Amazing E95 Discovery

[ErikV]

Adam,

Great post. I agree with all of your points. I should add that around the same time of these
cards being issued, Jim Jefferies was coming out of retirement to fight Jack Johnson. At
the time Jefferies was considered "The Great White Hope" and there was much publicized
over this upcoming fight. As per the San Francisco Call newspaper, this fight was announced
October 30, 1909. I find it odd that a guy who was retired since 1905 would suddenly
appear in a set of current boxing stars - unless his coming out of retirement prompted
the printing of an odd number 21-card set. This "promo" card of Jefferies also seems to me
to have been an excellent marketing strategy for Philadelphia Caramel Company's new
boxing cards. Cobb, well, he didn't need any publicity. His name and reputation spoke
for itself, but again, in terms of marketing power great choice on Philly Caramel's part.


Adam, I also agree with you in that all red-backed cards (including the 11 newer cards)
are all E80s. Interesting thought on all cards being considered a multisport set. I seem
to look at it more like "series I" and "series II." This practice of issuing baseball cards
in series' began to occur with the 1914 Crack Jack set, continuing in the 1940's with Play
Ball and in the 1950's with Topps. If the E80/E96 were in fact "series II" and were issued
in say perhaps late 1910, this may also explain why the E80/E96 cards are much lower
in population than their earlier counterparts.

ErikV

[gnaz01]

VERY pleased to have just added this to my collection from an awesome board member.

[Exhibitman]

Congrats! Always feels great to add a rarity to one's collection.

[Jobu]

Congrats Greg, very cool card.

Please shoot me a PM if you know the whereabouts of the card that Erik posted in the initial post. Thanks.

[ullmandds]

congrats greg! someday i hope to own one myself.

[shammus]

Still loving the example Jerry sold me a few years back

Any thoughts on why mine has the blank back and not an ad back? Was there another possible source these could have been cut from?

[bigfanNY]

Great thread always liked the e95 set esp the Cobb. Which was the first Cobb I ever purchased. Paul Ghallager who ran the nyc show in the early 70's sold it to me at an antique show in Madison Square Garden in 1973 for $4 . My Dad bought a stack of 40 at ball yankees and we were hooked..

[ErikV]

Brian,

To answer your question as to the blank back version you inquired about.

I've researched the Philadelphia Caramel Company and their candy cards for
several years. While I don't have a definitive answer, I don't believe the blank
back version of the E95/E96 cards were issued by this company. In all of their
promotions they made it a point to brand their products. From their earliest
non-sport cards, to their last set of cards they issued, they ALWAYS included their
company name. It makes no sense to me why they would issue a blank back
card. The blank back version cards were likely cut from a folder that occasionally
pop up at auction. I honestly don't believe a candy company would issue a school
folder with picture cards. Had they done so, I believe they would've printed their
company name on it somewhere.

Here's an additional article that you might find interesting:

http://www.oldcardboard.com/eNews/20...64/eNews64.htm

Hope this helps.

ErikV

[shammus]

Erik,

Thank you for the detailed and thoughtful response! So a school folder then? Similar to the 1914-15 Notebooks that were released that contained those blank backed versions of e95s and e96s that are found semi-often?

Odd that it has the same scripting/captions at the top as the Cobb being discussed in this thread. For those that have this card with the ad back, what is the paper stock on the card like? Is it thicker than a normal e95? Mine is about the same in terms of thickness as a normal e95...maybe even a little slimmer. I suppose it's possible that the card could be skinned although mine doesn't exhibit any signs of distress on the back at all....

[gnaz01]

Originally Posted by shammus

Erik,

For those that have this card with the ad back, what is the paper stock on the card like? Is it thicker than a normal e95? Mine is about the same in terms of thickness as a normal e95...maybe even a little slimmer. I suppose it's possible that the card could be skinned although mine doesn't exhibit any signs of distress on the back at all....

Brian,

Mine is entombed in a GAI holder but does seem to be "thinner" than most. I state this only because I have no other cards in GAI holders and this one seems to "float" around a whole lot looser. Hope this makes sense.

Greg

[shammus]

Thanks Greg, that makes perfect sense as that's how mine is as well. It's definitely not any thicker of paper stock than normal e95s, in fact, mine seemed maybe a tad more delicate even. Congrats on your new pick-up by the way!