1909 Obak Variation

[Anthony S.]

I was initially considering selling one of my 1909 Obak McCredies to help finance my final push to finish the set when I noticed a small anomaly. One card lists his team as "Port." (short for Portland), while the other card lists his team as "Por" without the "t."

This isn't merely a case of the "t" having been rubbed off the second card, as you can see by the alignment of the font -- specifically the distance the "P" is front the players leg -- that these were two different type settings.

Was wondering if any other Obak collectors have ever noticed this, or seen it on other cards in the set? Also, which McCredie do you own, "Por" or "Port?"

Edited to add: Both cards have framed backs.

[Jacklitsch]

Are the backs the same? Both no frame? Both w/frame. If so then I have no idea.

[pete zouras]

[Anthony S.]

Both have framed backs.

[canjond]

Is there just a spot of paperloss where the "t" should be?

[Anthony S.]

Nope, no paper loss. I looked at both cards under magnification and measured the distance between the "P" in Port/Por and McCredie's leg. It seems to be two different print runs.

Edited to add: The "M" in McCredie extends further to the left on the "Port." version than it does on the "Por" version. If you extend a straight line beyond the left black border on the "Port." version it cuts through part of the "M" in McCredie." However, if you do the same on the "Por" version it doesn't touch the "M" in McCredie.

Originally Posted by canjond

Is there just a spot of paperloss where the "t" should be?

[Matthew H]

It also looks like the gap between the comma and Mgr. is more wide on the "Por" variation.

[teetwoohsix]

His eyes in the "Port" version seem to be looking at you, and his eyes in the "Por" version seem to be looking in the distance

Clayton

[brianp-beme]

Good eye Anthony. Ok everyone, check your McCredies! I know I will be, and will post the results of my endeavor!

Seems like I remember some other cards from the 1909 Obak set that have goofy spacing between name and team...when I have some time I will post some scans of these cards for others to compare. Perhaps we can come up with some other variations as well.

Brian

[caramelcard]

Nice find Anthony! Thanks for posting them.

Rob

[brianp-beme]

Here is a scan of my McCredie...it is a 'Port.' version with a framed back. It appears that this might be the more common variety. Of course mine has a keyhole to his heart (wasn't that a Fleetwood Mac song from the 70's?).

Brian

[brianp-beme]

As I mentioned in a prior post, the 1909 Obak set seems to have some funky spacing issues in the obverse printing. I found the following three that, like the McCredie, have abnormal spacing. The Ragan and Reidy are both the frame back version, and as can be seen have a really large gap before the team name. The Mundorff, a no frame back example, is less obvious, but has more spacing between the 'San' and the 'Francisco' than is seen on the other San Francisco cards in the set. Perhaps all three were only printed this way, but since the McCredie card also has awkward spacing I thought perhaps collectors could check their versions to identify whether there might be other variations like Anthony has spotted.

Also, all of the San Francisco cards have the full designation of 'San Francisco' on the card except for the following, which have 'S.F.' : McArdle, Mohler, J.Williams, R.Williams. Spotting an unknown variation for these cards would be a long shot, as this would be much more obvious than just a missing 't', but heck, it is worth mentioning.

Brian