I've continued my acquisition of German card collecting books and picked up the foremost authority on the post-war sets.  These are Gerd Pasler's Deutsche Cards und Tutenbilder (German Cards and Pack Cards).  These hardback monsters are definitely a work of art and really fun to thumb through.  The English-language part of the introduction section states that these books "have been put together with a great deal of enthusiasm and passion."  It contains "scans and photographs of practically ever known album covers" along with hundreds of scans of wrappers, boxes, and cards.



These books focus on sets from 1950-2013.  This is its really only downfall....it lacks focus as it contains, sports stars, cartoons, Panini stickers, UD German cards and a variety of different sets.  It would be nice for individual volumes to contain all these different subjects separately.  But this is really only a mild detraction as the quality and time put in these books is outstanding.

The first book is the entire catalog of sets....no individual cards are listed, only the sets and pertinent information on sets (# of cards, price, year released).  The second book is thinner and takes specific sets from the first book and actually checklists those sets in their entirety.  If it was up to me, I would have made 4-5 different books and checklisted the sets in each of those books with each book focusing on a different topic....sports, movies/tv, stickers, etc....




Hitting up the flea markets tomorrow...wish me luck!

It has taken a little while to adjust German life, but it has been the most difficult having my new sumo card supply dwindle while we make the transition.  I have been filling some of my time, though, browsing German Flea Markets.  I hit up another one this morning and came away with a nice haul of some non-sport cards. The language barrier doesn't seem to be a problem as long as you bring money.  That is almost the universal language, but I am sure I could have snagged these for a few less Euro than what I paid.  All in all, I walked away with these 24 cards for about $11 or 10E.

Some German Beauties!
*Sets:
-Koberich 21146-16, Frauen-Schonheit und Anmut (Set of 20)
-Koberich 21146-17, Frauen-Schonheit und Anmut (Set of 20)
*Size :6.5" x 8.5"

--Schonheit in Film (Gruppe/Group 1, Bild/Card 13) - Carola Hohn
--Schonheit in Film (Gruppe/Group 1, Bild/Card 16) - Hansi Knoteck
--Anmut im Tanz (Gruppe/Group 2, Bild/Card 12) - Ursula Deinert
--Anmut im Tanz (Gruppe/Group 2, Bild/Card 13) - Friedl Romanowsky
--Anmut im Tanz (Gruppe/Group 2, Bild/Card 17) -Annemarie Herrmann


A walk back in time with the Egyptians (Aus der Pharaonenzeit)

*Set: Uncatalogued Aecht Franck Coffee (Set of 6?)
*Size: 2.75" x 4.25"

--1. Am Hofe eines altagyptischen Herrschers
--2. Jagd auf Wasservogel am Ufer des Nils
--3. Aegypterinnen beim Ballspiel auf einem Dachgarten im alten Theben
--4. Vornehmer Aegypter beim Sklavenhandler
--5. Pharao verfolg den Bau einer Pyramide
--6. Transport des Materials zum Pyramidenbau durch die Wuste


Famous armies of the world set (Beruhente Regimenter)

*Set: Uncatalogued (Set of 6?)
*Size: 4.5" x 2.75"

--1. Preussen (Prussia)
--2. Frankreich (France)
--3. Osterreich (Austria)
--4. England
--5. Russland (Russia)
--6. Ilalien


Some Pearls of the German Landscape (Perlen deutscher Landschaft)
*Set: Uncatalogued Aecht Franck Coffee (Set of 6?)
*Size: 4.25" x 2.75"

--Bild 7. Auf Rugen
--Bild 8. Die Sachsische Schweiz


I love me some lithographic moth cards!

*Set: Uncatalogued Kornfranck Moth (Set of 8?)
*Size: 4.0" x 2 5/8"

--Bild 2. Die Ronne
--Bild 3. Schwammfpinner
--Bild 5. Ringelfpinner


Animals!
*Set: Uncatalogued Stollwerck Chocolade (Set of hundreds)
*Size: 3 5/8" x 1 7/8"

--Gruppe 270, Bild V - Der Igel (Hedgehog)
--Gruppe 276, Bild IV - Das Opossum

Since moving to Germany, I've had a lull in importing Japanese sumo cards so I have been keeping myself occupied with German cards.  Hopefully, everyone will find some interest in these as they are quite a fascinating piece of collecting.  Doing research, I quickly found that Angelika Koberich is the king cataloging German cards.  He also runs an antique book shop up in Rabenau Germany and has an online presence here.  I reached out to Mr. Koberich directly about ordering two of his books and he responded very quickly.  He even sent them to me with a bill enclosed so wasn't expecting payment up front.  I think that is common here in German and a nice bit of customer service.  The two books I ordered were his German Advertising and Collectable Cards from 1872-1945 (Volume 1) and 1946-2001 (Volume 2).  Having just published my Sumo Menko and Card Checklist, I am always fond of other card catalogers.  These books are simply amazing.  Each is hardcover and about 275 pages each.  Even with extremely basic German-language skills I was able to decipher on how to use them.  Although there are no pictures of cards in the sets, the catalog in both books is presented nicely (see picture) to find what set the cards belong to.  Each set has 1) Year produced, 2) Catalog Number and Sequence Number, 3) Title, 4) Number of Cards in Set, and 5) Price. There is a nice index in the back that you can find your set and then go search it in the actual catalog to find all the details.

About 8 years ago there was a young Japanese sumo wrestling sensation named Yamamotoyama (YMY for short).  YMY was the heaviest Japanese-born wrestler in sumo history so he caused somewhat of a stir during his quick rise to the top division.  His 215 kilogram/475 pound pimply-chested frame was something to behold, but it was evident that he was likely too heavy to achieve any long-term success. Fate/karma intervened and in 2011 he was kicked out of sumo for accusations of bout fixing.  He and a handful of other wrestlers were suspected to arranging the outcomes of matches which is something the Sumo Association has been actively fighting in the recent past.  After YMY was kicked out, he bounced around various odd jobs, but a few days ago I saw him pop up in an Ed Sheeran music video.  Being in Germany, our English-language TV channel selection is limited so I tend to hover over the music video channels (music traverses many cultures for sure) and Ed's video popped up with YMY debuting at the end.  With over a billion views...here is the video:


Yamamotoyama has two BBM sumo cards (#48 in 2009 BBM, and #40 in 2010 BBM) that capture his brief tenure in the Sumo Association.  I don't have my cards with me yet, so here is a screen capture of his 2010 BBM card from Jambalaya.

Welcome from Germany....land of lots of beer, nice cars, and a great culture!  I managed to make it out and about this past weekend to one of the local German flea markets and found these German Olympic cards....I have no idea what sets they are from, but thought they were cool for 2€.  I imagine I overpaid a bit, but since they were my first cards, I was pretty excited to get them.  The color ones appear to be all German athletes, while the black and white set has a mix of different countries and sports.  They are standard trading card size and all show a decent amount of wear.  Hopefully I will find more of them and can update everyone on what they actually are.  More to follow....