Whatever happen to.....
 

All,

For me, one of the most interesting parts of vintage card collecting is to learn
about companies that distributed early baseball cards.

As many probably know T206 were issued by the American Tobacco Company
from 1909-1911. I'm quoting Scot Reader's "Inside T206" which states ATC,
also known as the “Tobacco Trust,” held a monopolistic position in the U.S.
cigarette market from around the turn of the century until 1911. ATC was
ordered broken-up by the U.S. Supreme Court on May 29, 1911 in an opinion
styled United States v. The American Tobacco Company, 221 U.S. 106 (1911).

So we pretty much know about their demise. I know some research has been
done on companies such as Goudey, Topps and Cracker Jack. But what about
other early card distributors? Has anyone researched companies such as
American Caramel, Hassan, Famous-Barr, Nadja, Zeenuts or the like? If so,
would you care to share your findings?

Thanks,

ErikV

Well, Famous-Barr is still in business in St. Louis as a clothing store, which it always has been (although now part of Macy's). I always thought the giving of cards was just a short promotional idea to get folks in the store.

Allen & Ginter was acquired by American Tobacco Company but part of their legacy lives on. My son and I took a campus tour of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, VA recently and found out that one of the Administration Buildings is a house built by tobacco magnate Major Lewis Ginter of Allen & Ginter fame.

Here's a link to the history of this house:

http://www.provost.vcu.edu/about/ginter/history.html

Here are some pictures I took.

http://photos.imageevent.com/ltsgall...e/IMG_0159.JPG

Notice the cigarette shaped chimney.

http://photos.imageevent.com/ltsgall...e/IMG_0160.JPG

jeff

Jeff,

Excellent pictures...thank you very much for posting them.

You didn't happen to take any inside shots with images pertaining to the cards produced there, did you?

:)

Waiting with unbridled hope,

Eric

Unfortunately I have no pictures of the inside. We were on a structured campus tour and they just breezed by the Ginter House during our walk around campus. Would love to poke around inside someday, though.

jeff

Obak Cigarettes
 

I can't contribute any info about what happened to the Obak company, but Mark Macrae told me about this advertisement that was painted on the side of a brick building back in the early 1900's. I found a picture on google. It's faded, but still there to this day in Portland I believe.

Here's a quick history on York Caramel Company, known for the E210 sets.

http://www.ydr.com/ci_23502172/class...er-acquisition