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Old 05-13-2019, 09:28 PM
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Joe Gonsowski
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oldjudge View Post
So you are saying that it is possible that N167s were issued at the same time as Spotted Ties? Wouldn't that elevate Spotted Ties to the first conventional baseball card set (Tied with N167s) ever? We may have to agree to disagree on this one.
I'm not stating N167s are tied with Spotted Ties but here is what we can state factually:

Period literature (Feb. 21st, 1890 Tobacco Journal) states Goodwin made transition from paper pack to slide and shell box in Dec. 1886.



The rest is speculation. The Tobacco Journal could be in error but I tend to believe it.

Paper packs would not provide a good source for cards, they would be creased and rounded based on how the cigarettes were packaged.

N167 cards could have been distributed before the transition to slide and shell box but it likely would not have been as a cigarette pack insert. They could have been distributed at point of sale, perhaps a handful per case.

Goodwin may have planned to have the boxes available before Dec. 1886 and had the cards printed at an earlier date and then held them until the Whiting Co. delivered first boxes in Dec. 1886. The Whiting Box Co. was very busy trying to fill orders for Duke and the rest, this was a booming business.

Or maybe N167 had a very short run as did Spotted Ties/script cards leading up to early 1887.

It's also not unheard of for these early cards to be based on one timeframe but be issued at a later date. Allen & Ginter, for example, debuted the N29 cards in August of 1889 showing Getzien with Detroit (a team that had disbanded at close of 1888 season). Goodwin would issue cards of players after they retired (Mathews) or even passed (Ferguson and McKinnon - GQ was likely issued after his death).

Lots of possibilities, I am still hopeful that more details will surface that help us piece the puzzle together.
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