Tobacco Era Part 3
26) 1888 S.F. Hess N338-2
27) 1888 S.F. Hess California League N321
28) 1888 S.F. Hess California League N338-1
29) 1888 S.F. Hess Newsboy N333
30) 1888 WG1 Baseball Playing Cards
31) 1888 Kimball N184
32) 1888 Police Gazette Cabinets
33) 1888-9 Sporting Times M117
34) 1889 Duke's Terrors of America
35) 1890 Scrapps
36) 1889 E. R. Williams Game
37) 1889 Duke Cabinets N142
38) Women's Baseball Tobacco and Other Cards
39) 1880s Team-Player Die-Cuts
40) 1893 Just So Tobacco
41) 1890s Newsboy Cabinets N566
42) 1896 Mayo Cut Plug N300
43) 1896 Mayo Die-Cuts N301
44) 1898 Cameo Pepsin Pins
45) 1899-1900 Sporting News Supplement M101-1 & 1899 National Copper Plate
26) 1888 S.F. Hess N338-2
Buck Ewing
type: tobacco insert; mounted photograph
availability: scarce
popularity: popular
One of several rare tobacco issues by S. F. Hess, this is the most popular and expensive as it is the only one depicting major league players. There are 21-cards in the set, featuring 16 players from the New York Giants, two New York Mets, two from Saint Louis and one from Detroit, The cards measure 2-3/4" X 1-1/2" and feature sepia-toned photographs, most of which are enclosed within a dark background half-oval. The player's name is printed in capital letters beneath the photograph with the S.F. Hess & Co. logo at the bottom. Other S.F. Hess issues have the Creole Cigarettes brand name, but this issue does not. These are rarely seen in the market and when they are offered for auction they will usually fetch book price or higher.
S.F. Hess Trade Card
27) 1888 S.F. Hess California League N321
1888 S.F. Hess California League N321 Lawton
type: tobacco insert; color lithograph
availability: scarce
popularity: above average
This rare minor league issue is extremely attractive and similar in design to the famous 1909-11 T206 White Borders. The 2-7/8" X 1-1/2" cards were inserted in packs of S.F. Hess & Co.'s packs of Creole brand of cigarettes. The cards have colorful art of the player with 'S.F. Hess & Co.'s Creole Cigarettes' below. The player's name and 'California League' appear above the drawing and is copyrighted 1888. There are 40 total cards, picturing 34 players and one umpire. There are no players of any fame.
These cards are far from cheap but there isn't the same demand as for the major leaguers in N338-2
1888 S.F. Hess California League N321 Hardie (2-1/2" X1-7/8") Book $1,000 Nmt
N321 Proofs: These test-proofs made before the final printing are on a thin paper instead of cardboard and do not have writing on the bottom border. Each is probably a one-of-a-kind.
28) 1888 S.F. Hess California League N338-1
(not pictured)type: tobacco insert; mounted photograph
availability: rare
popularity: above average
All S.F. Hess baseball cards are scarce but these are probably the scarcest. These minor league cards were inserted into S.F. Hess & Co.'s Creole Cigarettes. They are the photographic counterpart to the N321 minor leaguer lithographs. The cards measure 2-7/8" X 1-1/2." Each card is comprised of a black-and-white photograph, some identical to the drawings in the N321 issue. All writing appears below the photograph. The writing includes the player's name, plus the words 'S.F. Hess & Co.'s Creole Cigarettes' printed in a wave-like pattern.
As with the N321 issue there were no players of note.
29) 1888 S.F. Hess Newsboy N333
McDowell, Rochester (N.Y.) Post Express
type: tobacco insert; mounted photograph
availability: scarce
popularity: above average
S.H. Hess & Co.'s novelty issue with a baseball theme depicts newsboys from eight cities' different newspapers. The cards are comprised of a portrait photograph of newsboys wearing baseball hats and jerseys bearing a newspapers name. Most of the photographs are vignette busts unlike the above rectangular photo of a full body. 'Newsboy League' is written at the top of the card, and 'S.F. Hess & Co.'s Creole Cigarettes' at the bottom in a wave-like pattern. The cards measure 2-7/8" X 1-1/2"
These cards are difficult to find and have a following amongst collectors though they pale in price compared to he major leaguers in N338-1.
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30) 1888 WG1 Baseball Playing Cards
Joseph Mulvey
type game card; lithograph
availability: below average
popularity: average
Little is known about these blue-backed playing cards which were sold in a boxed set. The cards resemble a normal deck of playing cards. A particular field position corresponds to a card denomination. For example the pitchers are kings and the catchers are aces. The rules to the game are unknown.
1888 WG1 Baseball Playing Cards Sid Farrar
31) 1888 Kimball N184
E. A. Burch
type: tobacco insert; lithograph
availability: below average
popularity: above average
Kimball, a competitor to Allen & Ginter, issued these attractive cards measuring 1-1/2" X 2-3/4." The cards are scarcer than Allen & Ginter's N28 and N29, but contains no star players. The complete set includes other-sports.
1888 Kimball N184 Hardie Henderson
1888 Kimball N184 back of card showing that baseball players makes up only a fraction of the total set.
1888 Kimball N184 James O'Neill The only baseball player of note in the Kimball set. O'Neill batted .435 in 1887.
32) 1888 Police Gazette Cabinets
type: magazine premium; cabinet card
availability: scarce
popularity: above average
These obscure cards measure 4-1/4" X 6-1/2" and are comprised of a sepia picture attached to a mount. The mount can come in maroon, black, brown and green. All cards have 'Richard K. Fox" embossed on the card with the words 'Editor and Proprietor POLICE GAZETTE Franklin Square, New York.' The player's name is either embossed on the mount or typed on the negative.
33) 1888-9 Sporting Times M117
type: magazine premium; lithograph
availability rare
popularity: above average
These extremely rare cards were issued by the Sporting Times weekly newspaper. The cards are quite large (7-14" X 4-1/2") and have line drawings of players in different action poses on a thin cardboard stock. The cards come in various pastel colors surrounded by a white boarder. The player's last name is printed on each drawing, along with the words 'Courtesy Sporting Times New York.' A pair of crossed bats and a baseball appear along the bottom of the card. The are 27 different known players. Notice that the above card uses the same picture as used for the Allen & Ginter cards.
34) 1889 Duke's Terrors of America
'Don't drop It, Tommy'
type: tobacco insert; lithograph
availability: average
popularity: low
These 2-3/4" X 1-1/2" cards were inserted into packs of Duke's Cigarettes. The full title of the cards is 'The Terrors of America and Their Doings.' The terrors were young boys and the cards show the youngster in various carefree scenes baseball and nonbaseball.
These cards have little following, and can be bought quite cheaply considering their age.
1889 Duke's Terrors of America: The catcher-- 'Sock 'em in'
1889 Duke Terrors of America: 'Ain't she a beauty'
Duke's Baseball Puzzle Card: Not part of the Terrors set, the object of this insert is to rearrange the letters to spell the names of famous players.
35) 1890 Scrapps
William Gleason
type: lithograph
availability: below average
popularity: average
Little is known about the origin of these unusual cards. It was once incorrectly theorized that they were tobacco cards. Most likely they were 'punch-outs' from a kids album. The cards are die-cut and embossed, similar to the 1880's Team-Player Die Cuts.
1890 Scrapps Charles Comiskey
36) 1889 E. R. Williams Game
1889 E. R. Williams Complete Game, including cards, pieces, instructions, etc.
type: game card; lithograph
availability: below average
popularity: average
The 'Egerton R. Williams Popular Indoor Baseball Game' was a parlor game issued in a blue and green box. The complete game, as pictured above, contains playing pieces, instruction booklet, 52 card and card box. Nineteen of the cards contain popular players and, as expected, these card hold the most interest with collectors . The above pictured entire game with box sold for $8,100. Finding a complete game is nearly unheard of. Most cards are bough and sold one at a time.
1889 E. R. Williams Comisky/Connor
37) 1889 Duke Cabinets N142
type: tobacco premium; cabinet card
availability: limited
popularity: popular
Relatively hard to find and extremely desirable. Also known as Honest Cabinets, the four cabinet cards were produced by the W.H. Duke & Sons tobacco company. These large cards come in color, a rarity for cabinet cards, and measure 6" X 9-1/2". Each card is has a large portrait. Directly below the brand name "Honest' is the player's name and 'NEW YORK' to the right. The card in all but one piece is bordered by a thin red line. The picture takes up most of the card.
There are only four baseball players known at this time: George Davis, Ed Delehanty, Billy Nash and Wilfred Robinson. Delehanty is a member of the Hall-of-Fame. Other players may be found in the future. There are also 3 cyclists in the set. The date 1889 is a guess, some sources assigning it later date
38) Women's Baseball Tobacco and Other Cards
Circa 1885 Dixie Cigarettes (left) and Sub Rose Cigarettes (right).
It probably comes as no surprise that women baseball players are not well represented in 19th Century cards, The powers that be felt that baseball was a man's game. The above tobacco inserts, issued by Allen & Ginter, were more than likely meant to be humorous. There is interest today in women's baseball cards. I've seen high grade examples of the above and similar cards sell for $300 or more.
Women played baseball in the 19th Century. In fact Vassar College fielded a women's teams in 1866 three years before the famous Cincinnati Red Stockings.. Baseball teams were formed at other female dominated colleges through at least the 1880s. A picture of the 1866 Vassar team shows their uniforms to be Victorian dresses with lettering. Apparently, various hidden ball tricks could be performed with the voluminous pleated uniforms. Public pressure made play sporadic.
From the mid-1870s into the 20th century female 'barnstorming' teams were popular. These were novelties on the order of the Harlem Globetrotters who would travel around playing local teams. This was a business, meant to attract a paying crowd wherever a team traveled. Later teams, often called 'Girl Bloomers', included men. In fact Hall of Famers Smokey Joe Wood and Rogers Hornsby played on early 20th century teams.
If these women's teams interest you, you may want to look beyond just the tobacco. Baseball playing women were depicted in photographs (including many shown in this book) and other printed material. This kind material is relatively scarce but can be found. As female baseball players were more accepted as the years went by, memorabilia is more plentiful from 20th Century subjects. The All-American Girls Baseball League is well-known, but I've seen a plethora of fine photographs documenting local teams in the decades preceding.
1880 Virginia Brights Cigarettes
Late 1890s card promoting the Boston Bloomers
39) 1880s Team-Player Die-Cuts
1880s Team-Player Die Cuts: uncut panel of three cards
Type: unknown
availability: below average
popularity: low
These uncataloged die-cuts were probably punch outs like the Scrapps and may have been game pieces like the Mayo Die-Cuts N301. This is speculation. These chromolithographed cards are embossed, glossy and have blank backs. A single card can be bought cheap.
40) 1893 Just So Tobacco
(not pictured)type: tobacco insert; photographic card
availability: rare
popularity: above average
Amongst the rarest issues of all time, there are only one or two known example of each card. They weren't known to exist until the 1960s. They depict members of the then-named Cleveland Spiders, a team which included Hall-of-Famers Cy Young, Jesse Burkett and John Clarkson. Issued by the Just So brand of cigarettes, the cards are on heavy paper and measure 2-1/2" X 3-7/8." The card front has the player's portrait photograph with 'Chew or Smoke Just So' printed beneath. My guess is that star cards would sell for more than is reflected in the price guides.
41) mid-1890s Newsboy Cabinets N566
John Ward (standing, with bat)
type: tobacco premium; cabinet cards
availability: limited
popularity: above average
These attractive Cabinets measuring 4-1/4" X 6-1/2" were offered as premiums by the National Tobacco Works, issuer of Newsboy brand tobacco. There are over 500 different cabinets but only 13 baseball players. The only stars are Amos Rusie and John Ward (2 variations). The cards are numbered, which is unusual. It is not uncommon to find these cabinets where the photograph overlaps the writing at the bottom of the mount. Some photographs are oval.
Newsboy Cabinet Eleanor Mayo, actress
42) 1896 Mayo Cut Plug N300
1896 Mayo Cut Plug N300 Arlie Latham and Tommy Tucker. (1-5/8" X 2-7/8")
type: tobacco inset; photomechanical print
availability: below average
popularity: average
This distinct-looking issue is considered to be the most significant issue of the late 19th Century when few cards were produced. The cards were issued by the Mayo Tobacco Works of Richmond and were inserted into packs of their chewing and smoking tobacco. The images are half-tone prints instead of real photographs as with most other 19th Century picture cards. 40 players are pictured, 28 in uniform and 12 in street clothes. Eight players are pictured both ways. Many of the day's stars are included. The photographs on the front of the card can be either black and white or sepia. There are no great scarcities though some rather difficult variations exist. There are variations of team names on uniform, spelling and other writing.
Centering including miscuts can be a problem with these. Also paper and glue from albums are more apparent on the black backs.
1895 Mayo's Cut Plug N300 John Glassock (1-5/8" X 2-7/8") Glassock appears both with and without Pittsburgh on his shirt.
1896 Mayo's Cut Plug N300 Kid Nichols and Tommy McCarthy:
Sealed pack of Mayo's Cut Plug Tobacco
Mayo's Cut Plug Football Cards: Obviously similar in design to the football cards, this issue includes Edgar Allen Poe's cousin (not pictured).
43) 1896 Mayo Die-Cuts N301
1896 Mayo Die-Cuts N301 (15)
type: tobacco inserts, game piece; color lithograph
availability: below average
popularity: low
These tiny (1-1/2" X 3-1/4") die-cuts game cards to a board game are not popular as they don't depict actual players The pieces were inserted into Mayo tobacco, while the board parts could be obtained via mail.
44) 1898 Cameo Pepsin Pins
1898 Cameo Pepsin Gum Pin Ted Breitenstin
type: gum insert; pinback
availability: limited
popularity: average
Whitehead & Hoag, maker of Cameo Pepsin Gum, issued numerous pins depicting everything from US Presidents to naval ships. Their 1-1/4" baseball pins has over eighty players including stars and four teams. Top condition pins are rare. In particular the pictures are often badly faded (see above), and the paper backing is often missing.
Buying/selling for profit pins, coins and such from any era can be difficult. There are many more people willing to pay money for a card than a pin.
1898 Cameo Pepsin Gum Pin Eddie Burk. This exact pin, graded ExMt with intact paper backing, sold for over $220
1898 Pepsin Gum Pin Bobby Wallace (mispelled 'P')
1897 Cameo Pepsin Pin Buffalo Team
1897 Cameo Pepsin Pin Baltimore Orioles
Circa 1899 Pepsin America's Cup Yachts Pins (1-1/2" diameter) Whitehead & Hoag made all sorts of pins including of U.S. presidents, warships and European leaders.
45) 1899-1900 Sporting News Supplement M101-1 & 1899 National Copper Plate
Honus Wagner
type: magazine supplement and premium; photomechanical print
availability: below average/limited
popularity: average
These 8-1/2" X 11" glossy supplements were inserted in the weekly Sporting News magazine. A different player was inserted each week from April 22 1899 to October 20 1900. The complete set also could be bought for $2. Only one complete set is known to still exist. The National Copper Plate Company produced these supplements for the Sporting News. They also issued nearly identical versions on their own. The Sporting News versions are more valuable, though both versions are desirable.
1899-1900 Sporting News Supplement M101-1 Kid Nichols
main index........................ tobacco era index (c) David E. Rudd, all rights reserved
