[tedzan]

Scot.....your two shiny copper pennies are always appreciated. And, this comment of yours evoked some thoughts from my youth......"And
because manufacturer's intent will probably never be known".

True....we may never really know. However, I like to relate the impact of the T206 cards in 1909 to the impact that the 1952 Topps cards
made on us kids in 1952, and the BB card industry back then....if you will.

The popularity of these larger and more colorful cards in 1952 was amazing. The Topps Co. was probably most surprised. Topps responded
by reprinting their 1st series (thus Red Backs) and extending their set to 407 cards. Furthermore, Topps was very clever by holding off the
4 most popular BB players then (Mantle, Mays, Jackie Robinson and Bobby Thomson) till their Fall issue. My memories of this are clear (as
one's mind regresses, the older you get, and the memories of your youth return to you).

Bowman immediately responded by enlargening their smaller cards to compete with Topps. Followed by other company's (Bazooka, Dan Dee,
Hires, Red Man, Red Heart, Stahl-Meyers, Wilson Weiners) that got into the larger BB card market in the 1950's.

Finally, my point from making the above comparison, is that ATC realized the overwhelming impact that those little, colorful BB cards made
in 1909/1910 (especially with the young kids). So, we do have a a fairly accurate grasp of the "manufacturer's intent"....and, it was simply
to provide as many BB cards (or attractive non-sports premiums) in every tobacco package in the ATC system to enhance their sales.


Best regards,

TED Z