I spent the first two parts of this series talking about the “Dark Ink” cards from the 350 portion of the 150-350 Series and what we can learn from them. Now, it’s time to move on to the “Washed Out” cards. These are cards that look a bit “fuzzy” and have muted colors. They exist with the following backs:
Old Mill
Piedmont 350
Sovereign 350
Sweet Caporal 350 Factory 25
Sweet Caporal 350 Factory 30
El Principe de Gales stands out as the only 150-350 Series back that was printed during the 350 portion of the print run to not appear above. EPDG backs were printed directly after the 150 Print Runs and before all other 350 Backs (Old Mill, P350, Sov350, SC 350/25 & SC 350/30). There are not any “Washed Out” images with 150 Series backs, and there are none with EPDG either. What this means is that the Washed Out images appeared later on in the 350 Print Runs.
The accepted theory on the “Washed Out” images of the 150-350 Series is that the printing stones became worn over time, which produced the images we see above. The colors are less sharp and the lines are less defined on the “Washed Out” images than the cards printed in 1909 at the beginning of the 150 Print Run.
This is where the Elite 11 come into play. The following 11 poses are known as the “Elite 11”:
- Dahlen Boston
- Ewing
- Ganley
- Jones, Tom
- Karger
- Lindaman
- Lundgren Chicago
- Mullin horizontal
- Schaefer Detroit
- Shaw St. Louis
- Spencer
These 11 poses follow a similar pattern. They were all printed with EPDG backs and Piedmont 350 backs, before being pulled from production. They don’t exist with Old Mill, Sovereign 350 or Sweet Caporal 350 backs.
They don’t appear to have been pulled from EPDG production. I’ve read that theory in the past, but I don’t believe there is enough evidence to support such a conclusion. The only Elite 11 pose that is truly scarce with EPDG back is Bill Dahlen Boston. He may have been pulled from production before the EPDG print run concluded, but it could also just be a result of a normal distribution variance.
So, What do the Elite 11 Have to do With This?
We know they were printed briefly at the beginning of the Piedmont 350 print run, and then quickly pulled. I’ve made the observation over the last few years of collecting these cards that none of the Elite 11 Piedmont 350s have either “Dark Ink” or the “Washed Out” look. They all look just like their Piedmont 150 and EPDG counterparts.
What this means is there were multiple distinct print runs for Piedmont 350 backs. Initially, the fronts looked similar to Piedmont 150s, but by the end of Piedmont 350 production, some of the fronts looked “Washed Out”, and others were printed with “Dark Ink”.
I don’t know how many distinct print runs it took to create all of the Piedmont 350s, but I think it’s pretty clear that it was at least three. The early run produced the Elite 11 poses. They look the same as the Piedmont 150s of those players. The “Dark Ink” and “Washed Out” sheets came later. At this point, I don’t know if there is any way to tell which came first. I used Piedmont 350 backs to make the point about the Elite 11, but the same patterns hold true for most of the other backs we have been discussing.
150-350 Series Old Mills exhibit the three distinct print qualities that I noted in Part One of this series. That points toward at least three print runs. The same appears to be true of Sweet Caporal 350/25 and Sweet Caporal 350/30.
Where Sovereign 350 Stands Out
It appears to me that 150-350 Series Sovereign 350s have two distinct print qualities. There are some Sovereign 350 fronts that look just like 150 fronts, but most Sovereign 350s look at least a little washed out but with normal colors. My guess is the majority of Sovereign 350 backs were printed towards the end of the 350 portion of 150-350 Series production when the printing stones were worn down.
