1932 or 1933 U.S. Caramel?

[Spike]

Most catalogs I've seen date U.S. Caramel's "Famous Athletes" set as 1932, but several card backs refer to season events FROM 1932, so could've come out in Nov/Dec at the earliest, and more likely not until Opening Day in 1933.

#5 Combs (in my post below) includes his 1932 season stats, #11 Hornsby refers to his Oct 1932 trade, #12 Cochrane includes his 1932 season stats, #23 Foxx includes his season stats, etc.

http://number5typecollection.blogspo...arl-earle.html

We already know U.S. Caramel severely short-printed #16 Lindstrom for that set, so there's a chance they also split-numbered the set, with half coming out in 1932 and the other half in 1933. Straddling two seasons strikes me as unlikely, though. Anyone know why this set was dated 1932?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Burdick made a mistake.

[bn2cardz]

http://www.network54.com/Forum/15365...+li%20%20sting

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=160267

[Spike]

Excellent, thanks! Will update my suppositions in the post and glad to see Bob Lemke made the SCD update years ago.

Given the similar look between 1933 U.S. Caramel & Goudey sets, anyone know if they were competitors copping each others' work or actually shared the same designer?

[Peter_Spaeth]

They don't look similar at all to me? Both companies were based in Boston though, for what that's worth.

[Spike]

Unless I missed an earlier set, Goudey and National Chicle mimicked the size, card stock, "framing," and back layout from the 1932 R114 U.S. Caramel American Presidents set.

All 3 companies might've used the same card printer, so those card details might've been practical coincidence instead of "borrowed." Hard to say for sure without knowing more about who designed them and whether they worked inside each company or as third-party artists. I agree the baseball player art varies quite a bit, with Goudey and Chicle going well beyond U.S. Caramel's limited palette.