How were T3 Cards Manufactured?

[TobaccoKing4]

Does anyone have any information regarding how these cards were manufactured? Were they produced using photo negatives similar to Old Judge cards, or are they lithographs like the T206s?

Thanks.

[irishdenny]

The Latter...
There are Actually "T3 Proofs",
Much as the Same as the Popular "T206 Proofs"!

Maybe Mr. Craig will Chime iN!?!?
He has been a "T3 Professor", as iN Educated ~
Fir Sum Time Now!!!

Love Dose T3's!!!

[TobaccoKing4]

Originally Posted by irishdenny

The Latter...
There are Actually "T3 Proofs",
Much as the Same as the Popular "T206 Proofs"!

Maybe Mr. Craig will Chime iN!?!?
He has been a "T3 Professor", as iN Educated ~
Fir Sum Time Now!!!

Love Dose T3's!!!

Interesting. I did some more research after posting this and found that they are specifically chromolithographs. They used a litho-stone, exposed it to a photonegative, and then added coloring and details to the litho-stone. Interesting stuff!

[bdk1976]

Tobaccoking- any links to what you found? I'm interested in this as well.


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[TobaccoKing4]

Originally Posted by bdk1976

Tobaccoking- any links to what you found? I'm interested in this as well.


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The following gov't website describes them as chromolithographs:
https://www.loc.gov/collections/base...=shelf-id_desc

The following website talks about how chromolithographs were/are made:
http://www.metropostcard.com/print10-photochromo.html

[T3s]

Hello,
Thanks for exploring the topic. Of all the aspects related to Turkey Reds, I've not fully explored the actual issue of production. There are some relevant and important sources online that describe the chromolithographic printing process, as it was utilized broadly during its day to produce some beautiful art (like T3s). While I've never found a specific mention of the T3 printing process, my assumption would certainly be that it mirrored the production of all similar instances of chromolithographic printing on paper of that time period. Here are a few additional elements to consider:

Were they produced on sheets? If so, what size (how many cards per sheet)? Which players were on a sheet - multiples of the same? By number/alphabetical? Or maybe one by one?

I've inspected thousands of T3s over the years and have never found one off center enough to determine the identity of another card on any side. Also, since they were redemption items issued by request it would seem that the production crew would potentially print more Cobbs and Mattys than Devlins.

An examination of the T3 proofs reveals ghost images on the unprinted backs of several. This might give clues as to how they were stacked and how sheets were layed out. Or maybe not if the cards were produced one by one.

How about the updated cards - McIntyre, Doolan, Paskert, Tenney. If printed on sheets, how were these updates done?

Rhoades is a rarity, with no Turkey Red back examples. Was he a victim of lack of demand? No one else seems to have been? A broken/damaged printing plate maybe?

How about the quite rare "B's" of the second series (Bell, Bender, Browne, Burns, Bescher) who are rarely found with Turkey Red backs? We know the cards were created like a "sandwich" with two very thin pieces of printed paper attached to a thicker center piece and we also believe that the Turkey Red backs were printed during the final runs of the second series. Do the "B's" then hint at a damaged plate with many cards on it?

That's enough for now.

I'd enjoy hearing some educated opinions on these questions. Thanks in advance for your insights.

Happy Collecting,
Craig

[steve B]

The stones could also be laid out using transfers. A lot of stuff including cards was done that way.

Sheet size would be determined by a formula, setup time and how many total of each card were ordered by the customer. Setup time would have been the longest part of it. So it's not efficient to setup for a really big sheet if you're only doing a few of each. The same goes for having a small sheet. If you're making a few hundred thousand of something setup time affects the overall job less. (Modern stuff has changed that a LOT which is why we can have so many 1/1s made for modern cards.)

I'd be surprised if they were done on really small sheets, like 2x2 would be really unusual. And they're large and not common enough for very large sheets.

Steve B

[Leon]

So is the ongoing thinking that they might have been produced individually somehow? Nice discussion... (question is for Steve, Craig and anyone else too)

Originally Posted by steve B

The stones could also be laid out using transfers. A lot of stuff including cards was done that way.

Sheet size would be determined by a formula, setup time and how many total of each card were ordered by the customer. Setup time would have been the longest part of it. So it's not efficient to setup for a really big sheet if you're only doing a few of each. The same goes for having a small sheet. If you're making a few hundred thousand of something setup time affects the overall job less. (Modern stuff has changed that a LOT which is why we can have so many 1/1s made for modern cards.)

I'd be surprised if they were done on really small sheets, like 2x2 would be really unusual. And they're large and not common enough for very large sheets.

Steve B