Posted By:
Ted ZanidakisAlways great to hear from you, you are certainly one who appreciates these subtleties regarding the Monster.
OK, there is no argument regarding the Frame design on these four brands. Incidently Barry....of all basic 15
T-brands.....AB, BL, Cy, and DRUM are the only backs that share the same design.
Let's look at the lettering style (I show these two for illustrative purposes)....what words all 4 have in common:
1....CIGARETTES
2....Base Ball Series
3....the type style is identical for "350 SUBJECTS".....but, AMERICAN BEAUTY requires 2 lines, therefore "350
SUBJECTS" is printed on one line.
4....all four T-Brands are "Factory No. 25, 2nd Dist. VA"
Now, regarding the trivial differences in the large lettering of the T-brands......
1....the "A" variability between "American Beauty" and "Broad Leaf", I attribute to economy of space.
2....I see no difference in the "E" in "AMERICAN" and "LEAF"....and, an extremely minor difference in the "E"
in "BEAUTY".
3....The "R" differs (slightly) between "AMERICAN", "LEAF", and "DRUM".
Barry, I am no expert on artwork; however, I have a great friend who is a professional artist. I will seek his
opinion on this subject. And, I will report back to you.
In any event, whether it was the same artwork (or not), the thrust of my point on the "A-B-C-D connection"
was meant to provide some insight into why certain T-brand backs are much tougher than others....based on
the time frame when they were issued.
Best regards,
TED Z
