobacco card set issued from 1909 to 1911 in cigarette pack, cigarette and loose tobacco packs through 16 different brands owned by the American Tobacco Company. It is a landmark set in the history of baseball card collec ...
baseball card set received its popularized name from the set's designation in the ''ACC''. Many other baseball card sets are popularly known by their ''ACC'' designation, including: T205, E93, M116 and R313.


References


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burdick, Jefferson 1900 births 1963 deaths Baseball cards Place of birth missing Place of death missing Deltiologists Syracuse University alumni 20th-century people from New York (state) Baseball memorabilia American philatelists American art collectors