C46 Imperial Tobacco

[Leon]

Interesting topic (to me.) One thing is most likely, Burdick had some sort of proof that these cards were produced/distributed from Imperial Tobacco or he wouldn't have printed it (not that he didn't make some apparent mistakes with new information found) in the American Card Catalog.

.

[Cozumeleno]

Yeah, I tend to agree Leon. He definitely did have some mistakes but he was on the mark with 99% of the stuff he listed. My guess is that, while we haven't seen it, he had some evidence pointing him in that direction.

[tedzan]

Patrick

I found these Game Birds cards (issued by Imperial Tobacco, circa 1910-1920) in my archives of miscellaneous stuff, perhaps they can provide some insight to your
question. These cards are numbered 1 - 30. A number which is consistent with the printing format of the C46 cards. That being, my theory is that there were 3 print
runs (30 cards each) in the production of the C46 set.

Anyhow, something to ponder over.








TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[Classic_Auctions]

We sold the original limestone used to print the lithography for both the C56 hockey and C60 lacrosse sets in 2011. While it doesn't in any way confirm attribution of the C46 baseball set, the presence of Toronto advertisers does suggest Canadian production for both the C56 and C60 issues, as many believed previously that the cards were printed in England, akin to the 1910-11 Sweet Caporal postcard set.

Hopefully this info might help.


https://www.classicauctions.net/mobi...ntoryid=112606

[Leon]

Thanks for chiming in with good info! (and thanks to the others chiming in also)

Originally Posted by Classic_Auctions

We sold the original limestone used to print the lithography for both the C56 hockey and C60 lacrosse sets in 2011. While it doesn't in any way confirm attribution of the C46 baseball set, the presence of Toronto advertisers does suggest Canadian production for both the C56 and C60 issues, as many believed previously that the cards were printed in England, akin to the 1910-11 Sweet Caporal postcard set.

Hopefully this info might help.


https://www.classicauctions.net/mobi...ntoryid=112606

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Patrick

I found these Game Birds cards (issued by Imperial Tobacco, circa 1910-1920) in my archives of miscellaneous stuff, perhaps they can provide some insight to your
question. These cards are numbered 1 - 30. A number which is consistent with the printing format of the C46 cards. That being, my theory is that there were 3 print
runs (30 cards each) in the production of the C46 set.

Anyhow, something to ponder over.








TED Z

T206 Reference
.

Hi Patrick

Further research into these Imperial Tobacco Canadian (ITC) bird cards indicates that they were possibly printed at American Lithographic. Their fronts and their back descriptions
are identical to ALC's T43 Gold-Bordered Bird cards issued in 1911. I have an example of the T43 Oriole for comparison with this ITC Oriole card. And, when I get it back from PSA
I will post it here.

So, one might ask what do these Birds have to do with the C46 Baseball cards ?

ITC was a subsidiary of British American Tobacco (an ATC affiliate). The ITC factory which produced the cigarettes which the C46 cards were packaged with was based in Montreal.
However, it gets somewhat tricky from there. Although, the back descriptions are identical to the aforementioned T43 cards, the printed format is similar to other non-sport issues
produced in Great Britain.
Therefore, I am not sure if the C46 cards were printed by American Litho in NYC, or in Great Britain (and then shipped to the Montreal factory).

I will continue this research, as I (too) have wondered where the C46's originated from.






TED Z
.

[Vintagecatcher]

Ted and Classic Auctions thanks for your responses.

The more that I have looked at early tobacco issues in an attempt to determine if it's possible to find out if Imperial Tobacco produced the C46 set, I have realized that the problem is much more complicated.

Here's the conundrum.

Asking the question, what was the purpose of tobacco cards?

The simple answer is that they served the functional purpose of protecting the cigarettes as a stiffener. More importantly, the cigarette manufacturers soon realized that if they used pictures of popular culture such: as athletes, actors, actresses, celebrities, animals, birds etc., they had a wonderful marketing opportunity. People would chase after these tobacco cards and the tobacco sales would increase dramatically.

So who benefited from this marketing strategy?

The easy answer, of course, is the cigarette manufacturers.

But they were not the only ones benefiting from the creation of tobacco cards. The actual creators of the cards, the lithograph companies themselves, also benefited greatly.

So some savvy cigarette manufacturers inserted tobacco cards in their products clearly identifying their product line. I'm also sure that the lithograph companies also produced cards without specific branding listed so they could reach a broader market.

So if this is true, American Lithographic Company may have created the C46 cards for the Imperial Tobacco Company of Canada. The only way to know for sure would be a paper trail detailing the promotion such as a newspaper ad or perhaps a contract between American Lithographic Company detailing the production of the tobacco cards for Imperial Tobacco or lastly an unopened Imperial Tobacco pack containing a C46 card.

There is little doubt that the American Lithographic Company most likely produced sets both here in the States as well as in Canada. The striking similarity between the design on the fronts of sets like the Minor League cards of the T205 set, the T80 Military Series, the T42 Bird Series, and Canadian bird series issues such as C14 and C45 leaves little doubt.

Although knowing exactly which products a specific tobacco card may have been packaged in may be lost to time, there is another indicator that at least helps with regards to card distribution.

Tobacco cards distributed in the US will exhibit the factory and district numbers, whereas, this info does not appear on any cards distributed in Canada.

C46s were no doubt distributed in Canada....but whether they were in packs of Imperial Tobacco remains to be seen.

Patrick

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by Vintagecatcher

Ted and Classic Auctions thanks for your responses.

The more that I have looked at early tobacco issues in an attempt to determine if it's possible to find out if Imperial Tobacco produced the C46 set, I have realized that the problem is much more complicated.

Here's the conundrum.

Asking the question, what was the purpose of tobacco cards?

The simple answer is that they served the functional purpose of protecting the cigarettes as a stiffener. More importantly, the cigarette manufacturers soon realized that if they used pictures of popular culture such: as athletes, actors, actresses, celebrities, animals, birds etc., they had a wonderful marketing opportunity. People would chase after these tobacco cards and the tobacco sales would increase dramatically.

So who benefited from this marketing strategy?

The easy answer, of course, is the cigarette manufacturers.

But they were not the only ones benefiting from the creation of tobacco cards. The actual creators of the cards, the lithograph companies themselves, also benefited greatly.

So some savvy cigarette manufacturers inserted tobacco cards in their products clearly identifying their product line. I'm also sure that the lithograph companies also produced cards without specific branding listed so they could reach a broader market.

So if this is true, American Lithographic Company may have created the C46 cards for the Imperial Tobacco Company of Canada. The only way to know for sure would be a paper trail detailing the promotion such as a newspaper ad or perhaps a contract between American Lithographic Company detailing the production of the tobacco cards for Imperial Tobacco or lastly an unopened Imperial Tobacco pack containing a C46 card.

There is little doubt that the American Lithographic Company most likely produced sets both here in the States as well as in Canada. The striking similarity between the design on the fronts of sets like the Minor League cards of the T205 set, the T80 Military Series, the T42 Bird Series, and Canadian bird series issues such as C14 and C45 leaves little doubt.

Although knowing exactly which products a specific tobacco card may have been packaged in may be lost to time, there is another indicator that at least helps with regards to card distribution.

Tobacco cards distributed in the US will exhibit the factory and district numbers, whereas, this info does not appear on any cards distributed in Canada.

C46s were no doubt distributed in Canada....but whether they were in packs of Imperial Tobacco remains to be seen.

Patrick

Well stated.....Patrick

We appear to have similar thoughts regarding the possibility that the C46 cards were printed by American Lithographic (ALC). Shown here are 3 examples of ALC's
Bird series that you referred to. These 3 examples of the Oriole suggest that this could be true. As all 30 of the Bird images** in the Imperial Tobacco Canada C14
set are identical to ALC's T43 series that was printed and issued in 1911. And, the descriptions of these Birds on the backs of the C14 cards are exactly identical to
the T43 series of cards printed by ALC.

Furthermore, another factor which favors the printing of C46 set by ALC is that the C14 set comprises of a series of 30 cards. I'm a numbers guy, who sees the 90
card C46 set comprising of three series of 30-cards each.

Having said all that, I'm really mystified that the C14 cards were printed with vivid colors; whereas, the C46 cards are a drab brown color. This is inconsistent with
ALC's printing style. This contrast between the C14 and C46 cards gives me cause to pause in my thinking regarding ALC having printed the C46 cards.
Perhaps, a printing firm in Montreal (where the Canadian Imperial Tobacco Co. was based) produced the C46 cards.

Perhaps, some knowledgeable person on this forum will chime in here with specific information which confirms where the C46 cards were printed. And if they were
inserted in Canadian Imperial Tobacco cigarette packs.



C14 (circa 1911 - ?) ……...…......…...........C45 (circa 1911)…….......…T43 (circa 1911)
. . . . .
. . . . . .



** Note…..Why the images are reversed on the C14 cards is a mystery to me.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[Leon]

Great lithography on the birdies. Thanks again for sharing.

Originally Posted by tedzan

Well stated.....Patrick

We appear to have similar thoughts regarding the possibility that the C46 cards were printed by American Lithographic (ALC). Shown here are 3 examples of ALC's
Bird series that you referred to. These 3 examples of the Oriole suggest that this could be true. As all 30 of the Bird images** in the Imperial Tobacco Canada C14
set are identical to ALC's T43 series that was printed and issued in 1911. And, the descriptions of these Birds on the backs of the C14 cards are exactly identical to
the T43 series of cards printed by ALC.

Furthermore, another factor which favors the printing of C46 set by ALC is that the C14 set comprises of a series of 30 cards. I'm a numbers guy, who sees the 90
card C46 set comprising of three series of 30-cards each.

Having said all that, I'm really mystified that the C14 cards were printed with vivid colors; whereas, the C46 cards are a drab brown color. This is inconsistent with
ALC's printing style. This contrast between the C14 and C46 cards gives me cause to pause in my thinking regarding ALC having printed the C46 cards.
Perhaps, a printing firm in Montreal (where the Canadian Imperial Tobacco Co. was based) produced the C46 cards.

Perhaps, some knowledgeable person on this forum will chime in here with specific information which confirms where the C46 cards were printed. And if they were
inserted in Canadian Imperial Tobacco cigarette packs.



C14 (circa 1911 - ?) ……...…......…...........C45 (circa 1911)…….......…T43 (circa 1911)
. . . . .
. . . . . .



** Note…..Why the images are reversed on the C14 cards is a mystery to me.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by Leon

Great lithography on the birdies. Thanks again for sharing.

Hi Leon

Here are a few more colorful Birdies from this 30-card set for you to admire.




The Canadian Imperial Tobacco set is a quite a mystery. I was hoping by now that some one would have chimed in here with insight into where the C46 BB cards were produced,
and how they were marketed. One fact that's for sure, they are a 1912 issue (based on the bios of most of the subjects)






TED Z

T206 Reference
.