My only orange border is Nagel, and I don't have Jones at all. So no comparisons there.
I think the idea that it was incorrectly mixed ink is the most likely. Even into the 1980's the ink was often mixed by hand from a guide. Pint of color, so much of other colors added to make the exact color wanted.
And as Patrick pointed out underinking usually just looks like a fade. I don't recall seeing any T210s with a border that would make me think they were two colors- red over yellow. (Making the yellow borders their own mystery)
It's most likely they were printed at American Lithographic alongside the T206s, and it's also probable the sheets were a good deal larger than 20 or 40 cards. The orange borders are a very solid indicator of there being 20 subjects, just not how many of each were on a sheet. I'd think that number was somewhere around 160 based on other similar cards. (And that could be way off in either direction)
The probable way the plates were laid out would have been printing a bunch of transfers from a master then laying out the plate using those transfers. It's a bit too small, but the missing A could be on one place on the sheet, or it could be from a defective master. With the A only being on orange borders I'd lean towards a defective master. Which also makes a decent argument for the orange borders being made first.
Steve B
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