N566 Newsboy Pugilists and their variations

[RCMcKenzie]

Here's the Jackson I have. Are they all not the same photo cropped a little differently by each mount?

[G1911]

Originally Posted by RCMcKenzie

Here's the Jackson I have. Are they all not the same photo cropped a little differently by each mount?

They aren't all the same photo cropped a little differently dependent on the mount. For Jackson, there are definitely 2 different actual photographs used - the tougher one also has his arm lower, not crossing over his breast as another notable difference. Looks similar, but definitely a different photograph. The tougher Jackson photo is the same picture used to model his c. 1894-1895 N310 Mayo card and looks to have been taken during the same photoshoot as the more commonly seen image of Jackson.

For Jackson (left foot straight), each copy will be ever so slightly different within the same variation. The photographs show signs of being handcut with some occasional unevenness. Note the Jackson that Dave shared, which also has the name on mount but the other font. Jackson's head is partly cut off at the top on that copy, while your card has his feet slightly shaved instead. The same exact variation of Jackson is photo 2 in post #4 - note the cropping is again ever so slightly different. I would liken it to the centering on a modern card that uses full bleed photographs - on the sheet the cards are slightly larger than the final card is, so that a slight off centering won't show a different image and make Topps look sloppy. Different copies will show an extra quarter mm or whatever of a pitchers hand, but it's not really a different variation, it's just how the item was cut.


Separate from this, I would note the inclusion of only 72 Corbett and 73 Jackson as boxing subjects in this group may be indicative of when group 1 Newsboys ere designed and made. Their fight was May 5, 1891 and was big news at the time, one of the most discussed non-title fights of boxing history.

[G1911]

Also, I found this morning that copy of the composite SGC claimed is a Newsboy that I mentioned earlier. It was sold alongside this "N150" to the right. I am pretty certain this is a hobby myth and not true. Note the same 'checklist' on a different mount is slabbed as N150. N150 is a series of over 1,000 cards, most all actresses, with a handful of men in it including 4 pictures of John L. Sullivan from his stage career. This picture of Sullivan is one of those 4 poses in N150. However, not all of these pictures correspond to N566 Newsboy photographs nor to N150.

It would not be surprising if there is a Sullivan card using this common photograph as one of the hundreds of missing numbers. His boxing card is a 1 of 1 as far as I am aware right now, but I don't think this composite has anything to do with whether or not he ever had another pose in the Newsboy cabinets.

I think SGC or somebody else just made this up and we are looking at something unrelated. A red frame does not make a card a Newsboy. It baffles me how the graders will refuse to recognize something that is plainly and clearly true because it isn't 'catalogued' but will then turn around and just completely make stuff up out of thin air. One of many reasons I am loathe to use pop reports rather than pictures to validate and certify certain cards do actually exist.