What Cards were issued in this generic Shapira Box?
 

Anyone ever see this Candy box before? Looks like a generic box for a baseball card set.

It states: "This is one in a series of baseball candy and toy packages. Save the entire set"

Now the box seems generic so guessing there had to be a card of some kind inside?

The drawings on back favor some ball players.

Top Middle looks like WaJo Walter Johnson to me

Middle Left looks like Grover Alexander


https://www.ebay.com/itm/19554145899...p2047675.l2557

Dan, I've never seen this Schapira candy box before. But the wording "a series of ... packages. Save the entire set." suggests to me there was no card inside. Rather, there may have been a small toy inside the box, and/or maybe kids were supposed to save the entire set of boxes with their different designs.

Saw that also. Figured it was just a generic box with different drawings, that they were calling it a set to possibly help sales. If a card was inside, would think they would have specifically mentioned as such and referred to it as a card set. I think in this case they may have just used different front images on the boxes they made for the different things they sold. And by using generic drawings it didn't cost them anything and make them have to get permission and pay any ballplayer for the use of their image.

The Walter Johnson resemblance is interesting, and I can see how it can be argued it does kind of look a little like some other non-photo images I remember seeing on some strip cards of Johnson, like this one.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1358604...a952664de9a452

But unfortunately I think you're grasping for straws on that point Dan.

As for the box itself, definitely a neat, and exceedingly rare item, but once again, completely generic. Actually, quite a bit surprised at the current high bid. I'm only guessing, but the long story/description included with the listing that ties in the Schapira Co. with Ruth and other cards issued may have had at least a little bit to do with the bidding, and some people then mistakenly thinking it might be something more than it actually is. Personally, because of the very generic nature of the item, I would have thought it worth somewhere in the $50-$75 range, at best. And even that might be a bit of a stretch IMO. Unless there is some candy and/or candy related hobby that I'm totally unaware of that places a high value on something like this.

I'm not sure if these cards could have come in that box, is there more information on the package that these cards were in?

https://prewarcards.com/2016/09/05/1...and-checklist/

Here a couple of images from the ebay listing of the front and back panel of this box. I have a feeling no cards were included within the box, but that is just a reasonable guess, consider the Schapira Ruth cards were actually part of the box.

I would guess Lajoie upper right. And Speaker on the 'Will He Hit' panel.

Brian

Patrick, these Schapira Bros. cards came in small boxes that had a circus animal theme. Reference OC: https://oldcardboard.com/e/e2/schapi...?cardsetID=784
Many years ago, I had a few of these boxes, but I sold or traded them without saving pics.

There are the Schapira Big Show Baseball Cards that supposedly came in the animal circus boxes....... Sure looks like this is a better fit for those to have come in this Baseball box.

Not grasping at anything Bob, Something was issued here to be collected as a set and I just put the ? out there. Maybe other Baseball Boxes with different likenesses of players on back. but if that were the case, Why not just have 1 drawing of a player on each box? Interesting stuff

I don't know anything about these Dan but that was my thought too.

Here is the 1922 Big Show display Box and the complete set of Circus Boxes.

Hey Dan, I'm actually with you, and that is exactly why I looked for and posted the link to that strip card of Johnson. There is a bit of a resemblance if you look at it closely and long enough. My comment about maybe grasping at straws had to do with ever hoping to get the rest of the main card public to accept that without any further proof though. Was not trying to insinuate you were trying to push or achieve anything, just a phrase I threw out. My bad if you took a different meaning. As someone else noted, other images on that box looked somewhat like Lajoie and Speaker to them, and I can kind of see both of those resemblances as well.

But like you said, why not have just 1 player image on a box then. I've honestly never seen another box like the one you're posted about. Are there other known similar boxes like it out there? If so, maybe seeing some others, side by side, might reveal something else about these. As you originally mentioned, the box states you were to collect a set of them, which would seem to make one think there should be different, but similar, versions of this same box out there. For example, maybe those headshot images on the back were each represented as a different image on the fronts, so that the person batting on the front of the box selling on Ebay is actually supposed to be one of the players whose profile is then shown on the back. In that case, maybe there are supposed to be 8 different boxes in this set, one for each of the 8 player profile images on the back? Don't know, just pure speculation at this point. But like you said, interesting stuff for sure.

By the way, love that collection of the animal circus boxes and related items. Hope that is yours.

That definitely would be a better fit than the circus boxes, but it sure is strange that this is the first box that has been unearthed (at least as far as I know). Then again those Schapira baseball cards are certainly a rare beast, even in comparison to the Babe Ruth box cards.

Brian

Great display, Dan. Thanks for sharing it.
Good question too. It would seem to make sense that the one with baseball guys on the outside, would have baseball players on the inside. Not definitive but it makes some sense.
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Yes thanks Leon! Always appreciate the forum's insights. Thanks bunches everyone!