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Scot ReaderTed,
I generally think the so-called "assorted" backs (including Polar Bear) were first printed in the 350-only print run after Piedmont and Sweet Cap were first printed. For example, one article I read while researching T206 (I forget which one) indicated that American Beauty 350 was not launched until July 1910--well after Piedmont 350 and Sweet Cap 350 were released.
John,
It is paradoxical that Bobby Byrne and Jap Barbeau both appear in the 350-only series with St. Louis, even though one was traded for the other as part of an August 1909 deal. This means that some of the 350-only artwork was likely created BEFORE August 1909 while OTHER 350-only artwork was definitively created AFTER August 1909. More generally, this means that you cannot place a precise date on T206 artwork creation from team captions; T206 creation was a PROCESS, not an EVENT.
Scot