You’d think wrappers from the 1930’s would be super scarce and super pricey. You got the pricey part right, but they’re more common than you’d think; Mastro offered this lot of 11 together in July 1998.
Mastro wrote that it was the largest group ever made available at one time. A few months earlier, in March, they sold a single wrapper for just under $500. They described the wrappers as having a few wrinkles, but none were less than Ex to Mt condition.
They also explained that this blue and red variety was rarer than the yellow version, most likely because the blue wrapper was only used for Diamond Star’s high-number series. That said, 1) I’m not a pre-war expert, 2) I’ve read in a few vintage publications that at least eight different wrapper variations from this set were used between 1934 and 1936, and 3) Memory Lane Inc. has sold two lots of Diamond Star wrappers, which leads me to believe the Mastro lot may be dated to 1935 and that there are ten wrapper variations.
Memory Lane Inc., which has sold a lot of rare wrapper runs over the years, described this first lot of eight as being from 1934-35, with the blue wrappers with red stars described as 1935 variations.
The second lot was for four different “1936 Diamond Star Baseball Wrappers with 2 Candian Versions.” Notice the star is orange on these wrappers.
If you have more insight into these collectibles, leave a comment!
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