Some Thoughts and Questions on the W530 Pinkerton "postcards"

[jeffmohler]

The W530 Pinkerton "Postcard" set is one of my favorite sets - for a couple of reasons: 1. There are a lot of unknowns to the set - who produced it, when it was produced, how they were sold, what relationship it bears (if any) to the T5 premiums, are the scorecard backed cards a separate set, produced by a different company, etc. Second - the only "new to the hobby" find I ever made was three Pinkerton cards that I bought at a country public auction in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Here are the questions I would like to know the answers too:

1. Who produced the set - have there ever been any envelopes or packaging materials found?

2. For every blank backed card, is there a corresponding scorecard?

3. Has anyone ever seen a scorecard that was actually used. To the best of my recollection, I have never seen a scorecard actually used to score a game.

4. What is the red "staining" on the back of many of the blank backed cards? Does it appear on scorecards too? Is the staining a factory thing or did it happen at a later date. I have a number of cards with the staining. I purchased them at different dates and from multiple people. I have attached a scan of one of my stained cards below.

5. Has anyone actually seen a card with a postcard back - meaning a divided back with a place for a stamp? I have seen a blank back used as a postcard, but never an actual postcard back

If anyone else has additional questions, feel free to add them/talk about them.

Jeff