[nolemmings]

I don't disagree that dating cards by team affiliations is imprecise; still, I find your example inapposite. You might see a Willie Mays card with an old photo, but it is not the photo that's important, it's the caption. I doubt you'd see a 1973 Mays card with a New York Giants caption, regardless of photo.

Here these captions or nameplates have team affiliations that can be traced to 1909. In several instances--more than a half dozen-- there were Colgans cards made of these players with updated team affiliations. If you already have a team change for a player say by 1912, why not release your "square" card showing the new team since you took the time to issue a round one with the change? Sure it's possible that this was just old inventory from several years earlier, but it seems at least as likely to me that these were printed and released in 1909. I would be interested in learning why you think the cards were issued after Autosales was finished with Colgans.