Holmes to Homes Bakery

[Jaybird]

Hey Guys,

Still hunting through old newspapers and found this cool ad for Holmes to Homes Bakery cards. see bottom right corner for baseball card offer. This is from The Washington Times May 3, 1916.

[DixieBaseball]

Jay - Nice ad piece... I recall a few years back when the Joe Jackson Holmes to Homes card surfaced, a lot of folks were asking the question was it real !? At that point, I think a lot of the collecting community was still in the dark on the Holmes to Homes ad back on the M101's...

Thanks for sharing - JJ

[Jaybird]

Thanks, I read that in the archives... Good to know it has some interest. However, I don't want to attract too much interest in that hopes that maybe one will slip by on ebay

Now, how bout someone show one?? Leon?

[Rob D.]

 

[nolemmings]

Thanks Jaybird, I had not seen that ad before. Interesting that the ad is in May, when m101-5 had already transformed into m101-4. Also interesting that the cards may have been inserted only in the double loaf, not the nickel loaf. I of course would love to see that "circular" referenced in the ad. Finally, it's interesting to see that there was a redemption program in place, although at only one card per loaf, it seems unlikely that many turned in the entire 200 for their prize.

Here's an ad from 1910, also from the Washington Times.

[oldjudge]

Todd-For one person to get enough cards for all the uniforms would have been very tough, but it could have been a team project. They could have had drives to outfit the local youth team. With 10+ families working together, maybe consuming a loaf of bread every day or every other day, and assuming not a lot of duplication, it could be accomplished. This says a lot about why the cards are so scarce.

[teetwoohsix]

Great thread !!! Thanks for posting this. These adds are awesome !!!

Sincerely, Clayton

[Jaybird]

Thanks for posting one, Rob! Great to see these cards. I wouldn't mind picking one up if someone wants to sell or drops me a line. That's not why I posted this but thought I'd throw it out there.

I agree that it seems they were only in the dime loaf and not the nickel loaf. That could certainly account for some of the rarity. Todd, I'd love to see that "circular" as well. People save a little of everything so who knows, maybe some day. I grew up in DC, so I'll start asking my old friends to check their attics

[Leon]

Nice ads guys. Nice way to try to find a scarce back too .....maybe it will work for you? (see BST tomorrow)

[Jaybird]

Originally Posted by Leon

Nice ads guys. Nice way to try to find a scarce back too .....maybe it will work for you? (see BST tomorrow)

You got a 14 year head start on me, Leon. I gotta try everything I can!!!

[Brian Van Horn]

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[nolemmings]

Thanks for showing those again Brian. You've posted them before, and I never get tired of seeing them--envious yes, tired no. You can even feel free to e-mail me hi-res scans if you like

One thing I noticed is that each of yours seems to have light stamping on the back-- an "H" in one spot and what just might be part of the ampersand and letters like those from the Holmes & Son ad I posted. I am among the world's worst at photo-shopping and enhancing/contrasting images, but the Roush especially seems to have what could be read as "MES & SON" diagonally downward across the back. Maybe someone with the proper skills can get us a better look at that.

If there is such a stamp, this would seem to confirm that the cards were redeemed. It also would appear that even if redeemed, they may have been stamped and returned to the customer.

[Brian Van Horn]

Todd,

Thank You for your post. The scans are about as Hi-Res as I can get. As far as the "MES & SON" stamp that you refer to, I see the stamp in question, but I can't make it out to the point you are indicating.

[ValKehl]

There are some repro pics of vintage Holmes Bakery delivery trucks available for purchase on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/HOLMES-BAKERY-TR...item1e6356eb22
http://cgi.ebay.com/HOLMES-BAKERY-TR...item2eb4ec126d
http://cgi.ebay.com/11x14-HOLMES-BAK...item53e610ba79
It appears to me that the building that is behind the trucks in these pics is the same building that appears in the 1910 Wash. Times ad that Todd showed.
Val

[Brian Van Horn]

Todd,

Here are scans of the backs without the cards being in the sleeves:

[Jaybird]

Those certainly looked like cancellation marks. Very cool! Now let's see those Holmes baseball outfits that were given out

[smtjoy]

Great thread, that ad is awesome!

Heres my hth type-

[nolemmings]

Thought I would revive this thread to show a couple of ads I recently found. The first appears to be the initial promotion for the cards on April 12, 1916--at least I have yet to find an earlier ad--and unlike the other ads shown in this thread, this one came from the Washington Herald, not the Washington Times:

The second (also from the Herald) is interesting because it references Clyde Milan having hit a home run on Opening Day and shows his card. He did in fact hit a homer that day, his only of the season, and the ad ran just two days later, on April 14, 1916. It seems someone was quick to create the ad and get it to the typesetter and publisher.


Finally, while it's hard to read in these scans, it should be noted that Holmes only awarded one set of baseball uniforms--to the first person/group that submitted all 200 cards. Second prize was one set of baseball gloves "for a team of ten men", and third was one "complete catcher's outfit". After that you got the entire 200 cards on a framed sheet for your trouble. Seeing as you had to buy $20 worth of bread and do some serious horse trading to get all 200 for the contest, I wonder how much enthusiasm the promotion generated.