[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by Johnphotoman

Exhibitman, Here are some of my notes, In 1947 , the ESCO, Exhibt Supply Co. in Chicago produced baseball exhibit cards. Esco printed post cards size cards that were usually black and white. Sold the cards in penny arcade machines.
Some catalogs from that time suggest they produced sets of 32 or 64 cards each yeard., resulting in about 465 cards total. I do not have the source from where I save this information. They produced Exhibit cards from 1920-1960.
The Standard catalog of vintage baseball cards- List W461 Bond Bread Exhibits.

This popped up on my search today:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/757388

https://www.deanscards.com/c/837/194...9jMvJjc1z4btMr

I Just did a Google search: AI Overview

In 1947, the Exhibit Supply Company (ESCO) primarily printed trading cards featuring popular movie stars and athletes, which were dispensed through their vending machines located in various establishments like theaters and soda fountains; these cards are often referred to as "Exhibit Cards" and are considered a collectible item today.
Key points about Exhibit Supply Company cards in 1947:
Variety of subjects:
The cards featured a wide range of celebrities, including Hollywood actors, actresses, athletes, and sometimes even pin-up models.
Vending machine distribution:
These cards were designed to be dispensed from special vending machines owned by ESCO, which were placed in public locations.
Frequent updates: New sets of cards were printed regularly, ensuring a constant supply of fresh content for collectors.

It is this kind of information where I had drawn my conclusions from. John

None of that ties ESCO to these cards. More important are the indicators that these are not an ESCO product. The 'Bond Bread' cards are on a different stock and have different dimensions than Exhibit cards. Physically, there is nothing to tie them to the ESCO products except approximate size. Also, every example of an ESCO product that was made for a specific promotion for another company uses the ESCO base set with a back-printed ad: Dad's Cookies, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Triple Nickel Books. Some have stamped backs, like the Holloway Black Cow Sucker promotion. The only Exhibit cards that look remotely like these are the Canadian cards from 1953 and the origins of that set are not entirely clear. It uses ESCO-created images but they are 2nd generation with a number added in a small diamond at the bottom: