Dating of The Reccius Cigar Card of Honus Wagner

[Robert_Lifson]

The Reccius Cigar Card of Honus Wagner has long been a bit of a mystery with reference to its precise dating. In the past, many collectors naturally thought it dated from between 1897 and 1899 because Wagner is pictured with Louisville. In more recent years, this has been questioned in part because of the new information that came to light in 2005 when REA auctioned a Honus Wagner Cigar Box featuring the same image as the Reccius card:

http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/...n/2005/54.html

(The addendum for the Honus Wagner Cigar box description reads as follows:

Auction Description Modification: The title of this description refers to the Honus Wagner cigar box as dating from “Circa 1898.” This dating is in error. The box actually dates from between 1919 and 1926. It has long been misdated in the baseball world due to Wagner’s appearance on the box in a Louisville uniform. Until 1917 cigars were taxed by weight. In 1917 new law taxing them by selling price went into effect. That law was revised in 1919. In 1919, the small rectangle on the front of this box was created and required to appear on the box. The text in this rectangle reads as follows: "The cigars herein contained were manufactured to retail at nor more than 5¢ and are so tax paid." Any box that has this rectangle, or has a gold on blue revenue stamp, is post 1919. Robert Edward Auctions gives thanks to Mr. Tony Hyman, Curator of the National Cigar Museum, for his invaluable help in properly dating this cigar box.)

I recently received a very interesting email from great scholar and historian John Thorn (who is also Major League Baseball’s Official Historian) regarding the dating of the Reccius Wagner trade card. He knew I was very interested in this topic and sent me the following information, which I have cut and pasted below, with his permission, so that his research is not lost and is shared.

Thank you, John Thorn, for this valuable information that will be able to be reviewed and appreciated by card collectors (and thank you for all of your other countless great contributions to the hobby and baseball history as well!). Here’s the communication (and please note that the address of the Henry Reccius Cigar store is listed on the trade card as “2606 Elliot Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky”):

Thought you'd like to know this, regarding Wagner Reccius Cigar card, conventionally dated 1897-99 ...

john

Subject: Henry Reccius in Louisville City Directories
Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 15:22:10 -0400


Verdict: Wagner card could have been issued no earlier than 1903 and no later than 1918. See below:

1878 cigarmaker, resides at 690 Grayson, near 22nd

1885: cigar manufacturer, works 28th, opp Magazine; John Reccius, baseballist, resides 2224 Grayson, as does Philip REccius, same line of work.

1891: Henry Reccius is at Elliott Avenue near intersection with 27th Street

1892: Cigarmaker at R.N. Ewell & Co., resides 23343 Green

1893: Cigarmaker at R.N. Ewell & Co., resides 23343 Green

1895: cigarmaker, C.C. Bickel & Co., resides 2216 Eddy

1897: cigarmaker, resides 2216 Eddy

1898: cigarmaker, resides 2216 Eddy

1899: cigarmaker, resides 2216 Eddy

1900: Henry is a cigar manufacturer in Louisville at 2803 West Broadway

1902: Henry is a cigar manufacturer in Louisville at 2803 West Broadway

1903: Henry is a cigar manufacturer in Louisville at 2803 West Broadway

1904: Henry is a cigarmaker, residing at 2606 Elliott

1905: Henry is a cigarmaker, residing at 2608 Elliott

1906: Henry is a cigarmaker, residing at 2606 Elliott

1907: Henry is a cigarmaker, residing at 2606 Elliott

1908: Henry is a cigarmaker, residing at 2606 Elliott

1909: Henry is a cigar manufacturer at 2606 (2608) Elliott

1910: Henry is a cigarmaker, residing at 2608 Elliott

1911: Henry is a cigarmaker, residing at 2608 Elliott

1913: Henry is a cigarmaker, residing at 2608 Elliott

1917: Henry is a cigarmaker, residing at 2608 Elliott

1918: Henry is a cigarmaker, residing at 2608 Elliott

-end John Thorn email-

The Reccuis Wagner is a great card regardless of whether it is his rookie card dating from 1897-1899 (as once commonly believed) or actually issued many years later (as certainly appears to be the case). To the best of my knowledge, only two Reccius Cigar Wagner trade cards are currently known to exist: 1) one in private hands (graded “Authentic” by PSA, sold at public auction in 2012 for $21,400); and 2) one graded PR-FR 1 by PSA that has been sold at public auction several times since 1997, last appearing at auction in 2006 ($52,039) and subsequently donated to the Hall of Fame by collector Hal Lewis (according to the plaque that accompanied it when on display). Interestingly, Bob Lemke’s blog documents a (presumably different) third example pictured in the December 6, 1950 edition of The Sporting News! Here’s a link:

http://boblemke.blogspot.com/2013/03...n-in-1950.html

[Baseball Rarities]

Thanks to John for the work and to Rob for passing it along.

I wonder if those addresses are for his residential home or his commercial business.

Also, the 1891 address listed in the directory (Elliott Avenue near intersection with 27th Street) seems to be the same address as the 2606 Elliott Ave that is printed on the card and is listed from 1904 on.

[drcy]

People shouldn't smoke anyways.

I told my dad that when he reached 80 he could start smoking cigars, under the philosophy of 'Hey, when you hit 80 you can do whatever you want and, besides, what's the health concern at that point?' He said "Not if your mom is still around."

[bcbgcbrcb]

I am also under the belief that it was issued much later than 1897-99, late teens - early twenties.....

[Peter_Spaeth]

Years ago Hal Lewis posted the results of his extensive research into the dating of the Reccius Wagner, I believe he also concluded it was 20th century but I can't find it on a quick search as too many threads show up.

[Bicem]

Thanks for sharing the info Rob (and John)!

[swarmee]

Hans Wagner Cigar Box

Here's an auction I noticed last week that ended with no bids and got re-listed. Might be interesting to those reading this thread.

[Michael Peich]

Great job of sharing valuable information, Rob. Many thanks to you and John Thorn.

Cheers,
Mike

[gnaz01]

Originally Posted by swarmee

Hans Wagner Cigar Box

Here's an auction I noticed last week that ended with no bids and got re-listed. Might be interesting to those reading this thread.

This has been on eBay for 2 years, it has been deemed a fantasy piece, and not vintage. Here is a real Wagner label looks like that I have in my collection:

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by gnaz01

This has been on eBay for 2 years, it has been deemed a fantasy piece, and not vintage.

Appreciate it. Maybe it should be turned in as fake.

[h2oya311]

Excellent info! Thanks for sharing!

[1880nonsports]

that IS the date. NO-ONE knows more about cigars and their containers than Tony. His book is a must read for the cigarbox collector. A bit on the rougher side for some - he has always been willing to help me over many years. Pretty much retired and no longer doing radio shows....

[1880nonsports]

show your cigar band :-)

[Baseball Rarities]

Originally Posted by 1880nonsports

that IS the date. NO-ONE knows more about cigars and their containers than Tony. His book is a must read for the cigarbox collector. A bit on the rougher side for some - he has always been willing to help me over many years. Pretty much retired and no longer doing radio shows....

I agree, Tony Hyman definitely knows his stuff, but in this case he is referring to the Wagner cigar box the REA auctioned off, not the trade card. They have nothing to do with each other except that they used the same image of Wagner.

[ethicsprof]

many thanks for the information, Rob and John.

As an aside, it's always great to hear about Hal Lewis and his involvements in the hobby some years back. Thanks for the memories, Peter S. .
all the best,
barry

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by ethicsprof

many thanks for the information, Rob and John.

As an aside, it's always great to hear about Hal Lewis and his involvements in the hobby some years back. Thanks for the memories, Peter S. .
all the best,
barry

Yeah, he was relentless in his obsession with "true" rookies. As some of the candidates were not baseball cards in the traditional sense, it made for some interesting discussions.

[1880nonsports]

could someone post a picture or link to the trade card? I've seen it before in a catalog I can't lay my hands on and the one on the blog linked above was hard to see clearly or make out details...........

[gnaz01]

Originally Posted by 1880nonsports

show your cigar band :-)

Here it is

[spacktrack]

For anyone not familiar with the Reccius Wagner card, I've included a picture below, followed by the cigar box REA auctioned featuring the same picture.

[Steve D]

I've just done a bit of research on Ancestry.com, and have found the following information:

According to the 1889 Louisville Phone Directory, Henry Reccius lived on Elliott Ave near 29th.

According to the 1900 Federal Census, he lived at 2803 Elliott Ave.

The 1901 Louisville phonebook has him at 2803 West Broadway, in the Cigar Manufactures section of the "Yellow" pages.

The 1902 Louisville phonebook, lists him at 2803 West Broadway.

In the 1904 Louisville phonebook, his residence was 2606 Elliott Ave

The 1904 phonebook further listed his business at 2603 West Broadway. It also has an Elsie Reccius (his wife), with a sewing business at 2803 West Broadway.

The 1910 Federal Census shows him and his family living at 2608 Elliott Ave.

He's further listed in the 1915 phonebook at 2608 Elliott Ave.

Now, in the 1919 phonebook, he's listed as working for the J B Coblens & Co at 431 Amy Ave.

Then in the 1920 phonebook, he's listed at 1824 W Jeff, again with J B Coblens & Co.

The 1925 Phone book has him at 402 Amy Ave.

So, based on the above, it appears to me that the card was probably issued before 1902. This is because in 1901, he had a business at 2803 West Broadway. The card shows his address at 2606 Elliott, which was his residence. It also specifically mentions his home phone. If it was issued in 1901 or later, it is logical to think he would have put the West Broadway address on it, as that was his business address. Since the card shows his home address (he presumably worked from home at the time), it must have been issued before that. Furthermore, since his address is listed as 2803 Elliott Ave in the 1900 Federal Census (dated 4 Jun 1900), the card was probably issued after that. All this, to me, puts the trade card's date of issue before 1902.

Steve

[Peter_Spaeth]

Steve I don't quite follow your logic. Suppose he closed the business address after a couple of years and moved it back home? It could have been issued any time in the late 00s or early to mid teens then, no?

[Steve D]

Peter,

That is a possibility.

I've also dug up the following interesting factoids:

Three of Henry Reccius' brothers, John, Bill and Phil, were in baseball.

John Reccius was a pitcher/centerfielder for the Louisville Eclipse (American Association) in 1882 and 1883.

Bill Reccius was the founder and manager of the Louisville Eclipse in the 1870s.

Phil Reccius played for Louisville from 1882 - 1888, Cleveland in 1887 and Rochester in 1890, all in the Amer Assoc.

The Reccius brothers were childhood friends of Pete Browning and Jimmy "Chicken" Wolf.

Reccius Baseball Park was the home of the team (at least from 1906 - 1915), at the NW corner of Garland Ave and 28th Street.

Steve

[Peter_Spaeth]

As there are references to both 2606 and 2608 Elliott, perhaps at a point he had acquired adjacent properties and used one for business.

[Kris19]

I realize this is pulling up a thread from nearly 5 years ago, but nearly everyone who posted is still active, so I thought you might be interested in a little addendum. Sorry, it doesn't solve the big question of the issue date of the Reccius Wagner.

Henry’s brother, John, pitched in the American Association for the Louisville Colonels. Immediately following his playing days, he opened a sporting goods store specializing "Base Ball Supplies" in Louisville. His store also sold, among other things, cigars.

I recently won the business/advertising card shown below in an auction. Based on information found in the Louisville City Directory and the Louisville Courier-Journal, J W Reccius operated his base ball supplies store at 1703 Market St (the address on the card) in 1883 and 1884, then moved to a new location at 342 Third St. in 1885.

[Rhotchkiss]

Great read. Thanks for reviving