Posted By:
robert aI think the old mill overprints deserve a little more discussion.
Especially since so few of us have seen/owned them before.
Whether or not these particular backs should be considered at "back types" is open for discussion and probably depends on the collector.
Good eye Ed!
The "Factory 649 1st Dist. N.Y." is exactly the same line (with the block out) you'll find on:
Sweet Cap. 150s with the overprints.
The print on the old mills is upside down and placed in a wierd location. It's possible that the sheet was incorrectly positioned before the strike. It looks like the factory used the same red ink used for the sweet caps. After the printing, the sheet might have been discarded or kept by a worker.
Does Louis' card look handcut like some of the blank backs?
The same factory also distributed:
Hindu Brown
Hindu Red.........the same two ink colors that are found on Louis' card.
As far as tfever's card, this is more consistent with black printed s.l. old mills. These are the old mill overprints/double overprints that I have seen pictures of in the past
Perhaps the VA factory sent SLers to the NY factory for distribution around New York/New England area.
These are fascinating variations and whether or not they are true backs is really not important to me. I've always used a back checklist that included them, so other collectors must have seen more than a couple of them. Blank backs are printer's scrap as well, but I think most t206 collectors consider them a back type.
Any other thoughts about these?
Robert