Scot Reader's "Inside T206" ... T205's?
 

Hello .. I just finished reading Inside T206 Centennial Edition by Scot Reader. Great work! I haven't been able to find a similar in-depth work on the T205 set yet. Does one exist? Beyond Scot's back and variations research what I really enjoyed were the details and stories about the tobacco factories and how the cards were packaged. Fun stuff. So ... Is it safe to assume that much of the info Scot detailed at the beginning of Inside T206 is also true for T205? Specifically the production process (lithographs & layered printing), card brands and factories (I know there were only 11 brands in T205) and packaging (I assume for the most part the packaging was the same for T205 as T206?). Just wondering if there were any glaring differences in the production process and the distribution of these two great tobacco card sets? Feel free to point me to any in-depth research that has been done on T205. And Thank you Scot for sharing your research! It was a fun and informative read!

T205 resource has a great master checklist but I agree, not as much scholarship on the 05s. I'm particularly ingested in the short prints. With the 06s most short prints are based on team changes. The 05 short prints to me are a little bit of a mystery in that some seem more difficult than others and I'm not wholly sure how backs factor in. Then there is the work Ted Z has done with the minor league sheets... Lots of mystery with the set.

T-205 research
 

Thanks for the reply Dennis. I see what you mean about the T205 SP's. I'm interested in knowing why the Bugs Raymond is kinda' scarce (back-wise or other-wise). I think for now I'll assume some of the research that Scot did on T206 could also apply to T205 when it comes to production and distribution. With the understanding that I could be wrong. It just seems like production and distribution wouldn't have changed that much between 1909 & 1911. Anyway ... thanks again for the reply! Jerry.

T205 distribution
 

Thought I read this somewhere in another post ... But can't find it now. Does anyone know when the T205 set first hit the market and then when it ceased? I've always assumed it started in the Spring of 1911 (like Topps used to do) but don't know if it stopped in the Fall of 1911? Thanks in advance. Jerry.

Jerry
 

The bios on the backs of most of the 12 - Minor Leaguers indicate that this T205 subset must of been issued very late in 1911 (or perhaps in early 1912).


http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/...pscfdc1d32.jpghttp://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4227030d.jpg

http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/...ps45044fae.jpghttp://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/...ps33d8cfb3.jpg


TED Z

.

So the set includes the two variations of peaches graham who was traded June 10. The rustlers version of the card is more common so one can assume the production run before that was limited to a few months at most I would think. I wonder if some of the other sp's were only printed in that portion of time also. Shean was traded in February of 1911 and is supposedly tougher than graham so either production started before February or after and only corrected when caught later. Printing run likely went into 1912as cady's card indicates his services were purchased buy the Red Sox which didn't occur until January 1912. Unless, and this is speculation on my part but also jibes with what ted z has said I believe, that the minor leaguers were printed separately and likely later, almost making them a set unto themselves. I'm sure others more knowledgeable than me can add and correct me. Very interested in understanding the ins and outs of this set. Most of what I said came from lipset btw.


Lol Ted you beat me to the punch!!


Also keep in mind that Addie joss dies in April of 1911 and no joss card exists without mention of it. To me that puts production start between mid April and mid may 1911

At the same time john bates and eddie grant are both traded to the reds in 1910 but only grant gets updated. Marty mcintyre is picked up by the white sox in January of 1911 and included properly. The jimmy austin trade in February is mentioned on Austin's card. No mention is made of the bridwell for herzog deal in July ( a pretty major deal) which makes me think that all changes and corrections were made between April and late June of 1911 with the exception of the minor leaguers. Again I could be all wet.

T205 production
 

Thank you Ted & Dennis! So maybe production started in April or May 1911 and ceased maybe in early 1912? With that time frame being speculative due to a need for more evidence :-) Btw Ted those ML's look cool all together. Also I finally found some of your previous posts on this subject. Thanks all for your research! Another question I have ... At the beginning of Scot Reader's Inside T206 he made a handy table of all the brand/factory combinations. I was thinking of creating a similar table for T205 but maybe someone has already done that? It would help me visualize the distribution of the T205's even though I know the table would be fairly similar to Scot's T206 table (I'm a visual learner :-) I'll end by saying that I've been reading about the ATC and the tobacco companies in general to try to become more familiar with how the tobacco industry worked back then. Very interesting stuff. But I'm afraid it is getting out of hand. I have an urge to buy a vintage pack of Piedmont's so I have a period piece of tobacco packaging. And some of those ad displays look very cool too :-)

Jerry
 

Check-out this thread, most of the Net54 experts regarding T205's posted on it......

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...t=t205+A-B-C-D


TED Z
.

Hey Jerry - Just a tease to fuel your T205 collecting fire - like ANY of us need that! ENJOY!

The "beat" box is dated to 1910, while the nicer one has a 1929 overprinted date. Don't know when the matches are from!

A=b=c=d
 

Thanks for the link Ted! I'm still trying to put my head around all the "T" back threads on Net54. A lot of links go from one thread to another. I sometimes get lost :-) It would be nice to consolidate a lot of the research and theories. I'm starting to get cross eyed :-) Anyway ...one day I hope to get a few of the rarer backs. Unfortunately I'm a bottom feeder right now. One thing I'm interested in is the regional distribution of T205 cards ... like which T205 cards/brands were marketed/sold primarily in the South? I think I read that Piedmont and maybe Polar Bear T205's were preferred in the South (by the smoker)? If so why? I guess some of my questions go beyond collecting T205 cards :-)

Great pics Greg ... thanks for sharing! I like that little match box too! I may try to buy one of those Piedmont tobacco boxes one day.

Thanks again for replies guys! Jerry.