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Joe_G.I've received several emails asking similar questions and thought I'd reply here for those interested. Also, since I haven't done so publicly yet, I want to thank Lyman & Brett Hardeman for another fine issue of Old Cardboard. I hope that Net54 members will take the time each issue to discuss the articles and help spread the word so the magazine can further flourish.
That said, I'd like to answer a couple questions. First question is w.r.t. the Bennett OJ not exactly matching the Tomlinson equivalent and what I meant about there being two different versions of the Bennett Old Judge.
While the image size above is significantly reduced, you can see that the top two cabinets are pose variations of the same player. Both are Ned Hanlon Tomlinson cabinets from the 1886 photo shoot. So slight pose variations exist for most if not all players photographed that day. Moving onto Charlie Bennett (bottom row of cabinets), the 2 Old Judge cabinets on the right are a slight pose variation of the Tomlinson on the left but undoubtedly from the same photo shoot. Furthermore, Goodwin and Company released the Bennett with and without "DETROIT" still visible across the chest. I suspect only the earliest copies would have "DETROIT" present while the later copies have "DETROIT" erased/whitened out.
I was also asked what if anything in the article was part of my own collection. I do own some of the items shown in the article including the 1886 team cabinet (perhaps my favorite piece), the Lorillard, and all the Tomlinson portrait cabinets except the Deacon White in suit. I also have several other baseball Tomlinson cabinets not shown in the article including the Hanlon action pose above right. The middle Bennett OJ cabinet (the only Bennett I'm aware of with DETROIT on the uniform) is also part of my collection.
There was also an inquiry as to whether the Detroit Public Library displays their Tomlinson cabinets. The answer to that is yes, but you will likely have to ask someone from the Burton Collection to let you into the Ernie Harwell room. Once inside, you'll find the Tomlinson cabinets including a fantastic team photo together with other baseball memorabilia (heavy Detroit bias). The library has a great collection of baseball photos and to a lesser extent cards but only a small portion of them are displayed in the Harwell room. Item's not present in the Harwell room are tougher to view, heck I haven't been able to see everything and I'm now good friends with the Curator.
http://www.detroit.lib.mi.us/Special_Collections/special_collections.htmBest Regards,
Joe Gonsowski