With the success of Allen & Ginter’s 1st series of World Champions, they soon followed up with another 50 card 2nd series set, ACC #N29. Both the 1st and 2nd series are very similar in design. Aside from different checklists, the key differences are:
“Allen & Ginter” text appears on the backs of the N29 cards vs the front of the N28s
N29 has “Second Series” text on the back
The N29 set lists additional information about the subject on the front of the card which differs depending on what sport is (the position and team is listed for the baseball players)
The 2nd series also has a wider variety of categories, including one “Club Swinger” – not sure I want to know…
Allen & Ginter’s The World’s Champions set (ACC # N28) was the 1st series of a multi-sport set released in the late 19th century. Several sports are highlighted including baseball and boxing.
This set consisted of 50 unnumbered cards, split up into baseball players, oarsmen, wrestlers, pugilists, rifle shooters, billiard players and pool players. Anyone know the difference between a billiard player and a pool player? Sounds like the beginning of a joke but apparently there is a difference as this set split them up.
Who is the billiard player and who is the pool player?
Depending on the condition of the card and who is depicted, you can currently find these cards for anywhere from $20-30 dollars to several hundred or more.
Here is a listing of the cards that make up the N21 & N41 Quadruped Allen & Ginter sets. The card subjects are the same for both sets with the N41 set being the larger format. Both sets have 50 cards.
Well unless someone happens to unearth an as yet to be cataloged challenger, it would be this card, the 1888 Goodwin & Co. Henry Beecher card.
Henry Beecher 1888 Goodwin & Co. Card
Henry Beecher was captain of the Yale University football team and grandson of Henry Ward Beecher a prominent preacher and social reformer. While Henry would never have the opportunity to play football professionally as the NFL was still decades from its birth, his skill in the collegiate ranks was certainly recognized. From1885-1887, Henry Beecher would score and astounding 66 touchdowns, including 11 in one game in 1886.
In 1888 Goodwin & Co produced the Goodwin Champions collection, a 50 card multi-sport tobacco series distributed in packages of Old Judge & Gypsy Queen cigarettes in which Henry Beecher was featured as the sole football representative, giving him the distinct honor of being the hobby’s first football card.
Allen & Ginter issued two Quadruped sets in the 1890s. These cards depict, you guessed it, quadrupeds of various sorts. The definition of a quadruped is “An animal having four feet, as most mammals and reptiles; often restricted to the mammals.” Definition courtesy of www.biology-online.org.
The first set (N21) is the standard size of the period, roughly 1 1/2 x 2 3/4 inches, and consists of 50 cards.
N21 HyenaN21 Back
The N41 set (also 50 cards) is a larger format, approximately 3 x 3 1/4 inches. The N41 cards show the same picture as the corresponding N21 card with additional designs on the borders.
Currier & Ives prints (1835 – 1907) cover a vast spectrum of subjects and types. I’m focusing on the tobacco and trade cards here (also documented in the American Card Catalog). There’s tons of good information on the web – just google (or Bing) it…
Many of the trade cards will have some business information printed on them as well, making them more interesting in my opinion. The card below is classified in the Comic Titles category in the ACC but this particular one has an ad for a tobacconist.
Caught Napping
I believe there’s somewhere close to 200 different trade cards with who knows how many variations. They don’t seem to come up all that often on eBay but are findable.
One of the easiest and cheapest ways to get into the vintage hobby is to collect exhibit (or arcade) cards.
Produced starting in 1921 by the Exhibit Supply Company (or ESCO) of Chicago, these thick post card sized photo or illustrated cards were dispensed via vending machines at arcades, theaters, stores or other public places for fees ranging from 1 penny to 10 cents in later years.
Babe Ruth Exhibit Card
Neither a premium collectors card nor an advertisement, the Exhibit Supply Company would make money by selling refills to vendors. The Exhibit Supply Company would produce large refill sets of various subjects including sports stars, movie stars, jets, cartoons, fortunes, US patents or even risqué cards. Some of these cards were emblematic of the times and would be very offensive by today’s standards.
Fortune Telling Exhibit Card
Jet Exhibit Card
The Exhibit Supply Company produced the cards from 1921 until about 1971. While there is not a definitive cataloging of these cards, some speculate that as many as 15,000 different cards were produced by the Exhibit Supply Company. Today these cards are highly collectable and relatively cheap on auction sites such as Ebay, however, many rare exhibit cards will command much higher amounts.
1930's Exhibit Card Vending Machine
If you notice anything factually incorrect or can add historical information to this topic, please email us at collectorsarchive@yahoo.com.
Found some more cool examples of clipper ship cards:
There can be multiple cards for a particular ship, here’s two for the Panama. The first is for New York to San Francisco and the second from San Francisco to Australia. Don’t know if these cards are from the same trip (different legs) or not.
Panama - NY to SFPanama - SF to Australia
The designs also range from the very plain to really elaborate:
MelroseBunker Hill
Looks like the majority of these cards were produced by Nesbitt & Co. printers, although alot of cards don’t state who printed them. I’ll post more interesting examples and information as I find it.
I’ve just recently discovered clipper ship cards and find them very interesting. Beautiful printing and the historical aspect are what attract me. The image below is a card for the John Tucker which was owned and operated by Sutton & Co. with Frank Hallett as the ship’s master. A recent example of this card sold on eBay for $1,250. Apparently most cards in decent condition sell around this price range.
This card is advertising the run from New York to San Francisco and is printed by Nesbit & Co.
John Tucker
You can find more basic information about clipper ship cards HERE and more examples HERE.
Vintage Card Reference 