Is V153 really Canadian and V?

[G1911]

The Robertson Pure Sugar Candy cards are pretty difficult. The fronts mirror E76, the difference is the back branding, attributing the cards to "The Robertson Candy Co." The backs give no mention of a city or state or nation. Burdick catalogued them as V153, i.e. a Canadian non-tobacco release.

Robertson Candy Co. is a Canadian candy firm still in business, but this one was founded in 1928 and makes some searching difficult. There was a Newton, Robertson and Co. in Connecticut in 1910 making candy products that is almost certainly not our issuer as well.

There was, however, a Robertson Candy Company in New York in the 1910’s running a number of advertisements in journals and papers for their “fruit tablet” candies. These are easily found.

A 1910 listing in a directory of New York companies says Edward D. Bradshaw was the President, and a Robertson was on the board. They had $10,000 of capital. The NY State Legislature report records that they paid a $5 tax on the organization of corporations in the year 1910.

They also operated under the “Robertson-Bradshaw Co.” name sometimes, sometimes with both names in the same ad, but this was not used as often.

They had an office at 286 Greenwich Street in the city, according to a 1910 edition of The Spatula, in which they regularly advertised and were sometimes mentioned.


So… What is our evidence that V153 is a V series at all? I cannot find anything on a Canadian firm of this name in the period in which these cards appear to be from, but I can easily find lots of information on a company of this name just across the border. Is there any evidence of such a firm existing?