W551 Ruth - Status in the Hobby

[EddieP]

I like the strip cards because they are a reflection of period’s Art Movement. It is my belief they were purposefully drawn this way NOT because it was cheaper to due. There were strip cards of movie stars made that in all likelihood were not collected by little boys. Also, look at the cover of magazines produced at the time like the October 1921 Popular Science Magazine. Ruth is on the cover and the drawing has a strip card look to it. The W516 strips were produced by the Hearst company. There were 5 series produced in 1920 and 1921. William Randolph Hearst collected art. Do you think he’d produced this multiple times if he were ridiculed by his family, friends and colleagues?

You have to remember they were produced at a time of great prosperity :the roaring ‘20s. For reference look at the Topps 2020 series with its collection of cards made by contemporary artists. In other words, there’s a reason why the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC kept Burdick’s strip cards in its collection because they are part of Art History.

Also their price ( even the Ruth’s) compared to other works of art are very cheap. If you put it in perspective to buy an original “sketch” of a work art ( which are very often crudely drawn) that is part of the MMA’s collection is $$$$.