Month: February 2018

Huggins and Scott Auctions off Three T206 Mis-cuts from the same Piedmont 350 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.

Links and Sources:

Pat Romolo’s T206 Piedmont 150 Plate Scratch Project (Part 1/2)

Pat Romolo’s T206 Piedmont 150 Plate Scratch Project Part 2/2

What I Have Learned from Pat Romolo’s Piedmont 150 Plate Scratch Research: Part One

What I Have Learned from Pat Romolo’s Piedmont 150 Plate Scratch Research: Part Two

What I Have Learned from Pat Romolo’s Piedmont 150 Plate Scratch Research: Part Three

What I Have Learned from Pat Romolo’s Piedmont 150 Plate Scratch Research: Part Four

https://hugginsandscott.com/cgi-bin/showitem.pl?itemid=25159&catid=135&lotno=412

Home Run! T206 Broad Leaf 460 Uncovered in Auction Lot

1 Comment on Home Run! T206 Broad Leaf 460 Uncovered in Auction Lot

T206 collector Erick Summers, known on net54 as “t206hound” has sniffed out another elusive prize.  This time, he found one of the crown jewels of the T206 set, a Broad Leaf 460 back.  And not just any Broad Leaf 460.  The front of the card features Hall of Famer Frank “Home Run” Baker.  I caught up with Erick to learn more about his most recent T206 discovery.

Q:  This is amazing!  Congrats!  So, where did you find it?
A:  It was affixed to a poster along with the other cards in this Huggins & Scott auction lot:  
 
Q:  What made you decide to go after that lot?
 
A:  After being out of the hobby for about a year, I recently sold my Sweet Caporal 460 Factory 42 subset and had some money to play with, so I had been looking for something interesting.  There were two lots in the Huggins auction that caught my eye, but this one really intrigued me.  Of the 111 cards, there were 16 HOF including Cobb, Young and Johnson.  There was also an Elberfeld Washington Portrait, a card I’ve never owned.  With such a high percentage of “high value” cards (even in lower condition), I figured I could get the thrill of treasure hunting for a tougher back, but still get close to my money back in resale in the likely scenario of all common backs.
 
Q:  Have you ever bought any similar display pieces with the backs obscured?  
 
A:  I’ve been tempted before, but never pulled the trigger.  I’ve soaked cards in the past, so I’m familiar with the practice.  These cards were all rough, so I wasn’t worried too much about ending up with cards with back damage in the event that the cards didn’t come off clean.  I was more concerned about cards being offset as it was apparent that the cards on front and back of the display were not aligned.  I was hoping I wouldn’t have to “sacrifice” a card on one side to remove another.
 
Q:  If so, have you ever found any rare backs in similar fashion?
A:  Never.  In fact, this purchase looked like it was going to yield nothing but Sweet Caporals.  It wasn’t until I got to the two Crawfords that I came across a different back.  The Crawford was one of only four Sovereigns to go along with 106 Sweet Caps.  I had been texting Johnny Vanderbeck and the last message I received from him before seeing the Broadleaf was “I’m hoping you have something really crazy in there.”  It took me two more hours before I had moved on to the Baker.   I got glimpse of the back of the Baker, and I saw that the back was brown.  Initially I was thinking it was a Hindu as I didn’t recall that Baker isn’t available with that advertisement.  Imagine my surprise when I saw “Leaf” on the back.
Q:  Have you decided if you will keep it? 
 
A:  I’m honestly not much of a collector as I enjoy the hunt more than acquisition.  However, in this case I’m going to keep the card.   The other 110 cards, however, will likely find new homes.

Collecting a T206 Master Set with Ron Kornacki

 

Q:  How (and when) did you get into collecting T206s?

I started collecting T206s at the end of 2010. I have always had some interest in them but when I started going to card shows in the mid 1980s, I just didn’t feel comfortable buying something I knew very little about. At that time I was only 12 years old and didn’t have many ways of learning about the set except for the basic card value catalogs that were out at that time. I remember being at the shows and only a few tables having the older tobacco cards and there were always older guys at those tables and it felt like it was not a kid type of card display. It just didn’t feel too inviting. Too bad I didn’t just jump in there the same way I would when I was buying gold coins at the age of 12.

Q:  How did you get interested in back collecting?

My first Tolstoi back card was Bob Groom. A month after that purchase, I bought a PSA 4 Bob Groom Polar Bear. This was only a few months into collecting T206s. I think I only had five different cards when I added my first duplicate front with a different back. That purchase opened up a lot of research on different combinations that were out there and also led me to net54. The more I read and researched, the more I was hooked on the idea of back collecting.

Q:  Was there a certain card that piqued your interest in collecting cards based on their backs?

Besides the Bob Groom being my first duplicate front, the Hal Chase Blue Portrait was my first T206 project that I had more focus on than anything else at that time. I got up to 15 different backs before I jumped to another area of the set.


Q:  How did you decide to go after a T206 Master Set?

It seemed like many collectors were going after certain card front runs of the different backs. There were many that I wanted to collect along with the basic 520-card set that it just made sense to go after them all. I figured that I could just buy cards when they were priced right and at some point I would be close to many goals that I wanted.

Q:  What is your favorite back (and why)?

I can honestly say that I don’t really have a favorite back. If value is left out, I enjoy them all equally. If I had to choose at least one, it would be the Carolina Brights. I actually like some of the non T206 backs more, such as Mello Mint, Pirate, and Obak series one’s with or without the border.

Q:  Working on a master set is a huge and potentially overwhelming project.  Do you break it down into smaller projects in order to make it more manageable/approachable?

I bounce around the set so much. I don’t think I’ve ever been 100 percent focused on a goal in the master set. Every couple of weeks I’m changing my mind on what to go after. I can say that I actually stay away from Piedmont backs unless they are factory 42s or Elite 11s, and I was staying away from Sweet Caporals until recently. There’s just so many Piedmonts that there’s no point in purchasing them until there’s nothing else to buy.

Q:  If so, which of these projects is closest to completion?

Even though I don’t focus 100 percent on one thing, after acquiring over 1000 different cards with nearly no Piedmonts or Sweet Caporals, you’re bound to be close to some subsets. I have a complete Old Mill Southern League set. I’m two cards away from a Sovereign 460 set, and eight cards away from a Polar Bear set.

Q:  I recall you saying on net54 that you chose to go after a master set because you wanted a project that you couldn’t complete.  That struck a chord with me because my collecting goals are similar in that I can never be finished.  Can you elaborate a little on why that appeals to you?  (No worries if not, I just think it’s a really interesting thing to think about.  I think a lot of people collect sets, then sell them and keep moving on to something new, not realizing that getting the finish line isn’t as satisfying as they expect it to be.)

I’ve collected so many things over the period of my life from coins, stamps, comic books, and sports cards. What I’ve learned about myself is I enjoy the hunt and the chase the most. I actually lose interest in a set as I get closer to finishing it. For me, that’s an awful feeling, especially since so much time, money, and effort was spent into something and then you’re just looking to unload it to start something else. I feel with the challenge of a T206 master front/back set, I don’t ever have to worry about getting to that point and just continue to hunt and chase every day.

Q:  Do you have a favorite card or cards in your collection?

As with not having a favorite card back, I don’t really have a favorite card front. I do like some, more than others. A few that I prefer: Bill Bradley with bat, Ty Cobb bat off shoulder, Wid Conroy with bat, Nap Lajoie with bat, and Heinie Zimmerman.

Q:  Do you have a “white whale” or dream card that you’d like to someday own?

Well, since I am going after every card possible, The Honus Wagner is going to be needed. The only thing is I’ll need all 3 different card backs.

Q:  Who is your favorite player in the T206 set?

I would probably have to say Hal Chase. I’m a New York Yankees fan anyways, and Chase was a good player, but controversy and corruption always seemed to follow him.

Q:  Do you have any favorite stories of how you acquired certain cards?  Are there any cards that you searched for for a long time before finally getting one?

I don’t really have any stories but during my first couple years of research, I was determined to find some of the now-well-known Sweet Caporal 350-460 Factory 30 “No Prints”. I found my first two cards in April 2014, after nearly two years of searching for something that wasn’t supposed to exist. You can imagine the heart pounding through my chest feeling. Fourteen months later the largest group of them started showing up on eBay and I was ready. I picked up the first two weeks of cards undetected until someone posted on Net54 questioning them. Then it was game on and time to show the deep pockets.

Q:  Is there anything that you’ve learned along the way about the T206 set that was unexpected

Probably the fact that there’s always more to learn. As much of an expert you think you might be, there’s so much more that’s just not known for sure. That is one of the things I really do like about the set. All the answers can’t be found online. Many theories need to be investigated and even then, you may just have a bunch of great theories.

Q:  Have you made any fun trades while building your collection?

I haven’t traded too much since I buy usually only what I need for my set. I’ve upgraded maybe 15 cards so far. I’ll pick up a Piedmont Elite 11 or similar if the price is right to either resell or trade for something else that I need for that subset but it doesn’t happen often.

Q:  Have you made any friends along the way from trading, buying, chatting on net54, etc?

Yes. I like to think of everyone as a friend until they have given me a reason not to be. T206 collectors are like online family to me. Probably my best online friend/T206 family is Pete Gustafson.

 

Lena Blackburne’s Baseball Rubbing Mud

1 Comment on Lena Blackburne’s Baseball Rubbing Mud

Lena Blackburne appears in the T206 set with the Providence Grays, with whom he played in 1909 as a 22 year-old.  He spent parts of the next five seasons with the Chicago White Sox before bouncing around the National League with Cincinnati, Boston, and Philadelphia in 1918-19.  He is credited with playing one game with the White Sox in 1927, and another single game with the Sox in 1929, when he was the manager of the club.  Blackburne managed the White Sox in 1928-29, to a 99-133 record over that span.

Clearly this article is not going to be about his playing days, though he was a baseball lifer who had a lengthy career as a coach and manager in both the Major and Minor Leagues.  In addition to his managerial record shown below, he served as a coach on Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics ball clubs for the better part of 16 years between 1933 and 1948 (1933 through 1938, as well as 1940, 1942, 1943, 1947, and 1948).

Though his playing career was fairly nondescript, Blackburne left a lasting imprint on the game of baseball.

It all began in 1938 when an umpire complained to Lena Blackburne, a third base coach for the old Philadelphia Athletics, about the sorry condition of the baseballs used by the American League. Back then a ball was prepped simply with mud made of water and dirt from the playing field. The result? The ball’s cover was too soft, leaving it open for tampering. Something was needed to take off the shine but not soften the cover.

-http://baseballrubbingmud.com

Blackburne decided to try to tackle the problem.   He returned to New Jersey and combed the tributaries of the Delaware River, looking for the perfect consistency of mud to rub down a baseball without making it wet.  After some searching, he found just what he was looking for.  He brought some of the mud to the ballpark and found that it worked perfectly.  It took the sheen off the ball and allowed for an easier grip without adding water weight.  It also had no odor, and didn’t turn the balls black.

Thus, Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud was born.  By the end of 1938, every American League team was using his Rubbing Mud to prepare baseballs for use in games.  Though the A.L. was using the mud in 1938, it wasn’t until the mid 1950’s that the National League began to use it.  It wasn’t that the N.L. was slow to adopt the product though.  Blackburne was a staunch American League supporter, and refused to sell his product to the National League for almost two decades.

The business still exists today, supplying Rubbing Mud to all MLB and MiLB teams.  Small containers are available for sale to the general public.  Upon Blackburne’s death in 1968, the company was willed to his close friend John Haas.  Haas eventually turned the business over to his son-in-law Burns Bintliff.  The company is currently run by Burns’ son Jim.

The exact spot where the mud is sourced remains a closely guarded secret.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Lena_Blackburne

http://baseballrubbingmud.com

Photos courtesy of baseballrubbingmud.com