Hi everyone!
I've been storing all of my catalogs in various boxes over the years. Just recently, I finally decided to put each catalog in a polypropylene bag along with a backing board---just as I'd done years ago with my collection of comic books.
The nice thing about the DC comics I collected from the 60s-90s was that nearly all of them were numbered. Although the covers sometimes had numbering or dating errors, the first interior page usually had something called an indicia. This had quite a bit of information along with each book's official title, number, and publishing date. This made it very easy to organize my collection by title and number.
When I decided to buy actual custom made magazine boxes, bags, and backing boards to organize and store my Lionel, K-line, MTH and assorted other manufacturer literature, I discovered I had a big problem. Apart from a prominent year on the cover of most catalogs, there is no clue as to how many were published for each year. Some are called "Advance", "Consumer", "Pre-Toy Fair", "Toy Fair, "Classic", "Traditional", "Christmas", etc. ad nauseum.......... Of course, that doesn't take into account how many flyers for specific products or product lines that were also published.
So, I decided to use my pal, Google, to find nice checklists for each manufacturer's output. Google let me down. I found an unending supply of vendors and auction sites with catalogs and flyers for sale. However I couldn't find checklists where I could see exactly what was missing from my collection.
I decided to try this forum for help. Does anyone know of any checklists on-line detailing all of the catalogs and flyers published by the various manufacturers over the years? A site containing pics of each item (including variants) would be ideal. I've attempted to do just that with the output from a plastic model company named "Polar Lights" (a subsidiary of "Playing Mantis"). I've nearly completed it at this time. (If you're curious about it, go to www.phrankenstign.com.)
Anyway.....
I'd appreciate any help in getting my collection of classic toy train ephemera organized. Surely there are comprehensive and definitive checklists out there. Right?
Tony
btw I decided to organize all of my train stuff after finally getting my Classic Toy Train magazines bagged, boarded, and boxed. I'm happy to say I've got a complete run from 1987-2008. It shouldn't take long to fill the holes in my collection from 2008-present using ebay! Luckily all of the issues are numbered (albeit with a restart of the numbering for each succeeding volume every year.)
Is the "Greenberg's Guide to Lionel Paper and Collectibles" the only comprehensive listing available? I figured there must have been at least a few web-sites by private individuals who were proud to share their collections on-line with others. I'm sure there are collectors who own items NOT included in Greenberg's book who wouldn't mind sharing their unusual items adding new dimensions to Lionel's known rich history.
It's awfully lonely in here, and it's even starting to get a bit cold. I think I'll get Hot Stuff's buddies to try to warm it up in here. That may make this topic more inviting!
I find it difficult to believe there aren't any up-to-date, complete listings of all of Lionel's, K-Line's, and MTH's catalogs easily available. Are today's train collectors really that possessive of their knowledge that none are willing to share this kind of information?
If anyone thought there was a market for the product, someone would probably have produced it. There may be an element of hobbyists not thinking that modern material is worth collecting or documenting.
Bob Keller
Have YOU collected Lionel catalogs and flyers/pamphlets over the years, Mr. Keller? If so, how have you determined whether you'd gotten all that was issued for a particular year?
Yes I have collected them, recently sent most of the modern stuff (all brands) off to recycling (kept the postwar). As long as I had the main catalogs, I didn't care what else I missed. At work we have many of the catalogs (all brands) but I wouldn't swear we have everything.
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