At least for the most of us we can have, for free, the below portion of the Bonhams writeup about the Gimbels set, the majority of which originated from an article in the Sports Collectors Daily website in 2015:
In April of 1916 Gimbels Department Store launched a promotional campaign advertising a free giveaway of 20 baseball cards to kids who came in person to the Boy's Clothing Section (Sportscollectordaily.com, March 21, 2015). The ad published in the Wisconsin papers reads: "Attention! / Boys of Milwaukee / Especially—You Baseball 'fans' / How would you like to have Photographs of 200 Major League stars and other "Stars of the Diamond"? You can have them in lots of 20—each Saturday. / First bunch of 20 photographs on Saturday FREE / These are actual photographs of the players in their favorite action, and in ten Saturdays you will have the entire 200 players. Won't that be great? / Just sign your name and address below and present this 'ad' in Gimbels Boys' Clothing Section on Saturday, the 15th, and receive the first 20 pictures FREE."
As the promotion went on, fans late to the party could buy the previous sets for a nominal sum, except series #2, which featured superstar Ty Cobb and sold out early. The present owner's grandfather was a 10-year-old Milwaukeean in 1916 who took advantage of the Gimbels promotion, holding on to his beloved Babe Ruth card until the end of his life, when he left it to his descendants.
Brian
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