In honor of the Tubby Spencer Piedmont 350 in a SGC 40 holder that sold for $2,839 on June 11, 2018, it’s time for the next exciting episode of Pulled From T206 Production Early! Spencer is one of the 11 players who were pulled from T206 production very early into the “350” portion of the 150-350 print run. This group of players are known as the “Elite Eleven” among T206 collectors. The term was coined by Ted Zanidakis in this Net54 thread, which was published in June of 2013.
Tubby Spencer was a light-hitting backup Catcher for the St. Louis Browns from 1905 to 1908. He averaged just 68 games played in those four seasons, which makes it a little surprising that he was included in the set in the first place. In 1909, he appeared in just 28 games with the Boston Red Sox, which presumably made the decision to pull him from the set a fairly straight-forward one. He spent most of 1910 and 1911 with the St. Paul Saints of the American Association, and then had an 11-game cup of coffee with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1911.
For the next five years, he bounced around the Minor Leagues before catching on with the Detroit Tigers. In 1916 he played 19 games, and followed it up with 70 in 1917 and 66 in 1918 before returning to the minors for good.
I’m not sure exactly why, but it seems that backup catchers got a lot more love in the deadfall era than they do now. Spencer’s inclusion in the T206 set seems a little surprising based on his lack of playing time offensive output. What’s really shocking is that he was chosen to be included in Philadelphia Caramel’s 30-card set (e96) released in 1910, about the same time that he was being pulled from T206 production.
Spencer is considered by most T206 back collectors to be the scarcest of the “Elite Eleven” *. The recent sale I mentioned above resulted in a few messages from friends, all of which sounded something like, “Did you see what the P350 Spencer just sold for???? What the (heck)???” Going into the auction I was asked by a couple friends what I thought the card would sell for. I did give a range that I thought it might fall in (which was way off, sorry guys) but I told them that I didn’t have a great feel for where it might end up.
At the moment it seems that these tough Piedmont 350s are among the most volatile T206s in terms of what they will sell for on the open market. It makes some sense. We have near perfect information about many front/back combos, but the “Elite Eleven” Piedmont 350s are still a gray area. It’s hard to know how many of each player are out there, and even tougher to guess what they’ll sell for when they hit the open market.
* This seems to be the consensus among the collectors I talk to. If not the toughest, Spencer is certainly in the top three in terms of scarcity
Recently I wrote an article about T206 sheet mates. This group of cards was the subject of a fun Net54 thread a few years back where members worked together to figure out what was going on the backs of these T206s. Besides being incredibly cool, they also offer a unique look into other types of jobs the American Lithographic Company was working on at the time. The backs of these cards were used to test a run of Lash’s Bitters Tonic Laxative trade cards.
First, this Lash’s Bitters trade card was found by Net54 member Jantz:
Then Erick Summers posted this graphic, which lines up some of the cards against a grid of the Lash’s Bitters trade cards:
The graphic overlays below were created by T206 sleuth Chris Browne. The image below looks like it could have been the front of the Lash’s Bitters trade card from above, but it ended up being the front of a different trade card. If you take a close look at the image at the top of this article you’ll notice that “LASH’S BITTERS” is printed in red ink with two separate layouts. One version is printed on just one line, while the other has “LASH’S” printed above “BITTERS”. Chris’s discovery below shed some light on where the single line of red “LASH’S BITTERS” came from, but the double line version remained a mystery.
Then, Chris found the missing piece to the puzzle:
In my opinion, the T206 Lash’s Bitters are among the coolest cards in the set. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, they are beautiful cards, and the connection with another commercial product from the same time period only adds to their significance. The Net54 thread was fun and collaborative and epitomized what can happen when collectors work together on a project they are passionate about.
This trio of Piedmont 350s from the same sheet was sold recently by Huggins & Scott Auctions. Seeing them got me thinking about other cards that we know came from the same sheet. In his fantastic book, Inside T206, Scot Reader surmises that the total number of T206s produced could be over 100 million. Given this staggering estimate, it makes sense that finding two or more T206s that were printed on a single sheet is no easy task.
One of my favorite things about this set is that it lends itself very well to research. If you learn something about a certain pose or front/back combo, there is often a logical pattern to be followed, which will lead you to more discoveries. The same cannot really be said for today’s topic. Finding T206 sheet mates is very cool, but it usually is the result of random happenstance rather than a larger pattern. In that same vein, there will be little structure to this article. I mainly just wanted to post some of the coolest T206 sheet mates.
Most of the times that we’re able to trace multiple T206s back to the same sheet, they will be of the printer’s scrap variety. The reason for this is pretty simple. In order to make connections between two or more cards, there has to be something that makes them unique.
Take these Hoblitzell and Oakes Piedmont 350s. They showed up on eBay one day in a group of offerings from the same seller. I wasn’t able to find out anything about where they came from, but it doesn’t take much of a logical leap to assume they were cut from the same sheet and kept together all this time. Their large, hand-cut borders and darker-than-normal colors are a dead giveaway. I’m not sure there’s anything to be learned from them, but they sure are cool.
These three Blank Backs share a similar cut as well as adhesive residue on all four corners of the backs. They were clearly kept together in an album or frame for many years. They made their way to market via SCP auctions, where I was able to buy them and keep them together.
The “Lash’s Bitters” T206s are another example of printer’s scrap that work as puzzle pieces that help us to re-construct a sheet of T206 cards. I have an article in the works featuring these awesome scraps, so I’ll keep this description short. The back of these T206s was used as a test sheet for trade cards featuring “Lash’s Bitters”. The fronts look a little odd as well. They appear to be missing a layer of red.
T206 collector John Dreker was kind enough to send me scans of these four upside-down and mis-cut Piedmont 150s that he owns. He found Davis in a group of 40 cards he bought in 2000, then bought Tannehill, Doolin, and Cicotte together in the same group in 2002.
This group of cards has been dubbed the “Test Print Sheet”. As you can see, the backs have a lot going on.
Much like the Lash’s Bitters sheet above, the back of the sheet that Griffith, Lake, and O’Leary were on was used as a test sheet for a Twin Oaks Tobacco advertisement.
This quartet of Blank Backs are very likely to have originated from the same sheet.
Huggins and Scott recently sold this very interesting trio of mis-cut Piedmont 350 backs. The lot, which ended on February 8, 2018, sold for a final price of $840 after the juice. Though they were not advertised as such, these three cards all came from the same sheet.
I don’t have firsthand knowledge of the provenance of these cards. However, I believe they may be Printer’s Scrap. This means that they were not included in packages of Piedmont Cigarettes, and instead left American Lithographic Company with one of the printers, or were discarded and saved by someone else.
The fact that they are so severely mis-cut is the first clue. By itself, that doesn’t really tell us much though. The second clue is the condition of each card. They are all in very nice, uniform shape. The third clue is the presence of both Seymour and Cicotte in the group. The pink print marks below connect Seymour and Cicotte, proving they were right next to each other on a Piedmont 150 sheet. We don’t know for sure that the layout remained the same for Piedmont 350 sheets, but it’s another piece of circumstantial evidence, all of which points in the direction of these three cards being printed on the same sheet. To read more about the Seymour-Cicotte connection, and Piedmont 150 sheets in general, check out the links at the bottom of this article to other articles I’ve written on the subject.
The final clue is that all three cards came from the same collection. It would be hard to imagine these three cards looking as similar as they do without them having been stored together for many years. In the same vein, it would be hard to imagine them being released in packages of Piedmont Cigarettes and eventually making their way into the same collection without exhibiting different levels of wear. However, there’s always the chance that these three cards were inserted into one carton of cigarettes and a few packs were purchased by the same smoker.
There are other examples of similar cards floating around in the hobby. They are often referred to as “no name” cards because they are mis-cut in such a way that the caption has been cut off. If I saw just one of these cards by itself, I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that it was Printer’s Scrap. Though they are severely off-center, they are certainly factory-cut. The vast majority of cards that we refer to as “Printer’s Scrap” will exhibit rough, hand-cut edges because the cards were scrapped as a full sheet, and cut up by hand. There’s no way to know for sure, but my guess is the sheet these three cards were printed on did not pass quality control (for obvious reasons) and the cards were never inserted into packs of Piedmont Cigarettes.
In the next couple of weeks, I’ll delve deeper into these topics. Writing about these three cards (which may or may not be scrap) made me realize I haven’t written anything about the topic on this site yet. So, next week’s article will be an overview of T206 Printer’s Scrap. I’ll define the term, talk about all the different kinds, and show off some really cool examples. Two Sundays from now, we’ll take a look at other examples of T206 sheet-mates that have survived together all these years.
We know that George Mullin’s horizontal (or throwing) pose was pulled early in the Piedmont 350 print run and subsequently left off the print runs of Sovereign 350 and Old Mill entirely. What we don’t know is why. Mullin Throwing is a member of the “Elite 11” subset. The Poses in this subset share the same characteristics:
They were printed with El Principe de Gales backs. In my opinion it is likely that most, if not all of the Elite 11 poses were printed for the entire EPDG print run. That is debatable though, and some collectors feel these poses were pulled early from the EPDG print run.
They were all certainly pulled early from Piedmont 350 production
None of the 11 poses were printed with Sovereign 350, Sweet Caporal 350, or Old Mill backs
Many T206 back collectors have memorized the list below. Something I don’t think many people have considered is, “Why is Mullin included in this group?” All the other poses make sense, but Mullin sticks out like a sore thumb.
The “Elite 11”
Dahlen (Boston)
Ewing
Ganley
Jones, Tom
Karger
Lindaman
Lundgren Chicago
Mullin horizontal
Schaefer (Detroit)
Shaw, Al
Spencer
I’ll give a quick rundown of the reasons American Tobacco Company would have had for pulling each of the other 10 members of the “Elite 11” from Piedmont 350 production early. After that, we’ll take a look at why Mullin’s early exit from the Piedmont 350 print run is particularly curious.
Bill Dahlen
Released by the Boston Doves on October 23, 1909 and joined Brooklyn the following year. The artwork on his card was changed to reflect his new team and Dahlen (Brooklyn) took the place of Dahlen (Boston) for the remainder of the Piedmont 350 print run and SC 350 Sov350 and Old Mill print runs.
Bob Ewing
Traded from Cincinnati to the Philadelphia Phillies on January 20, 1910.
Bob Ganley
Selected off waivers by the Philadelphia Athletics on May 18, 1909.
Tom Jones
Traded to the Detroit Tigers on August 20, 1909.
Ed Karger
Purchased by St. Paul on June 9, 1909. He was then traded to the Boston Red Sox on July 26, 1909.
Vive Lineman
Played his final game in the Major Leagues in 1909.
Carl Lundgren
Played his final game in the Majors in 1909.
Germany Schaefer
Traded from Detroit to Washington on August 13, 1909.
Al Shaw
Played his last Major League game in 1909.
Tubby Spencer
Played just 28 games with the Boston Red Sox in 1909 and did not play in the Majors in 1910.
As you can see, there is a clear reason behind the early exit of each of the other 10 members of the “Elite 11” from the Piedmont 350 print run. But what about Mullin? He doesn’t share any characteristics with the 10 players above.
In 1909, he was at the top of his game. He appeared in 40 games, compiling a record of 29-8 to go with a 2.22 ERA. He led the American League in both Wins and Win Percentage. In the 1909 World Series, he appeared in four games, posting a record of 2-1 to go with a 2.25 ERA.
In 1910, he turned in another strong campaign, appearing in 38 games with a record of 21-12 and an ERA of 2.87.
Unlike the other 10 players, there is no obvious reason why ATC would have pulled Mullin’s (Throwing) pose from production. In fact, shortly after pulling this pose, they began printing his (Portrait) in the 350 Only Series and followed that with his (With Bat) pose soon after as part of the 350-460 Series.
Mullin’s (Portrait) features his name spelled as “Mullen”. One possible explanation for the early exit of his (Throwing) pose is ALC thought it had spelled his name wrong on the (Throwing) pose. This scenario makes some sense, as ALC spelled his name “Mullen” just months after pulling the (Throwing) pose from production prematurely. Not too long after that, they began producing his (With Bat) pose and again spelled his name “Mullin”, so I’m not sure we can say anything definitively about ALC’s thoughts with regard to the spelling of his name. In addition, there is precedent for ALC making a minor name change when dealing with a star player’s card (Sherry Magee’s “Magie” card). I would think George Mullin would have qualified as a star in the same way Magee did in 1910.
When I first got the idea to write this article, I hoped that Pat Romolo’s Piedmont 150 Plate Scratch research would shed some light on the topic. The Plate Scratch sheets that Pat recreated explain why the “150 Only” subjects were pulled from production early. I hoped I’d find something similar when I looked for Mullin (Throwing) on Pat’s Plate Scratch sheets. Unfortunately, the recreated sheet doesn’t offer any clues. Mullin (Throwing) is located in the top left corner of the sheet above. The image above is too small to show detail, so please click on the link below:
The graphic below shows a small section of the sheet where Mullin is located. As you can see, Schaefer (Detroit) is located two to the left of Mullin. When I first saw Schaefer, I thought there might be a pattern. However, those hopes were quickly dashed by Mullin’s proximity to Donlin (Seated) and L. Tannehill, which were not pulled from production.
We may never know the exact reason for Mullin’s early exit, but like so many pieces of the T206 puzzle, it’s fun to try and piece it together.
Today, I’m excited to present a guest article, written by my friend Rob Dewolf. Enjoy! – Luke
Written by Rob Dewolf
Sometimes the best journeys are the ones you plan the least.
Spur-of-the-moment road trips with a college roommate. A weekend getaway with your significant other that comes together in an hour on Saturday morning. A split-second decision that leads to a 1 a.m. trek to the Taco Bell drive-thru.
OK, so maybe a little planning can be a good thing. But one of my best T206 excursions was one I never saw happening.
Because of my age (54) and early interest in baseball cards that continued through high school, I’m among those who can say, “I started collecting T206s in the 1980s.”
But honestly, that “collecting” was defined by picking up a stray white border at a card show now and then or buying a Hall of Famer when I could afford it. So, yeah, technically I “bought” T206s more than thirty years ago, but I wasn’t really “collecting” them.
That changed in 2012, when I decided to cautiously pursue a T206 Polar Bear subset, which seemed like a good fit for a number of reasons. First, it’s only 250 cards. I figured from a mental standpoint, that number wasn’t overwhelming (520, I’m looking at you). Plus, having been born and raised in Ohio, I feel a connection to Polar Bear backs because Factory 6, 1st District, which is listed on the backs of the cards, was located in the Buckeye State. Add the fact that Polar Bears aren’t common like Sweet Caporal or Piedmont but are readily available, and I felt good about the undertaking.
After about a year or so of enjoying and nearly finishing that challenge, I decided to keep plugging away and collect an entire set of T206s, minus the Honus Wagner, Eddie Plank and Joe Doyle error. (A fortunate series of events down the road led to the acquisition of a Plank, but that’s another story – one that can be read by clicking this link: Lionel Carter’s T206 Eddie Plank)
My next step toward a set was to knock off the Southern Leaguers. Because nearly half my T206 set was going to have a Polar Bear back, I decided I wanted the SLers subset to have an “uncommon common” back, i.e. not Piedmonts. This left Old Mills and Hindus as my choices. The Hindus, because of their scarcity, seemed too daunting a challenge, not to mention that only 34 of the 48 Southern League subjects come with a Hindu back. The Old Mills, however, much like the Polar Bears I had been collecting, were uncommon yet attainable.
The timing of this decision was nearly perfect. Not long after looking for a starter lot of Old Mill Southern Leaguers, a near-complete group in mid-range condition came up for auction. I was able to buy it, and after filling in the holes and picking up the last few Polar Bears I was missing, my T206 project was at 298 cards.
Fast-forward to about a year later. My set was “complete” at 520 cards (the Plank deal hadn’t happened yet), but I wasn’t ready to quit on T206s. After considering a few different possible projects (another set, this one in lower grade; Cleveland players with tougher backs; an all-portrait set), I settled on expanding my southern-league horizon. Wouldn’t it be cool, I thought, to have all of the Southern Leaguers with all of the three different backs? A total of 130 cards, 48 each with Piedmont and Old Mill backs, 34 with Hindus.
The Piedmonts weren’t too tough, even when waiting for strong mid-range examples (Side note: This is one of the truly nice things about collecting T206s. There are so many of them out there, you have your choice of what condition you want, and unless you’re collecting PSA 8s, you rarely feel you’ve hit a wall).
So, while picking up Piedmonts at a steady pace, I started on the Hindus, buying one here and one there and not being as particular on condition as I was with the Piedmonts and Old Mills. In addition to there not being as many Hindu SLers as there are ones with the other two backs, it’s a challenge finding all of them in strong, mid-range condition. Sure, you can pick up a type card in a 3, 4 or 5 holder without much trouble. But when you’ve got 20 or so Hindu SLers crossed off your want list, finding that final dozen in nice shape is a fun hunt.
I was fortunate during my entire T206 journey, and in particular the southern-league side trip, to have Jim Rivera helping me. Jim is a friend — not just a “hobby friend” (whatever that means), but a true friend who has forgotten more about T206s than many collectors know. Jim has a particular fondness for the Southern Leaguers, and at one point his collection of not only T206 SLers but also those in the T210 Old Mill and T211 Red Sun sets was something to marvel at.
After working a deal to buy seven of Jim’s extra Hindu SLers, coupled with the handful I already had bought, I had a good start toward completing the SL trifecta. Months followed of buying one here and there and upgrading when I could.
More than once I bought lots of 10-20 cards in auctions only to get the two or three Piedmont or Hindu SLers I didn’t have. Another big plus to collecting T206s: Because they are so popular, they’re about as liquid as cardboard can get, meaning if you buy a large lot of T206s because you need only a few, finding buyers for your extras is relatively easy. (Assuming you didn’t overpay in the first place.)
My march to completion, while not conducted at a breakneck speed, was at a comfortable pace. Southern Leaguers are always are popping up on eBay and in auctions, and rarely do you feel any of them are “must-haves” that cause you to overpay (unless you’re impatient, which – as you’re about to learn- I can be).
Finally, the Piedmonts were finished and I was one Hindu away from being able to say “Mission accomplished!” (Wait, does anyone really say that anymore?) Regardless, my white whale took the form of Dutch Jordan, one of the more popular Southern Leaguers, which I figured would lead me to paying a bit more than the normal rate, but this card was not one that I counted on being tough to buy.
Now, admittedly, the ease of closing the books on a set or subset, unless the card you’re seeking is truly rare, really is dictated by timing. A Hindu Jordan really shouldn’t be any tougher to find than a Scoops Carey or George Paige. Often, it’s just a matter of being fortunate to have one come up for sale at the time you’re looking to buy. And I realized this when weeks turned to months and no Hindu Jordans hit eBay or the auction houses.
In fact, in a bit of irony, a blank-backed T206 Jordan became available in a Robert Edward Auction while I was searching for a Hindu. I bought the blank back, which is maybe a thousand times rarer than a Hindu SLer, thinking that perhaps down the road it might be part of a trade for a Jordan if I was unable to buy one.
As more time passed, that gaping hole caused by Jordan’s absence became more and more annoying to me, particularly because I had been in contact with a T206 collector who had multiples of a Hindu Jordan but didn’t want to sell one. Finally, it got to the point where I emailed him to see whether he had interest in trading for my blank-backed Jordan, thinking it would bring the Hindu Jordan and another T206 or two in return.
I’ll spare the blow-by-blow account of the negotiation, other than to say the pursuit of cardboard pictures of dead baseball players can cause an otherwise fairly smart person to do not-so-smart things. Such was the case when I agreed to trade the blank-backed Jordan straight up for the Hindu. This, after the owner of the Hindu said he reluctantly would do the deal.
Even though I knew I was trading a card I had paid $2,000-plus for at auction for a card that would sell for $600 on a good day, I made the deal. Was it dumb? Monetarily, of course. But I assumed that the satisfaction of completing a pretty challenging subset would help numb the fact that I was committing a financial blunder.
And for a while it did. But eventually, whenever I looked at the Hindu Jordan, I felt a different kind of annoyance. And it had nothing to do with money. I’m kind of old-school, so I can remember when card collectors made trades based not solely on money but on what one party had available and the other party needed. I knew that on the surface, that’s kind of what happened with me and the Jordans, but deep down, I knew I had acted foolishly, simply because I was impatient. I’m certainly not crying foul, because I agreed to the deal. I was to blame for any annoyance I felt. But I also knew there was a way to rectify the situation.
Eventually, as I knew one would, a Hindu Jordan came up for sale. In fact, it happened not more than a few months after the trade. I was in worse condition than the one I traded for, but I didn’t mind a bit. Bought it without hesitation.
I no longer wanted the “first” Hindu Jordan, so I mailed it back to its previous owner, not expecting anything in return. I received an email about a week later, saying he appreciated the gesture “more than you know” and that he’d return the blank-backed Jordan. That was more than two years ago. I guess somewhere in the USPS system is a lost blank-backed Dutch Jordan searching for a home. I hope he’s well.
Looking back, my T206 projects were a lot of fun. I really enjoy the Southern League master set and still casually watch for a few upgrades. Plus, the experience left me with my own set of “Jordan rules”: Don’t get too emotional when it comes to baseball cards, and stay patient.
Written by Rob Dewolf
Some Southern Leaguer oddities that Rob added to his Master Set
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.
“Elite 11” Piedmont 350 Germany Schaefer
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.
A normal looking Sovereign 150 Gilbert on the left, and a “dark ink” Old Mill on the left
In the first part of this series, I introduced the three distinct print qualities that can be found on poses from the 150-350 Series with Old Mill backs. The Gilbert above is a good example of a “dark ink” Old Mill. This “dark ink” phenomenon is not exclusive to Old Mills. It can be observed on the following 150-350 Series backs:
1. Old Mill
2. Piedmont 350
3. Sweet Caporal 350 factory 25
“Dark Ink” Manning Sweet Caporal 350 Factory 25. Sorry about the blurry scan. It was hard to find a scan with this back.
4. Sweet Caporal 350 Factory 30
You’ll notice that the following 150-350 series backs are not a part of the above list:
El Principe de Gales
Sovereign 350 Forest Green
EPDG was the first back printed in the 350 portion of the 150-350 Series. The fact that no EPDGs have been found with “dark ink” on the fronts is interesting, but not too surprising. 150-350 Series poses with EPDG backs look very similar to their 150 Series counterparts because they were printed soon after.
At this point, the jury is still out on whether there are any 150-350 Series Subjects out there with a “dark ink” front and a Sovereign 350 back. I expect that there are, but I haven’t been able to find any scans to prove it.
Where the Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 649 Subset Comes In:
The most hardcore T206 nerds among us may notice that the five poses pictured above all have something in common. They are among the 34 poses that comprise the Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 649 Subset. The common theme with the majority of these “dark ink” cards is that they are poses that can be found with SC 150/649 backs. So far, I have only found a few that feature players who are not a part of the Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 649 Subset. The Keeler Old Mill below is one example.
Two paragraphs ago I mentioned that I have yet to find a “Dark Ink” front with a 150-350 Series Sovereign 350 Forest Green back. The pattern would dictate that they do exist, but there is a reason why they would be tougher to find than a copy with Old Mill, Piedmont 350 or Sweet Caporal 350.
The Old Mill, Piedmont 350 and Sweet Caporal 350 Subsets all contain the majority of poses that make up the Sweet Caporal 150 Factory 649 Subset. The Sovereign 350 Subset only contains 10 poses that are part of the SC 150/649 Subset. Therefore, it is a lot tougher to find examples with Sovereign 350 backs to examine. Here are the 10 poses that exist with both SC 150/649 and Sovereign 350 Forest Green:
Bresnahan Portrait
Davis, George
Goode
Griffith Portrait
Johnson Portrait
Killian Hands at Chest
Liebhardt
Manning Batting
O’Leary Portrait
Sheckard No Glove Showing
Of these 10, I have seen “Dark Ink” cards featuring only Killian, Liebhardt, and Manning. I expect that one or all of those three poses will be found with a Dark Ink Sovereign 350. If you have one or have a scan of one, please let me know.
In Part Three, I’ll explain what the Elite 11 and the “Washed Out” Old Mill, Piedmont 350, and Sweet Caporal 350s can teach us about the 350 portion of 150-350 Series Print Runs.
Prior to 2012, it was assumed that Schulte front view was a 150-only subject. However, in REA’s Spring 2012 Auction a near complete (517/524) T206 set was auctioned off that included a low-grade Schulte with Piedmont 350 back. The partial set went for $44,438. It contained many other cool cards including a Cycle 460 Cobb and a Red Hindu Gandil. Still, the price tag was pretty hefty. The Schulte was the crown jewel of the collection, and it no doubt drove the strong bidding.
This new find was quite the head-scratcher for T206 back collectors. This made Schulte front-view an incredibly tough card to categorize. It definitely couldn’t be a 150-only subject anymore, but it didn’t fit neatly into any other category either. At the time, collectors looked to a group of 150-350 series poses referred to as the “Elite 8*” subjects to try and find a fit.
At the time, the Elite 8 subjects consisted of these poses*:
Dahlen Boston
Ewing
Ganley
Jones, Tom
Karger
Lindaman
Lundgren Chicago
Mullin horizontal
These 8 poses are unique in that they shared many traits with the 150-only subjects. They were not printed with Old Mill, Sovereign 350 or Sweet Caporal 350 backs. However, each of the 8 was printed with El Principe de Gales backs and Piedmont 350. They are all very tough to find with Piedmont 350 back (some more so than others – probably a subject for another article). Each of these poses was pulled from production early in the Piedmont 350 print run, creating scarcity.
With this new discovery, some people felt Schulte should be the 9th member of this group. The awesome name “Ninja 9” was even floated as a potential moniker. The big problem with putting him in this group is that he wasn’t printed with an El Principe de Gales back. Some collectors posited the theory that this Schulte card could be a proof or printer’s scrap never meant to be released. That is possible, but in my opinion it looks like it was factory-cut. Tough to be sure because the card is in such rough shape, but it doesn’t have any telltale signs of being hand-cut.
For now, Schulte front view is a pose that defies categorization. Until another example with Piedmont 350 back shows up, collectors will be split on what to make of the lone copy. Keep your eyes peeled. Maybe you’ll be the person who finds the next one!
*Today this group is generally thought to include either 11 or 12 poses. Schaefer Detroit, Shaw St. Louis, and Spencer have been added to the 8 mentioned above. Some consider Schulte front view the 12th member of the group.
Me too, so I figured I’d write a post about it. This is a phenomenon that most advanced collectors are aware of. However, I don’t think there hasn’t been much written about it.
In case you have no idea what I’m talking about, I’ll get right to it. Some cards from the 350 series have an unfocused, “washed out” look to them that is easy to notice once you know what you are looking for. Not all cards with 350 backs can be found with the washed out look. From what I have seen, only poses from Print Group 1 have exhibited this print anomaly. So, in theory, there should be 146 subjects that exist with a washed out image. The way I arrive at that number is taking the entire checklist of Print Group 1 (thanks to t206resource.com for the checklist) which is 159 subjects, and subtracting the 13 subjects that are 150 only poses.
“Washed out” images can be found on fronts with these backs:
Old Mill
Piedmont 350
Sovereign 350
Sweet Caporal 350 factory 25
Sweet Caporal 350 factory 30
It’s really unclear at this point how this may have happened. Not all Print Group 1 cards with the above backs have washed out images. I talked with a friend recently who has a theory that there were three distinct print runs in the 350 series and that small changes were made before the printing of each. I’m very intrigued by this idea and I plan to look into it further. If I’m able to find anything of substance, I will be sure to write about it. This theory would explain the washed out image phenomenon pretty well. It would explain why some Old Mills from Print Group 1 have great focus and vivid colors, while others are unfocused and have muted colors. It seems that at some point during the 350 series run on Print Group 1, that the printing presses got out of whack for a little while and created this washed out look. That could have been at the tail-end of the 350 print run of PG1, or at the beginning and the printing presses were fixed for subsequent print runs.
I find it hard to explain exactly what we are looking at. The Old Mill Overall at the top of this post is clearly missing some of the darker colors. The red, blue, brown and black are all darker and more crisp on the SC 150/25 copy. Meanwhile, the Hahn Old Mill below actually looks darker than it’s Sov150 counterpart. Both Old Mills clearly have the same washed out look however. If anyone who has a better understanding of the printing process can shed some light on what created this “washed out” look, I would very appreciative.
Many collectors actively avoid these cards, preferring 150 backs with crisp images. I may be the only one, but I really like the washed out look. If these cards ever gained popularity, I think we would find that they are somewhat tough to find in general and that the really extreme examples are quite scarce.
