1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner vs. 1911-16 Kotton Honus Wagner: Who Has More?

[jimonym]

This thread is spectacular.

NB, multiple factory numbers don't necessarily imply separate free-standing buildings or facilities. Under the internal revenue regulations, operations for the manufacture of cigarettes and the manufacture of smoking and chewing tobacco had to be kept separate, but could coexist under one roof if there was adequate physical separation. Apparently it was too difficult to track tobacco leaf usage if the two types of manufacturing were commingled -- and the tracking of leaf input and product output is what allowed the tax collectors to verify that no untaxed product was slipping out the back door. Registered factory numbers were connected to the distinct operations around the category of product (cigars/cigarettes v. loose tobacco), not the bricks and mortar structure.

I believe the People's Tobacco Co. had one facility, located at the address on Richard's letterhead. Here's a detailed Sanborn map from 1908 showing the factory property. The PTC was a pretty small-time operation: note the structure at its tallest was just 1 1/2 stories. The main factories of the Trust at this time were generally each on the order of 5 to 10 times larger, and the Trust had well over 20 in operation.