Re: Merchantile Novelty Company, Inc.
 

I am researching a company called the Merchantile Novelty Company, Inc, a business that existed in New York City. As I understand it, that company manufactured some sort of major league baseball product (card, blanket, felt or what have you) in the 1914 and/or 1915 time period. Does anyone have any information about the company or what the product or card was that they manufactured?

Thanks.

Ive never heard the term "Merchantile Novelty Co. Inc.", but it may be the company that made the B18's. There is a picture in Lipsets Encyclopedia of the adhesive strip that attached the B18s, but its may not show all the fine print on it. the only writing I can make out is "An Attractive Novelty Attached to this Package" and also a tobacco factory district number, similar to whats on back of a T206 card.

info on B18s
The felts are usually called "B18 Blankets". They were folded (sometimes inside a small envelope) and attached to the outside of packages with an adhesive strip to packages of Egyptienne Straights Cigarettes. They are from 1914 and measure roughly 5.25" on each side. These blankets are often found sewn together on quilts or pillow cases. There are a couple color variations for each player, with 90 different players in the set.

http://centuryoldcards.com/images/b18cobb.jpg

for cards.....
 

I have never heard of "Merchantile Novelty Co, Inc" being associated with pre-war baseball cards. As an addicted type collector there is a good chance I would have if there was. Not saying that we won't see an ad on the back of a card in the future, with that on it, but as of now, .....it's a no-go for me. The only "Novelty" reference I am aware of is Leader Novelty company...which is an obscure and not-too-well-known-about strip card type set.

Novelty Cutlery

woops...
 

yeah, those too :) ...thanks Tom....I am not really a postcard guy so forgot about those.

thanks Tom, now back to the Darkside :D

Leon that a nice Bancroft PC you have for a non=postcard guy! :)

more info please
 

Old Cardboard states that Novelty Cutlery PCs were produced by the Novelty Cutlery Co. of Canton, OH. Was this an affiliate of Merchantile Novelty Co. Inc. of NY? Was one a successor to the other? Is Old Cardboard in error? I seem to recall a reference to the Merchantile Novelty Co, but do not know from where--maybe an article in VCBC or OC?

well
 

For the most part I don't collect them but if I did I would be all over that one....I think it's really neat and is the reason I picked it up (to resell).

Nothing from this corner on "Merchantile Novelty," but there were plenty of companies with "Novelty" in their name that produced baseball-related stuff. Thought sure somebody on board would have mentioned the circa 1919 cards by Mayfair Novelty Co...

Just in games, there's
National League Ball Game (Yankee Novelty Co, 1890)
American Base Ball (Mechanical Novelty Co, 1903)
Leslie's Base-Ball Game (Perfection Novelty & Advertising, 1909)
Pennant Puzzle (O.K. Novelty Co, 1909)
"Babe Ruth" Witch-E Base-Ball Game (Baltimore Novelty Co Inc, circa 1920)
Ty Cobb's Own Game of Base Ball (The National Novelty Co, 1924)
Play Ball - Everybody's Game (Krieger Novelty Co, 1925; 2nd edition 1928)
Home Run (Durable Toy & Novelty Corp, 1935)
and onward... plus any number of baseball punchboards, dolls, and coin-ops by several other "Novelty" companies.