[Archive]

Posted By: Jay Miller

Joe--I have four packs, three of which have the printing such that the words "Old Judge" cannot fit completely on the front of the box. One of mine, dated August 1,1888 has the baseball notice on the side. Another pack, also dated August 1,1888 does not. I also have a third pack dated Dec 1891. All these packs are the same size. I have a larger pack which looks like Julies in that the words "Old Judge" fit on the front. This is a post 1890 pack as it notes that Goodwin & Co. is a branch of the American Tobacco Co. This pack is bigger because, as it notes on the side, cigarette holders are packed in the box. This pack is 1 3/4"x 3"x 5/8". I'm not sure how Julie measured her pack but I would give that ruler a sobriety test.
In answer to your original question I believe tax stamps were overprinted when received and they were used until they were used up. Therefore, a pack could have a tax stamp that was dated a long time prior to when the item was actually sold. However, this was probably not the case for Goodwin & Co.