Question for 1911 Obak Collectors

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Posted By: Jamie Hull

I recently picked up a large grouping of 1911 Obaks and around 25 of them have what appear to be printer’s marks or alignment marks on the front borders. Not all are quite as obvious as Seaton and Cartwright here, but generally they’re pretty apparent on the cards that have them. I’ve owned about a dozen 1911 Obaks in the past (all long ago sold) and don’t remember having seen any marks on them. So, how common are alignment marks like these on 1911 Obaks? And if they are common, what does it tell us about the printing process? (I believe such marks on issues like T206 are quite scarce.)

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Posted By: Brian

Jamie,

I am certainly no expert, but I have handle quiet a few 1911 Obaks. I have never owned a card w/ print marks. Perhaps Mark Macrae or others (Tbob, Leon, SB) could offer more information?

Brian

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Posted By: Shannon

Am I missing something here? I do not see any print marks, nor have I seen any and I have handled 100s of them.

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Posted By: Jon Canfield

If you look on the top borders and each side of the cards pictured, you can see the "cross-haired" print marks. At least I can from my screen.

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Posted By: Jamie Hull

Thanks Brian.
I'm not sure print marks is the proper term. I'm referring to the crosshairs that are present on the right, left, and top edges of the card, in the white border. I'd always thought such marks were alignment marks to help the pressman align the sheet of paper with the printing plate. But I'm certainly not a printing expert.
If you look at the 40-odd 1911 Obaks on the Library of Congress site, you'll see there's about a half-dozen cards there that possess similar marks.
I'm more curious why'd they'd be present on so many (relatively) finished cards. It's not like these are handcut proofs or scrap, which is where I've mostly seen similar type marks on other tobacco issues.

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Posted By: Brian

When I said "print marks" in my post I meant to say "printer's marks". I understand the distinction even though my first post didn't show it.

Mark Macrae has said the 1909s were printed in 4 rows of 19 cards. I haven't heard about the printing process on 1911s. Leon owns an uncut strip of 1910s. And someone mentioned that a sheet was sold at auction in the 90s. I know the underbidder on that lot, but I can't remember what year the sheet was...

Brian