Dating of The Reccius Cigar Card of Honus Wagner

[Steve D]

I've just done a bit of research on Ancestry.com, and have found the following information:

According to the 1889 Louisville Phone Directory, Henry Reccius lived on Elliott Ave near 29th.

According to the 1900 Federal Census, he lived at 2803 Elliott Ave.

The 1901 Louisville phonebook has him at 2803 West Broadway, in the Cigar Manufactures section of the "Yellow" pages.

The 1902 Louisville phonebook, lists him at 2803 West Broadway.

In the 1904 Louisville phonebook, his residence was 2606 Elliott Ave

The 1904 phonebook further listed his business at 2603 West Broadway. It also has an Elsie Reccius (his wife), with a sewing business at 2803 West Broadway.

The 1910 Federal Census shows him and his family living at 2608 Elliott Ave.

He's further listed in the 1915 phonebook at 2608 Elliott Ave.

Now, in the 1919 phonebook, he's listed as working for the J B Coblens & Co at 431 Amy Ave.

Then in the 1920 phonebook, he's listed at 1824 W Jeff, again with J B Coblens & Co.

The 1925 Phone book has him at 402 Amy Ave.

So, based on the above, it appears to me that the card was probably issued before 1902. This is because in 1901, he had a business at 2803 West Broadway. The card shows his address at 2606 Elliott, which was his residence. It also specifically mentions his home phone. If it was issued in 1901 or later, it is logical to think he would have put the West Broadway address on it, as that was his business address. Since the card shows his home address (he presumably worked from home at the time), it must have been issued before that. Furthermore, since his address is listed as 2803 Elliott Ave in the 1900 Federal Census (dated 4 Jun 1900), the card was probably issued after that. All this, to me, puts the trade card's date of issue before 1902.

Steve