SMR Article - 1953 to 1955 Johnston Cookies Milwaukee Braves sets

[Kevin Glew]

Hello everyone,

It's Kevin Glew here.

Thank you to this community for your help on my articles in the past.

I'm now writing an article about the 1953 to 1955 Johnston Cookies Milwaukee Braves sets.

I would love to find someone who collected these sets when they came out or someone who is an ardent collector of them right now. If you know of anyone, please let me know.

Here are some specific questions I'm searching for answers for:

1. How widely were these cards distributed? Were they only distributed in Wisconsin?

2. How were these cards packaged with the cookies? Were they wrapped or inserted without any wrapping? (I realize there were six-card panels in the 1955 series)

3. What different Johnston products were these cards inserted in? Just cookies?

4. What was the mail-in offer for the full sets? I can't find an ad that outlines what collectors had to do to send away for a full set. I imagine they had to send in money along with some form of proof of purchase.

5. Why are the 1953 Johnston cards so much harder to find in high grade (according to the PSA Population Report) than the 1954 Johnston cards?

Any help you can provide would be appreciated. Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Kevin Glew

[bobw]

Here are 2 ads from 1953 newspapers



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[Volod]

I can't provide much insight on the premium offers, but I did collect the 1954 set in that year. I was an avid Braves fan as a kid and still recall the excitement I felt in discovering the cards in packages of Johnston cookies. Since this discovery occurred in a small Mom & Pop store in a small town in upstate New York, I have always been skeptical of the description of this set as a "regional." On the other hand, I suppose it's possible that Johnston could have shipped a one-off surplus of their 1954 product to stores in other states, as I did not find any of their cards in other years.
As far as the packaging is concerned, my recollection is of just a clear plastic wrap with the cookies and cards visible. No box, and perhaps just a cardboard buffer between the cards and the confection, which, as far as I can remember was a round, stripped shortbread item, similar to a product that Keebler sells today.

[toppcat]

Quite likely to my mind that many sets that are seen as "regional" to specific areas of the Great Lakes had a wider distribution on the lakes. I can certainly see a company in Milwaukee having a product distributed through Great Lakes ports in the 50's reaching upstate NY, Cleveland and the like.

[Kevin Glew]

Thank you to everyone for their responses and additional information. Sincerely, Kevin.

[62corvette]

I am a friend of Ned Johnston, who is the grandson of the founder of Johnston cookies. He was born around 1960–after the cards were produced but before the company was sold. He knew nothing about the cards, and I was privileged to give him a display with one card from each year.
The old Johnston brick building still exists about a mile from Miller park in Milwaukee. You can still make out the “Johnston Cookies” sign painted on the bricks.
His son Mike is a local golf pro/instructor who played on the Hooters tour a decade plus ago.
Ned, unfortunately, has no idea who might be able to help research the cards.

[Kevin Glew]

That's a great connection you have made, Mike. Thank you for looking into this for me.