Joy of the Completed Set: The Monster T206 Set

Certainly the highlight of my 2020 collecting year was finding a copy of the Renata Galasso reprint edition of the T206 set dubbed "The Monster" at my local LCS. I have been collecting the random mini reprints as I found them in quarter boxes for years and I had no idea that the set originally came in this great little set box. 


Taking a closer look at the set when I got home, I became a little worried that I was missing a good chunk of the cards because it looked like a large group of cards were missing, presumably the Honus Wagner and the other top cards.  


But after getting these into pages...

...which is a side story in and of itself. With no set numbering on any of the cards I went with the subject alphabetical order method and found a T206 checklist that corresponded with the set. I transfered that to an Excel spreadsheet and printed out the list and cut out each little spread sheet box and slipped them into each mini page. That took a couple days of my spare time and then it was putting the cards in order which was sort of exciting not knowing exactly was was missing...

...but in the end, everything was there! I really can't explain why there was such a big gap in the original box packaging.

So here they are, all 524 cards from "The Monster."  If you can track the set [sets are available on eBay in a different box for $80] I would highly recommend it because there are a million little details on each mini page that you will never notice without having the cards in your hands. Each card is its own masterpiece and it is a set that you can enjoy for years to come. 


Renata Galasso gave us a great assortment of back variations on each page and these back pages are just as enjoyable to me as the other side. 





























Comments

Fuji said…
Reprint or not... that's a gorgeous set. Love all the different card backs... and thank you for taking the time to scan and share these on your blog.
night owl said…
Not much of a T206 lover, but that is pretty cool. And a great way to own some history.
Jim said…
I had no idea this was available in complete set form either . . . might be a good thing to search for in 2021!
Jay said…
I have a full set I’m trying to sale right now if anyone is interested 13526154699