Baseball Candy Issues and their Containers/Boxes

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Posted By: Jon Canfield

Hello All,

I'm looking for your opinions and possibly some help... As most of you know, I put together a small guide of all the baseball related cigarette/tobacco packs and their corresponding cards. Based on the over 200 copies I sent out, I think it was a success even though it is always a work in progress. Well, since then, I've kicked around the idea of putting together a matching guide for candy/gum issues. I'd like to limit the guide from 1880's-1930.

First - what is your opinion of the idea? Again I would offer it to any board member free of charge when completed, just cover shipping and whatever material cost in the printing (a total of usually $1.50 - $2.00).

Second - IMAGES! I do have a few containers in my personal collection, Colgans, some Dockman boxes, Close, Croft's Croft and Allen, but other than that, I'm missing most other images.

Below is a list of some brands I'd like to include...
G&B Chewing Gum - NY
Breisch Williams
Philadelphia American Caramel
Croft and Allen Co. – Philadelphia
Crofts Candy
Crofts Swiss Milk Cocoa
Dockman & Sons – Pennsylvania
Nadja Caramels
Philadelphia Caramel Company
C.A. Briggs Lozenge Makers – Boston
Colgan Mint Chips
Colgan Violet Chips
Bishop & Company – Los Angeles
Darby Chocolate Company
Boston Garter
Ju Ju Drum Candy Company
Texas Gum Company Smith’s Mello-Mint Gum – Temple, TX
Standard Caramel Company – Lancaster, PA
Williams Caramel Company – Oxford, PA
George Close Candy Company – Cambridge, MA
Blomes Chocolate Company – Cambridge, MA
General Baking Company – Buffalo (Buster Brown, Peerless Bread, Brunners Butter Krust, Martin’s Bakery)
Collins McCarthy Candy Company – San Francisco
Home Run Kisses
Plow’s Candy Company
Mother’s Bread
Texas Tommy Company
Oxford Confectionary – Oxford, PA
Neilson’s Chocolate
National Caramel
Curtis Ireland Candy Company – St. Louis
Willard Chocolate Company – Canada
York Caramel Company – York, PA

I was hoping maybe the board had some images I could use. Again I'd give you full credit in the guide. Please email or post any suggestions or comments!

Thanks!

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Posted By: Gary B.

I would certainly be very interested in such a thing. Do you still have any copies left of your previous volume? Please e-mail me if you do...

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Posted By: Dave Lash

i dont collect e cards but would defineatly be interested in something like that. i find the original containers very interesting. do you/have you been recieving mastro catalogs? they might have some of the issues you need. iam 99% sure that they had a mello mint tin in the last auction. and i also think they had some colgans chip containers.

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Posted By: Julie

signed in..MY MISTAKE. Hope someone likes the pictures...


A Kimball "Sleeve," which held the plain box of cigarettes, and, if you were lucky, one of thre four Kimball Champions:

(Hassan back--got lost above)



And this is a Murad box, which contained a colorful series, T51s--of many different colleges and universities with one sport being represented at each. But the players are not real guys, just students. So they're quite cheap.

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Posted By: Hankron

Jon, I think the guide would be a great. However, I think you should make a profit of some sort on it.

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Posted By: Julie

....

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Posted By: Jon Canfield

Thanks for the emails and the posts... As for profit - I'd rather do it to contribute something. Every once in a while I throw a guide on eBay as well do defray the costs if I feel that printing and paper costs have set me back. The bigger problem will be images - I own very few of the listed brands and for the majority, I have not seen the packaging even though I'm sure it does exist... for example I can remember seeing a JuJu Drum container in an old issue of "The Old Judge". Anyway, if anyone owns or knows where I can find the packages, please email me.

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Posted By: andy becker

jon- if you have any copies of the previous volume, please email me too. and while i can't help with any scans i'd love to support a new volume.
thanks in advance jon!!

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Posted By: Andy Baran

Jon,

I missed the first go-round as well, and would be interested in purchasing your tobacco volume. Please let me know if it is available. Thanks.

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Posted By: Julie Vognar

Even with no ambitions to putting out such a book for candy and gum, I've always had my eye open for a period Cracker Jack box--and never seen even one! I think it odd that with so many cards wandering around, the containers for candy and gum are so hard to come by.

Do you have the pink and green Colgans? I have both.

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Posted By: Jon Canfield

Good point - I have seen early 20's CJ boxes before, never 14/15... I do have both the Colgan's...

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Posted By: jay behrens

I would definately be interested. As popular a collectible Cracker Jack premiums are, I am sure there is at least one box around in someone's CJ collection. You check a book store or library for a book on CJ collectibles and see who got credits. That would be a good place to start.

Jay

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Posted By: prewarsports

I have a Robert Edwards auction catalog from 1994 in which a JuJu Drum container was sold and pictured. Also, Dan McKee had a Dockman box at the National yesterday. I also think the last Robert Edwards auction had a Mello Mint container pictured. Some of what you mentioned is probably impossible to find since candy and gum were produced in much smaller quantities than cigarettes were, but most should be out there. Let me know if you need any of those pictures from Robert Edwards, and ask Dan about his Dockman box. I think the idea is great and I used your tobacco pack book this week at the National to make a few purchases!

Rhys

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Posted By: Bruce Babcock

This is not directly related to your Forum question but I wonder if anyone has ever seen this box before. It obviously held "candy" cigarettes and was meant to look like a Piedmont box, although not made by Piedmont. It makes you wonder why, if they were selling candy cigarettes and putting them in Piedmont style boxes, they didn't include baseball cards, as Piedmont did with tobacco. It seems like a missed opportunity to market to both fathers and sons. I'm not sure why a candy product would need an IRS stamp. Maybe the "tray" part of the box was from a Piedmont tobacco box. The pencil writing on the back of the box says "Gramps 1911," according to the guy I bought it from 20+ years ago. There was a company called Gardiner-Lucas operating in Brooklyn in the 1910 era. Anybody have any insight on this?

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Posted By: Scott M

Hey Bruce..

I know Jon has a couple of these in his personal collection but since he hasn't posted yet I thought I'd chime in.

Gardner-Lucas were makers of good old Candy Cigarettes back around 1910. Its neat to see how close the Candy Boxes replicated their Tobacco counterparts. Its a shame, as you pointed out, that they didn't put in T-206 like cards in along with the candy... could have been one of the first "parallel" sets in the hobby

I believe that your supposition is correct that you have the shell of the candy box but a slider that came from a Tobacco pack as the Sweet Caporal examples in my collection didn't go so far as to have a fake tax stamp on them.

Here is an example. If you have another Piedmont candy box or anyone else on the board has one and would like to trade for a Sweet Caporal candy box... feel free to email me!

Scott

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Posted By: Jon Canfield

Scott - you pretty much summed it up! I haven't seen one of the Piedmont's in a little way... but for that matter, I haven't seen many of the SC's either - I was lucky enough to get that one off eBay a little while back!

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Posted By: Richard Dwyer

Curious as to how you would authenticate Candy issue boxes, etc. On tobacco boxes, you have a factory #, state, district, and tax stamp that help you authenticate. Did the candy issue boxes have dates or anything else on them to authenticate?

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Posted By: Jon Canfield

Some have dates. However, for the most part, there is no way to actually know the true date - only the style of the corresponding box that matches a set.

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Posted By: Bruce Babcock

Scott, thanks for your post on Gardiner-Lucas. I hadn't seen an example of the Sweet Caporal candy box before.

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Posted By: Scott

Richard,

As Jon mentioned some of the complete candy boxes I've seen (like the Sweet Caporal I posted) don't have any dates on them while others (see Bruces images from his Piedmont box) at least have a reference to the food and drug act of June 30, 1906.

Its hard to put an "exact" date on these but based on how closely they match the Piedmont and Sweet Cap Tobacco boxes of the period, I think its safe to say they were produced around the same time (1909-1912).

The ones I have in my collection were part of a find that started my father and I off in collecting vintage back in the early/mid 1970s. The individual we got them from had saved the candy boxes right along side period tobacco boxes and had used them to store his T205/T206 and E Card collection...

Scott

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Posted By: Rhett

I know this isn't a candy issue but it is still a nice companion piece to any Boston Garter collection. The guy showing off his sweet garter resembles Matthewson in the face with Cobb's blond hair. The piece has a March 25, 1913 patent date on the side, dating it to the year of cards that resemble the box. Thought others might enjoy it.
-Rhett

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Posted By: tbob

Or has anyone ever even seen one (George Close Candy box)? I am curious as to what used to hold my obsession...

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Posted By: Jon Canfield

Enjoy!!!

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Posted By: Jon Canfield

Rhett,

Nice box - I have a 3 of them... two, a 1913 and a 1914, are the size of the one you pictured. I also just recently bought a 1913 which has the same design, only larger, measuring the length of a card. I had always heard that one Boston Garter card was packaged per case of Boston Garter's for advertising purposes, sitting on top of the boxes when the case was opened. I believe this to be true but I have never seen the elongated version of the Garter box before so it makes me wonder!!! It's probably just wishfull thinking on my part, but has anyone ever seen, or owned the larger version? Is it possible this could have held a card? Maybe the larger box was a specially packaged garter for extremely fat men?

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Posted By: Jon Canfield

Forgot to mention... I have seen a Close candy box from the period. It belongs to a guy who is on the board (daily I'm sure). Awesome piece - even though I misplaced the picture I had of it. I'm sure that if he wants to share it, he'll post! However, in case he doesn't want to, I'll keep his name on the down low so I can stay on everyone's good side!

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Posted By: Anonymous

One more...

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Posted By: petecld

Tbob,

I have a Bloomes Chocolate box. I'm not saying cards came in it but I'll post a picture tonight.

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Posted By: Jon

Never saw the box before...