Posted By:
Hal KaplanHello,
Very interesting item. I've been a lurker (and occasional poster) on the pre-war forum for some time, and I think I may have found something helpful on this. To introduce myself, I have been interested in vintage cards and have been an avid reader of hobby literature since the mid-late '80s, although I haven't been able to afford to buy more than a couple of prewar cards.
When I read your post, I remembered this site which I had seen awhile back:
http://www.vintageball.com/FavoriteFinds.html
If you scroll down to the article titled "What Was Upstairs?", this article is about a collector who found a PM1 in a New Hampshire antique shop. According to the collector who wrote the story, the proprietor of the antique shop also had "a box full of these [PM1] pins and other jewelry made with the same photos including bracelets". Unfortunately the collector who wrote the story was unable to see or buy the rest of the collection. It sounds like some of this "other jewelry" may refer to what you have, and others may be out there.
Here's my theory: There are several card sets from the 1910 era which were cut from candy boxes. These boxes advertised other things in addition to the candy. For example, Dockman's "All Star Base-Ball Package" boxes contained "candy and gift", Konigsberg's "J=K" candy boxes advertised "Candy and Jewelry", and the boxes the Orange Borders came in also contained "Candy and Jewelry". My theory is that what you have (and/or the PM1s) are the "Jewelry" or "Gift" which came in one or more of these candy boxes, or perhaps in a different box (e.g. the set known as E-Unc).
Any thoughts? Does anyone else have any ideas?