Quote:
Originally Posted by Runscott
Tim, your theory seems just as plausible as the others, but like the others, there's no hard evidence - just the 'indicators' that you mention. If you can put those indicators together in a way that proves your theory, you should do so.
For instance, the collage and the collection that you describe - this is great, but not 'proof' by any means. You are claiming that the fact that Plank and Wagner are NOT in either is some sort of proof that they weren't in the initial print run. That doesn't make sense simply because of the fact that we already know these two cards are scarce and therefore unlikely to be present in ANY collection, regardless of when it was printed.
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Scott - I'm going to do my best to explain as best I can and let me know if something isn't clear. I'll be happy to answer what I can.
The proof that Wagner, Plank and others were not printed in the first part of the 150 Series isn't the collages. It's evident by the different pieces of information we can gather to build a timeline for the 150 series. For example when certain backs were printed, which subjects were printed with them, the dates of some of the ledgers, and the advertisements.
The information that these five subjects were not in the original 150 subjects was made public before either of the collages were known. The collages don't prove anything but I believe they lend a great deal of support to the already stated information.
You're absolutely correct that almost any collection is going to be missing a Wagner and a Plank. But there are several points that are key to the collages.
1) Both collages consist of only subjects from print group 1.
2) Both include the subjects from print group 1 that were discontinued prior to the 350 series.
3) Both collages consist of cards adhered to a surface and remain in the way they were collected.
This tells us that they had to be collected during the 150 Series.
4) Both collages exclude Wagner, Plank and Crawford.
Yes, most collections from any given time will not include a Wagner or Plank, but the absence of Crawford in both and Jennings and Lungren in one further supports all of the other evidence that they were not added until later in the 150 Series. The information came before the collages and not the other way around.
In addition I think it's important to note the following when trying to understand Plank and Wagner:
Probably the most confusing part of the 150 Series, and the nuances of many of the subjects within it, is the Piedmont 150 back. It misleads many to think that if a subject can be found with this back that they must have been printed early in the 150 Series. The Magie subject shows us that it was the first back brand produced for the set. So was that when Plank, Wagner and the others were printed with Piedmont? Not at all. Packs of Piedmont cigarettes were issued with cards throughout the 150 Series, unlike brands like Sovereign and Hindu that were only available for a period of time. So Plank and Wagner were not in the initial Piedmont printing but were to be offered with a later offering of Piedmont 150's but ultimately not released.
So with brands like Hindu and Sovereign we have good evidence of what was happening during a given time in the series, but Piedmont and Sweet Caporal are much more difficult to understand.
I hope this better illustrates the points I was trying to make and again let me know if I can clarify anything.