Posted By:
Jon CanfieldNYHighlanderFan,
Hopefully I will respond to each of your questions above but forgive me if I miss one.
Actually, contrary to belief, Drum was not a short lived brand. From all records I have found, Drum was first produced in 1893 (by Drummond), the brand was sold to the ATC in 1898, and the ATC at least produced it between 1909 and 1913. Drum is listed as being distributed in ATC records in 1913. However, I am unsure if Drum was produced between 1898 and 1909, or, as Ted suggested, it was revived in 1909 and then short lived. Another possible theory as to Drum's rarity could related to its desirability. While Piedmont and SC were incredibly popular, brands like Drum, Uzit and Hindu were not. Without great demand, very small amounts might have been produced.
As for American Beauty's, your question is a great one. I have seen both 8 and 20 count packs of AB. 8 count packs were soft packs, and not slide and shells. I don't believe, however, that AB cards were packaged in 8 count packs. Rather, I believe they were packaged in 10-count packs as were the other brands. I don't recall off the top of my head as to whether ATC's records even indicate that 8 count packs were produced during the 1909-1913 era but I do recall that 10 counts most defenately were produced during that period. I am well aware of the rumor that AB's are not as wide as normal T206s so that the cards could fit into the packs. I have no idea if this is true or not, but I can assure you that 10 count packs are just as wide as any other 10 count pack (and therefore an AB card wouldn't need to be less wide to fit) and the 8 count pack is too narrow to fit an AB card. So, I truly believe that the rumor that AB's are less wide to fit into the packs is simply that, a rumor.
Piedmont's could have a card inside even if the pack states L&M at the bottom. I believe that L&M brandishing on the packs first began in 1911.
As for whether the T206s could have been packaged into the teens, well that was the whole REA issue last year. I spoke with both Rob and the owner of the pack at length and I know the owner to be a truthful and stand-up guy. Without a doubt, I believe him that he pulled a T206 from a 12-count pack. However, this still leaves us with a problem. As a matter of law (and this can be easily verified), the US government did not allow for 12 count cigarette packs to be made and sold until 1917. So, if the 12 count Piedmont pack held a card - how did it get there? Through tampering or otherwise. That is a question I cannot answer at all. I guess it is possible that so many T206s were printed, the ATC packaged them until they were completely gone... given away entirely. Maybe this took years? Not long ago, however, I did receive an email from a private collector in Georgia. He had three mint, unopened Piedmont 12 count packs (with correct factory/district codes) still encased in untampered glassine. Based on the speculation, he decided to open two of the three packs. He did not pull a card from either of the two packs.
Lastly - Ty Cobb brand. Yes, there are articles linking the tobacco product to at least 1910. Here is a link to a 1910 write-up. Look at the bottom of the "Stray Topics" section. It notes that a smoking tobacco has been named for Ty Cobb.
http://home.comcast.net/~phlflyer1/baseball/misc/1910_03_05_Tucson_Daily_Citizen_Ty_Cobb_Smoking_To bacco.pdf