Holmes to Homes Walter Johnson

[PhillyFan1883]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

I’m having trouble following your logic. It is because the card was taped on the front that makes it stand out from the others. Someone comes in with 6 Holmes to Homes cards, ONE OF THEM A RUTH ROOKIE, and yet there is apparently nothing to be shared about provenance. No questions asked? I can sort of understand it as relates to the five that show the same back damage as nearly all the rest known to the hobby, since it would seem they all originated from the same source (a press release said a family in KC). But this one? If there are privacy issues or the consignor cannot/will not answer questions, then at least note the absence of a number. There are very few Holmes 2 Homes collectors and not even that many m101 collectors, so it might not have been obvious that the card should have had a #90. Even if it did not affect the bidding, it would be appropriate to acknowledge the anomaly for purposes of accuracy.

We’ll have to agree to disagree on whether Mile High was sloppy. It is not enough to hide behind the grading company, IMO, since SGC also failed to note the Successful Farming promos it graded that lack numbers and yet REA investigated and discussed them in its auction listing several years ago. I am thankful that Mile High spent considerable time telling us about the McCoid collection and others in the past, so I am disappointed that they gave us nothing here.

I agree the missing number should have been mentioned. I dont believe saying it may have been a salesman copy would have been correct though if there was no proof to verify that. I am not suggesting that was your position.. Even though I think we agree it more than likely was a promo card.. All I was saying is the back is clean because the card was glued in with Wajo facing down. All of the cards walked in with the same person.

More importantly for my purposes- Do you know anything about the Erie Coffee back Leon posted with his back run??. I have never seen or heard anything about this back. I dont remember seeing this in your article on the M101s. Any information would be helpful.. Feel free to email me if you would prefer.

[Brian Van Horn]

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[nolemmings]

Originally Posted by PhillyFan1883

More importantly for my purposes- Do you know anything about the Erie Coffee back Leon posted with his back run??. I have never seen or heard anything about this back. I dont remember seeing this in your article on the M101s. Any information would be helpful.. Feel free to email me if you would prefer.

Just type in Haserot in the search function. Several board members own or at least once owned these cards--maybe they have something to say.

[oldjudge]

I do not own one, but I’ll say something. First, since they are not printed they are not like any other ad back. Second, you really have no way of knowing if they are real or not since anyone can make up a stamp. Finally, if a merchant was making a hand stamp to stamp the cards he gave away (it was cheaper to buy blank back cards than buy cards with ads printed on the back, I assume), why wouldn’t he stamp the card so the hand stamp with the ad could be seen rather than leaving so much of the ad off the card? I’m generally skeptical and I would stay away.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

I do not own one, but I’ll say something. First, since they are not printed they are not like any other ad back. Second, you really have no way of knowing if they are real or not since anyone can make up a stamp. Finally, if a merchant was making a hand stamp to stamp the cards he gave away (it was cheaper to buy blank back cards than buy cards with ads printed on the back, I assume), why wouldn’t he stamp the card so the hand stamp with the ad could be seen rather than leaving so much of the ad off the card? I’m generally skeptical and I would stay away.

The Holmes to Homes is a stamped back too.
The story goes that there were around 6 of these coffee cards found together. Since I didn't think my back set would be complete without one I had to have one.

[Rhotchkiss]

Leon, that back run is amazing. I think it’s a project well worth (re)attempting

[nolemmings]

Originally Posted by Leon

The Holmes to Homes is a stamped back too.

I disagree.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

I disagree.

I am not positive but it has a stamp look to it (to me). Have you any info on where they were printed , if so ?

Also, I guess I am just looking at all of them together right above, discounting the bottom right hand two, the Holmes to Homes looks different than the rest.

[nolemmings]

Leon, I do not know where they were printed, although I would be confident in saying Mendelsohn was responsible; i.e., that the order was placed with his publishing company.
If you ignore the top portion, it seems clear to me that the advertising about the cards (not product) was printed. The trickier part concerns the upper logo. As you can see from your array, Holmes to Homes is the only m101 card to use a logo or any artwork–the rest simply use different font styles and sizes. The depiction used for the baker seems to be the same as appears on the bread wrappers used by the Holmes bakery, and was almost certainly trademarked. As such, it most likely came from the customer itself, and had to be adapted for use by whoever was printing it. That probably posed some problems when applying the ink, as the logo’s features are fairly intricate given the relatively small card on which they were to be reproduced. I have no printing background myself, but to me there is no way that a stamp could produce that fine artwork so consistently on every Holmes to Homes card as is seen–there would be uneven inking that would blur the image. Combined with the fact that these cards are usually found well centered on the reverse, I believe it highly likely they were printed, although the process may have been more involved than what was used for the other advertisers.


EDITED TO ADD: pic of breadloaf (enlarged) used in Holmes to Homes newspaper ad

[Jobu]

To the last question, maybe they stamped the backs before cutting the cards up and therefore the borders weren't clear?

Originally Posted by oldjudge

I do not own one, but I’ll say something. First, since they are not printed they are not like any other ad back. Second, you really have no way of knowing if they are real or not since anyone can make up a stamp. Finally, if a merchant was making a hand stamp to stamp the cards he gave away (it was cheaper to buy blank back cards than buy cards with ads printed on the back, I assume), why wouldn’t he stamp the card so the hand stamp with the ad could be seen rather than leaving so much of the ad off the card? I’m generally skeptical and I would stay away.

[oldjudge]

Originally Posted by Jobu

To the last question, maybe they stamped the backs before cutting the cards up and therefore the borders weren't clear?

I assume the hand stamp would have been put on by the merchant, not by Mendelsohn. I also assume the cards were purchased pre-cut by the merchant so there is no reason for the stamps to not be centered. Even if the merchant bought uncut blank back sheets and cut them himself it seems bass awkwards to stamp before cutting.