Question For Mr. Checkers

[Jay H]

Mr. Checkers,
Perhaps you could help me out with this......

I know that there was a gentlemen from Canada who would sell "xeroxed" copies of old rare checker books, at a fraction of the price of original copies of the same book....
My question to you is, could you tell me the year that he began this pratice........?
I think early 70's, but that is just a guess.
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated....
Thanx !!!!
Jay

[Mr. Checkers]

Jay you should have put this fine question under the "Checker Trivia", but I will answer it here anyway. Don started his reprints late in 1979 and early in 1980--and why is entirely another story, which I was very much a great part of. Please have a most wonderful evening and know that your contributions to the ACF Forum are greatly appreciated. "Mr. Checkers"

[Jay H]

:lol: Jay you should have put this fine question under the "Checker Trivia", but I will answer it here anyway. Don started his reprints late in 1979 and early in 1980--and why is entirely another story, which I was very much a great part of. Please have a most wonderful evening and know that your contributions to the ACF Forum are greatly appreciated. "Mr. Checkers"

Don,
Sorry about improper posting...I will get there eventually....!
I ask because I have several books that look like that they were just printed yesterday (!!), except for a small inscription on the inside front cover...
"purchesed from Hayes 1964"..... they just look to well preserved to be over 40 years old.....
Part of Earl's colection....which I would consider to be a "pedigree" collection ( to use a term that is used in comic book collecting circles, meaning an impeccable example of a book(s))
Thanx !!!
Jay

[Jay H]

:lol: Jay you should have put this fine question under the "Checker Trivia", but I will answer it here anyway. Don started his reprints late in 1979 and early in 1980--and why is entirely another story, which I was very much a great part of. Please have a most wonderful evening and know that your contributions to the ACF Forum are greatly appreciated. "Mr. Checkers"

Don,
And it would be most interesting, to me, if not the rest of us, if you would care to elaborate on how you were "very much a part of" this checkeristic enterprise.....



Jay

[Mr. Checkers]

Jay all I can say is that I am glad that I am not a collector of fine checker literature today. Don reprinted close to 500 different checker books from the English language (many in both cloth and paperback) and it was not until the late 1980's that he finally started putting inside the front cover that this was a reprint--although I had asked him to do that when he first started doing those reprints many years earlier. "Mr. Checkers"

[Jay H]

:lol: Jay I can only say that I am glad that I am not a collector of fine checker literature today. Don reprinted close to 500 different checker books from the English language (many in both cloth and paperback) and it was not until the late 1980's that he finally started putting inside the front cover that this was a reprint--although I had asked him to do that when he first started doing those reprints many years earlier. "Mr. Checkers"

Don,
So, I guess that there may POSSIBLY be alot, or at least some, reprints out there being sold as original "excellent condition" copies..... let the buyer beware...!!!
As I stated, I have several books of Earl's, that I know where willed to him from Paul Ottey, ( Do you remember him ? He at one time lived in Levittown, PA,......upon his passing, he was living in Reinholds, PA. was a prominent player / collector in his day. I know he competed in the 1958 NT in Bethlehem, and was prominent in ACF Mail play, in several different functions)
And most of his books have a history documented within the book itself...
but they are so clean, seriously, some of them have bone white pages,...!!!! And they have Ottey's inscription inside the front cover when they were purchased.....
Treasures for sure...
Thanx for your response..!!!

[Mr. Checkers]

Jay concerning your other question I feel that somethings are best just left in the annals of checker history. I have hundreds of letters from Don--(that was before the internet) which he sent to me over the years. That will give future checker archivists something unique to delve into. "Mr. Checkers"

[Mr. Checkers]

Jay last year I wrote an article on this forum (under the "General Discussion, which stated "Buyer Beware". If it looks to new then most likely it is a reprint. Sellers on "Ebay" try to sell these reprints as originals, because they are not aware of the history behind them. "Mr. Checkers"