I would be very interested in learning more about the provenance, mostly because m101-5 blank- back distribution remains mysterious. There is little or no known advertising for these cards, other than the Chicago Examiner March-April, 1916 ads that offered the entire set for 15 cents. The OP says the original owner had a near-complete set as a teenager, yet I have not seen any ads for collecting them piecemeal or in groups, as is the case with m101-4 and the advertising backs for both sets, so how does one amass a near-set? Perhaps we can learn more, such as how many are in the near set and which cards are missing? Are the remaining cards headed for auction? Finally, where was the family living in 1916--maybe that can give clues as to how the cards were available.
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You're talking a lot, but you're not saying anything
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If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon's but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other.- Ulysses S. Grant, 18th US President.
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