Were T206 Wagner's Ever Inserted into Packs?

[insidethewrapper]

Were T206 Wagner's Ever Inserted into Packs? How did a person obtain a copy back in the 1910's ?

[t206kid]

Yes, likely. I don't think I've seen any evidence that they weren't.

When Justin and I interviewed Keith Olbermann for our podcast, he posited that Wagner may have been a chase card (something held back, or included in very small quantities to get kids to chase and try to find it - like 33 Goudey Lajoie which you had to send away for).

There are original newspaper articles that talk about the cards from 1909, and the one below mentions folks looking for Cobb and Wagner, and finding a few Cobbs. Silent on Wagner.

[t206kid]

Also, this is an original ad from August 1909 that depicts Wagner, left middle. So they definitely thought he was going to be one of the first 150 "subjects"...

[mrreality68]

Good Stuff and Cool Historical Items for those advertisements

[Carter08]

One thing I was wondering is, and I am assuming all the different cigarette companies represented on the backs were not owned by the same company, did they all contract out to a company to make these cards? Were there any cigarette companies back then that said no and sold packs without cards?

[t206kid]

As far as I know, the American Tobacco company owned all the brands, and had a monopoly until 1911 (when broken up in an antitrust action).

Also, not every pack had a baseball card. You could also get a bird or a flag or an actress or something. Certain packs did, and some experts here can say which. Some packs had no cards at all. It was all a promo to get people to buy more cigarettes.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by Carter08

One thing I was wondering is, and I am assuming all the different cigarette companies represented on the backs were not owned by the same company, did they all contract out to a company to make these cards? Were there any cigarette companies back then that said no and sold packs without cards?

All the T206 brands were owned by the American Tobacco Company. T206 is only one of many sets issued over ~3 years by many ATC brands and printed in a complex relationship with New York Lithographers. The American Lithographic Company, Brett Lithography and possibly others printed the ATC project cards. The rights of living subjects seem to have been procured by the lithography companies, not the tobacco company. The cards printed by these lithographers seem to have included sets done for non-ATC companies, but no individual set was issued to both ATC brands and brands not associated with the ATC.

[npa589]

Originally Posted by t206kid

Yes, likely. I don't think I've seen any evidence that they weren't.

When Justin and I interviewed Keith Olbermann for our podcast, he posited that Wagner may have been a chase card (something held back, or included in very small quantities to get kids to chase and try to find it - like 33 Goudey Lajoie which you had to send away for).

There are original newspaper articles that talk about the cards from 1909, and the one below mentions folks looking for Cobb and Wagner, and finding a few Cobbs. Silent on Wagner.

This newspaper article is absolutely fascinating and endearing. Are there any more like it?