Note: Much of the background detail in this story is stuff I learned from reading T206resource.com. Most of my readers will probably be familiar with the site, but if not, make sure to check it out.
In August 1909, Hindu Cigarettes ads featuring T206 images began appearing in the Times-Picayune Daily and Evening newspapers in New Orleans*. The ads ran for six weeks from August 2nd to September 10th. There were 12 ads in total.
The first five ads featured only major-leaguers. The sixth ad featured both Major Leaguers and Southern Leaguers. The final six ads featured only Southern Leaguers.
If you collect T206 cards with Hindu backs, you may notice something odd about the ads above and below. The following four poses appear in the advertisements, but were not actually printed with Brown Hindu backs:
- Dooin
- Lobert
- Nicholls (Hands on Knees)
- Waddell (Throwing)
It’s not known why these players were advertised but then omitted from the print run. A similar omission occurred with the Southern Leaguers. The ad below features Southern Leaguers Breitenstein, Hickman and Jordan, who were all printed with Brown Hindu backs. The text in the box at the bottom of the ad reads, “This collection consists of a large assortment of colored lithographs of baseball players in the Southern, South Atlantic, Texas, and Virginia Leagues.”
Players from the Southern, South Atlantic, and Virginia Leagues were indeed printed with Hindu backs, but none of the Texas Leaguers were.
*It is believed that the T206 Hindu Ads were published exclusively in the New Orleans Times-Picayune
Sources:
http://t206resource.com/Hindu%20Ads.html
-All images are courtesy of t206resource.com