Revisiting the 1910 PC805 Novelty Cutlery Postcard set.

[Baseball Rarities]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

Follow up question: Do you think the NC postcards were distributed in series over a 3 year period as the photographs were taken?

I also find it interesting that the Collins and Crawford photos were taken at the same time but where? I would think it was during an A's Tigers game but that background is neither Bennett Park, Shibe Park, or Columbia Park. Where would those two Teams have gotten together outside of their respective fields?

Also the background of the NC Lajoie card vs the PC796 card is air brushed out in the NC version, can that be an indicator of which came first? I don't know, just some conjecture.

I do not think that they were issued over a 3 year period. The fact that not a single PC796 or PC805 postcard is known with a postmark before 1910 does not make sense.

IMHO, postmarks are the best way to prove the latest date that a postcard was made. The earliest postmark that I know of is a PC796 from October of 1910. Given this, we know that the PC796 postcards were in circulation by the end of 1910. The earliest postmark that I know of for a PC805 is Sep 27, 1911, so we know that these were definitely in circulation by the end of 1911

Conversely, dated photographs are the best way to prove the earliest that a postcard was made. Obviously, it could have been made at any time after the photo was taken. The latest dated photograph that I am aware of from the set is from the 1909 World Series which began on October 8. Therefore, the earliest that that postcard could have been produced was on that date.

Given these two facts, I feel that the PC796 and PC805 postcards were issued between October, 1909 and October, 1910. Hopefully we can dig up some more facts that help us narrow down those dates.

If the postcards were so successful to have been issued over a three year period then I think that there would be more examples known, with some having postmarks from 1907, 1908 or 1909.