The T206 350-Only Series - Some Observations on Available Backs

[jimonym]

Jim,
I don't have a scan of Adkins+EPDG, just the entry in my notes that I've seen it at some point.

SRS,
I'm glad I'm not the only one who's gotten a headache from trying to figure this stuff out.

I think in general there are two drivers for front/back combinations.

One is timing. It's clear that some cards were pulled from production (e.g. Lundgren (Kansas City), Cross, Rossman, etc.) because the player changed teams. It's clear that other cards were late additions (e.g. Demmitt (St. Louis), Elberfeld (Portrait, Washington), Dahlen (Brooklyn), etc.) for the same reason. Given the wide variations across the 350-series I also have a very hard time envisioning that it was released all in one batch at one point in time. I think a much more likely explanation is a rolling release of several groupings, over many months. Then add to that different brands coming in and out of the process as distribution vehicles. I would suspect that most of these Old Mill backed cards were released early in the 350 series, before the T210s got started. Then after a hiatus from T206s, Old Mills were used to distribute them again nearer to the time of the release of the 350-460 cards. Hence, late release cards like Dahlen and Elberfeld being found with Old Mill backs.

A second is the way the printing was done. There were millions and millions of these cards printed, and certainly many thousands of each of the 350-only cards. I find it hard to believe that every example of a given card came from one printing plate, simply due to the volumes they were producing. As soon as you allow for more than one plate as the source of a given card all the neat groupings that might, based on back patterns alone, tell us which cards were produced together slip away. And several headaches later I can attest that there isn't much that's neat in the 350-only series.

[cfc1909]

I have seen Adkins on this list a few times and always questioned it and always thought whoever reported was mistaken. Now that I see it is coming from you, I will mark it on my list as confirmed.

[tedzan]

Jamie

Yes, "timing" is the key to understanding the front/back combos of the entire T206 set. Consider the Demmitt and O'Hara
cards, their respective New York variations were NOT printed with POLAR BEAR backs. Yet, we know that their respective
St. Louis cards only exist as Polar Bear cards. From this dichotomy, we can conclude that the initial printing of the POLAR
BEAR (PB) cards can be accurately dated to the Spring of 1910. The St Louis variations of Demmitt & O'Hara were printed
in the initial PB press run. Subsequent PB press runs did not include these St Louis cards of Demmitt & O'Hara because.....

After playing just 10 games with St Louis in 1910, Demmitt was sent down to Montreal (Eastern League) May 1910.

After playing just 9 games with St Louis in 1910, O'Hara's Major League career ends on May 8, 1910. He continues
playing baseball with his hometown team, Toronto (Eastern League).







2nd..American Litho's production process first printed the PIEDMONT brand (all throughout the various series), followed by
the SWEET CAPORAL brand, and then the other 14 brands. We can arrive at some idea of the sequencing of the OLD MILL,
POLAR BEAR, SOVEREIGN and TOLSTOI brands in the 350 series press runs by examining this survey of the Joe Doyle card
"printer's mark". The Joe Doyle card is a fairly accurate measuring Subject, since we know it was printed in the very first
press run of the 350-only series.....this fact is firmly established by the Doyle N.Y. Nat'l variation.



Printer's Mark....................................../\


Joe Doyle Printer's Mark survey......UPDATED..Sept 23, 2007


T-brand.............Mark....No-Mark

Piedmont 350........7.........28 ................ Winter 1909

Sweet Cap 350......4.........37 ................ Spring 1910

Polar Bear.............2.........17 ................ Spring 1910

Old Mill..................1..........5 ................ Spring 1910

Sovereign 350........0...........2 ............... Summer 1910

Tolstoi..................0...........1 ............... Summer 1910
____________________________

Totals.................14..........90




3rd.....Furthermore, there is a relationship between the POLAR BEAR (PB) No-Prints and the aforementioned "Quintuplicate"
back design (illustrated here). At least 42 Subjects were not printed with PB backs that were printed with at least four (if
not all 5) AMERICAN BEAUTY, BROAD LEAF, COUPON, CYCLE, and DRUM backs.


"QUINTUPLICATE" back design



Updated (12/22/08)....POLAR BEAR Major League NO-PRINTS with annotated 1910 COUPON cards.

Abstein
* Becker
* Bender (trees)
Geo. Brown (Washington)
Burns
* Byrne
* Campbell
* Charles
Collins (A's)
* Cree
Dahlen (Brooklyn)
Demmitt (New York)
Dineen
* Donovan (throwing)
* Doolan (fielding)
* Dubuc
* Dunn (Brooklyn)
Elberfeld (portrait-Wash)
Fiene (throwing)
* Fletcher
* Hartsel
* Hoffman (St Louis)
* Howell (portrait)
* Huggins (portrait)
* Huggins (hands/mouth)
* Hunter
* Killian (portrait)
* Knabe
* Lennox
* Marquard (portrait)
* Marshall
McAleese
* McBride
McCormick
* McElveen
* McIntyre (Detroit)
* Mitchell (Cinci)
* Mowery
* Myers (bat)
* Myers (fielding
O'Hara (New York)
* Paskert
* Rhoades (hands/chest)
* Rossman
* Schmidt (portrait)
* Starr
Stephens
* Street (portrait)
* Summers
* Sweeney (Boston)
* Thomas
* Wilson
Zimmerman

NOTE....* PB No-Print Subjects that are in the 1910 COUPON set = 39

Confirmed PB Subjects that are in the 1910 COUPON set = 9

Chance (yellow portrait)
Chase (blue portrait)
Chase (dark cap)
Cobb (red portrait)
Engle
Evers (bat-yellow sky)
LaPorte
Mathewson (dark cap)
Willett


Given that the AMERICAN BEAUTY, BROAD LEAF, CYCLE, and DRUM backs were issued in the Summer/Fall of 1910, what
can we conclude regarding their linkage to the PB No-Prints with respect to a timeline ?



TED Z

[Matt]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Consider the Demmitt and O'Hara
cards, their respective New York variations were NOT printed with POLAR BEAR backs. Yet, we know that their respective
St. Louis cards only exist as Polar Bear cards. From this dichotomy, we can conclude that the initial printing of the POLAR
BEAR (PB) cards can be accurately dated to the Spring of 1910. The St Louis variations of Demmitt & O'Hara were printed
in the initial PB press run. Subsequent PB press runs did not include these St Louis cards of Demmitt & O'Hara because.....

After playing just 10 games with St Louis in 1910, Demmitt was sent down to Montreal (Eastern League) May 1910.

After playing just 9 games with St Louis in 1910, O'Hara's Major League career ends on May 8, 1910. He continues
playing baseball with his hometown team, Toronto (Eastern League).

Ted - how do you know that subsequent PB runs didn't include the St Louis Demitt and O'Hara? I understand they weren't major leaguers anymore, but how do we know their cards were pulled from the runs?

[tedzan]

1st....I didn't say that the St Louis variations of Demmitt and O'Hara were "pulled".

It's my understanding that there was only one PB press run of the 350-only series. The timing of it was coincident
with Demmitt and O'Hara briefly playing for their respective St Louis clubs. The supporting evidence for this single
press run is the fact that approx. 50% of the 216 Subjects in the 350 series were printed with the PB backs. And,
that PB cards in this series are not as available as the two subsequent series.

Whereas, the subsequent PB press runs of the 350/460 and 460-only series include 100% of the 109 Subjects in
those series. And, the abundance of PB cards from these two latter series is indicative of multiple PB press runs.


TED Z

[Matt]

Originally Posted by tedzan

It's my understanding that there was only one PB press run of the 350-only series. The timing of it was coincident
with Demmitt and O'Hara briefly playing for their respective St Louis clubs. The supporting evidence for this single
press run is the fact that only approx. 42% of the 216 Subjects in the 350 series were printed with the PB backs.

Whereas, the subsequent PB press runs of the 350/460 and 460-only series include over 90% of the Subjects in
those series. And, the abundance of PB cards from these two latter series is indicative of multiple PB press runs.

I'm still not understanding something. Polar Bear backs don't have 350-only or 350/460 designations on them (right?) That being the case, how do you know that Demitt St Louis and OHara St Louis were 350-only cards and therefore only in the first run and not the later PB runs?

[tedzan]

" That being the case, how do you know that Demitt St Louis and OHara St Louis were 350-only cards and therefore
only in the first run and not the later PB runs? "

Matt....that is a good question. Scot Reader and I discussed this possibility some years ago; and, we concluded that
the St Louis variations of Demmitt and O'Hara were printed and issued during the 350-only series run.

The timeline in Scot's book for the 350/460 series release is Summer/Fall 1910. This timing is confirmed by the status
of certain Subjects in this series. And by this time period, both Demmitt and O'Hara were 5 months gone from their re-
spective St Louis teams.


TED Z

[sreader3]

Some thoughts on the 12 350-only subjects that have been seen with OM but not EPDG:

1. Of the 12, three, namely, Brown (Wash.), Dahlen (Brooklyn), Elberfeld (Wash. Portrait), are really bifurcated 150/350 subjects that experienced the 350 portion of the 150/350 print run, their predecessors G. Brown (Chicago), Dahlen (Boston) and Elberfeld (N.Y.) having undergone the 150 portion of the 150/350 print run. Moreover, Dahlen (Boston) and Elberfeld (N.Y.) were even extended nominally into the 350 portion before being replaced by their successors Dahlen (Brooklyn) and Elberfeld (Wash. Portrait). Accordingly, we know that these "three amigos" Brown (Wash.), Dahlen (Brooklyn) and Elberfeld (Wash. Portrait) were not introduced until the END of the 350 portion of the 150/350 print run.

2. Meanwhile, the EPDG print occurred at the BEGINNING of the 350 portion of the 150/350 print run. We know this because Ted has identified the "elite eight" 150/350 subjects that were removed from print before the other 150/350 subjects and appear with only two 350 series backs--Piedmont 350 and EPDG (and in very small quantities with these backs).

3. Based on 1 and 2, it is unsurprising that these "three amigos" appear with OM but not with EPDG. Indeed, it would be surprising if the situation were otherwise.

4. I cannot explain why there are nine other 350-only subjects that appear with OM but not EPDG. Could it be that time will reveal these nine subjects with EPDG, or that they were printed with EPDG but all examples have been lost to time?

Scot

[jimonym]

Matt,

As Scot mentions, there's pretty solid evidence that Piedmont-brand cards were the first or coincident with the first T206 cards printed in each series. If Demmitt and O'Hara were 350-460 cards we'd expect to find at least some Piedmont-backed examples.