Quote:
Originally Posted by Exhibitman
Mine:
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In my opinion, both your card and Leon's posted just above it are genuine 1947 Bond Bread package insert cards even though they appear to be slightly different because of the amount of ink impressed.
Both of these two cards have creases and other wear that clearly does not make them near mint.
I base my opinion that these two are Bond Bread inserts on my belief that most of the high grade Robinson cards of identical appearance come from the Sports Star Subjects sets that were issued in packets that protected them from such wear.
My view is controversial because many swear the Sports Star Subjects sets were issued in 1949-1950, and thus its Jackie Robinson card and some others would not be “rookie” cards. However, there are those who have responded to this thread (and elsewhere) who state they obtained packets of the Sports Star Subjects set with “rounded” corners like the Bond Bread package inserts in 1947 (and others who state they received packets with “square” corners in 1947).
The 48 card Sports Star Subjects set was issued in four series of different packets of 12, with each packet having two varieties. The difference is the imprint on the back of the packets. Some read “W.S.” / “N.Y” while others have that inscription clearly obliterated. Other than being identified with the Sports Star Subjects and Screen Star Subjects sets, no one responding to this thread was aware of who W.S.N.Y was until an association was made with the similarity in packaging of the “Navy Ships” / “Airplanes” set (W673) for which advertising in 1950 publications was located. The “Navy Ships” packets are printed with “A.J. Wildman & Son, New York” on the back. Thus the Sports Star Subjects (and the related Screen Star Subjects) sets were assumed to be issued about 1950. The contents of the “Navy Ships” set does indicate it could not have been issued earlier than Winter of 1949 as the newest ship/plane card in the set is the Martin XB-51 1st Prototype shown as a drawing that is virtually identical to the real photograph taken of its first flight on October 28, 1949.
What was missed was what was started to be discussed on the vintagecards website in 2011 and subsequently about “W.S.,” “W.S.N.Y.C.,” “A.J. Wildman New York,” and related sets. The association to the 1939 “Generals & Their Flags” set with “ © W.S. 1939, N.Y.C. ” printed on the back (and the anonymous 1936 sets of “American G-Men”) and other "W.S." sets from 1938-1942 was beginning to be drawn, as it had not been previously addressed in the ACC or other card catalogs.
The additional information about W.S. issuing cards long before 1947 challenges the assumption that the Sports Star Subjects set (that is identical to the 1947 Bond Bread package insert cards) was issued in 1949-1950. W.S. had been issuing a variety of sets of cards from more than 10 years before Bond Bread's 1947 issue.
We do have two distinct issues: 1947 Bond Bread package inserts and the Sports Star Subjects set. The cards though, are virtually identical. Since there are statements from various collectors of have received the Sports Star Subjects and Screen Star Subjects sets in packets in 1947, it appears to me that it is incorrect to assume those sets were not issued until 1949-1950.
That raises the issue of whether the Jackie Robinson and other cards of those sets are “rookie” cards, but from another set, and then again, which was issued first. The Bond Bread cards were not released until after the start of the 1947 baseball season. The other sets were sold in places like Macys and on newstands.
We know these baseball cards from either set were popular back then. Bond Bread issues tens of thousands of each player in bread packages for at least 6 months (and perhaps until the start of the 1948 baseball season). The second set of Sports Star Subjects packets with the “W.S.” / “N.Y” obliterated is indicative of that popularity and the need for more supply. We have found that W.S. was having issues before World War II with the printing of sets (unresolved during the War) that may have caused its name identification to be obliterated for a period of time after the War, and are working on resolving the dating issues.
There are other sets (non-sports sets) issued post-WWII through 1950 that came in the same style of packages as the Sports Star Subjects, Screen Star Subjects, and “Navy Ship” sets. Some indicate other publishers while others indicate none. I would appreciate it if anyone who has such a packet would send me a picture in a private message or post it in this thread.
Thanks,
Mike
P.S. [added 4/18/2021] Ted's pictures in this thread of the original 1947 Bond Bread cards he obtained back then suggests he has the highest condition Jackie Robinson and other cards that can be proven to be part of the 48 card set that actually came in Bond Bread packages. The fact that several grading companies placed similar looking cards in slabs they labeled as "1947 Bond Bread" package inserts, particularly those with higher grades, does not establish which of the various similarly looking sets the slab's enclosure came from.