1921 Herpolsheimers graded w/o mark

[nolemmings]

Originally Posted by dariushou

Has there been an advertisement found for the 1921 Herpolsheimer cards? It would seem that the company would have advertised it like they did in 1916. Also, have advertisements been found for all other issues of that era or is it very common not to advertise the cards. I will admit I know very little about cards of that era and even less so about how cards were advertised. Also, i'm no expert on newspaper research either.

Whatever the case may be, I have no skin in this game, but was curious about those questions. Having no advertisement does not mean the cards are fake, but it does raise the question as to why not, especially sine they did in 1916. I'm not saying they are fake so please don't bite my head off.

I am unaware of any advertising for the cards, but that is not surprising for the following reasons:

1. I believe it is the exception rather than the rule for baseball cards being advertised in 1920's newspapers.

2. It can be real spotty finding digitalized newspapers for some areas, period. I don’t recall how I came upon the ad from 1916, but notice that is from the Grand Rapids Herald. It is difficult to find any copies of that paper from those years. No doubt the digital archives will improve and be coordinated over time, but for now it can be real hit and miss. As an odd example, I have looked for advertising for Weil Baking in 1916, 1917 and 1921 (they issued the Holsum Bread cards), and can’t even seem to find New Orleans papers, much less relevant information.

3. The advertising from 1916 was all the brainchild of Felix Mendelsohn, who was behind the m101-4/5 style cards. While he might have had some connection to the 1921 cards, he was not the publisher.

4. As noted earlier, there was tumult in the Herpolsheimer family at this time, resulting from the deaths of two top company leaders in 1920. Their advertising and marketing plans may not have been high priority and/or deciding who made those plans may have been internally disputed or unorganized.