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Issuing Company: Unknown Country of Issue: USA Year of Issue: 1926 Color/B&W: Blue Tone Number of Cards in Set: Card Size: 1 1/4" x 2 1/4" Issued as insert with what product: Issued in strips by themselves with no other product. Cards are usually found cut apart. Blank-backed. |
Notes: Checklist Incomplete. This set contains cards of movie stars, aviators, and western stars. There are also some athletes in the high numbers including Babe Ruth. Blank-backed.
Date Notes: I have done some research on the date of this set and conclude that it is a 1926 issue. There is a lot of evidence suggesting 1926, including the following:
These are very ugly blue-toned cards. Some even look like they are a negative image of the subject. Probably because they are ugly, they are also fairly rare (i.e. nobody bought them when they were issued). I have also seen black and white-toned and purple-toned numbered versions of these. The purple-toned cards followed the same numbering as the blue-toned cards, but the black and white-toned cards have a different numbering scheme. There are also red-toned and orange-toned unnumbered versions of these cards.
In Jefferson Burdick's "American Card Catalog," he lists the highest number in this set seen as #55. I have seen three different groups of these that have some curious differences. The first group stopped at #55 and contained all of the movie stars in the set. This group made me think the set did indeed stop at card #55. The second group contained cards that had numbers that went up to #95. Some of the cards in this group were the same as the first group, while some with the same number showed different subjects. For example, #55 showed Fatty Joe Cobb in both groups. #53 however, showed Ralph Raves in the first group and Baby Peggy in the second group. The third group contained cards from the low numbers and high numbers, including some miscut cards that showed parts of cards from the low numbers and high numbers on the same card, proving that the low and high numbered cards were issued together at some point.
I think it is likely that these cards were issued as one group ending at #55, then reissued with numbers going up to at least #95. They were probably reissued more than once with different colors and with some variations.
As to the numbering, the checklist that I have pieced together for these shows numbers in groups of five, such as 11-15, 21-25, 31-35, etc. all the way up to 95. Only one blue toned card has has been seen with a number ending in 6, 7, 8, 9, or 0, that being the #39 Our Gang card. I don't know if cards with these missing numbers exist or not, but it doesn't seem likely. The black and white version of these cards that I've seen have the same fronts as the blue-toned cards, but the numbering for those is completely different, and the numbering for those does include numbers ending in 6, 7, 8, 9, and 0.
I have also seen a group of red-toned versions of these with no numbers, and a group of orange-toned versions of these with no numbers, both coming from the same source.
Checklist of all cards seen so far:
1. Babe Ruth
2. Tom Mix (Barney Oldfield also in picture)
12. Clarence Chamberlin (aviator) - N.Y. to Germany 3800 Miles, 43 Hrs
13. Ruth Elder (aviator) - Arriving at the ...(cut off)
14. Com. R. E. Byrd (aviator) - N.Y. to France 3900 Miles, 43 Hrs, 21 M.
15. Col. Lindbergh (aviator) - New York to Paris 3650 Miles, 33 Hrs, 20 M.
21. Betty Bronson (purple)
22. Evelyn Pierce
23. F. Bushman, Jr. (purple)
24. Dawn O'Day
25. Rud. Valentino in the Son of the Sheik
31. Jack Hoxie (blue) (purple)
32. Dustin Farnum
33. Wm. Duncan
34. Hoot Gibson
35. Tom Mix
35. Rud. Valentino in The Son of the Sheik
39. Our Gang
41. Harold Lloyd (purple)
42. Mary Korman
43. Clyde Cook (purple)
44. Our Gang
45. Farina
51. Mickey Daniels
52. Charley Chase (purple)
53. Ralph Raves (purple)
53. Baby Peggy
54. Harry Langdon (purple)
55. Fatty Joe Cobb
61. Cow Girl
62. Cowboy Camp
63. Charlie Chaplin
64. D. Fairbanks
65. Baby Peggy
71. Babe Ruth
72. Tom Mix (Barney Oldfield also in picture)
74. U.S. Battleships (U.S.S. Battleship New Jersey, U.S.S. Battleship Kentucky)
75. Mexican Cowboy
81. Jackie Coogan
82a. Jimmie Walker (same pic as 82b)
82b. Johnny Walker (same pic as 82a)
83. Wesley Barry
84. J. Beery (Wallace Beery)
85. Antonio Moreno
91. The White House (Boy Scouts bicycling in front of White House)
93. D. Fairbanks and Mary Pickford
94. Charlie Chaplin
95. Jackie Coogan and Bill Edwards (Football Star)
Cards seen in First Group of these:
21. Betty Bronson
22. Evelyn Pierce
23. F. Bushman, Jr.
24. Dawn O'Day
25. Rud. Valentino in the Son of the Sheik
31. Jack Hoxie
32. Dustin Farnum
33. Wm. Duncan
34. Hoot Gibson
35. Tom Mix
41. Harold Lloyd
42. Mary Korman
43. Clyde Cook
44. Our Gang
45. Farina
51. Mickey Daniels
52. Charley Chase
53. Ralph Raves
54. Harry Langdon
55. Fatty Joe Cobb
Cards seen in a Second Group of these:
21. Betty Bronson
22. Evelyn Pierce
35. Rud. Valentino in The Son of the Sheik
39. Our Gang
42. Mary Korman
51. Mickey Daniels
53. Baby Peggy
54. Harry Langdon
55. Fatty Joe Cobb
63. Charlie Chaplin
64. D. Fairbanks
81. Jackie Coogan
82a. Jimmie Walker (same pic as 82b)
82b. Johnny Walker (same pic as 82a)
83. Wesley Barry
84. J. Beery (Wallace Beery)
85. Antonio Moreno
93. D. Fairbanks and Mary Pickford
94. Charlie Chaplin
95. Jackie Coogan and Bill Edwards (Football Star)
Cards seen in a Third Group of these:
12. Clarence Chamberlin (aviator) - N.Y. to Germany 3800 Miles, 43 Hrs
13. Ruth Elder (aviator) - Arriving at the ...(cut off)
14. Com. R. E. Byrd (aviator) - N.Y. to France 3900 Miles, 43 Hrs, 21 M.
15. Col. Lindbergh (aviator) - New York to Paris 3650 Miles, 33 Hrs, 20 M.
21. Betty Bronson
23. F. Bushman, Jr.
24. Dawn O'Day
31. Jack Hoxie
32. Dustin Farnum
43. Clyde Cook
44. Our Gang
51. Mickey Daniels
52. Charley Chase
53. Ralph Raves
54. Harry Langdon
61. Cow Girl
62. Cowboy Camp
64. D. Fairbanks
65. Baby Peggy
72. Tom Mix
74. U.S. Battleships (U.S.S. Battleship New Jersey, U.S.S. Battleship Kentucky)
75. Mexican Cowboy
81. Jackie Coogan
82. Jimmie Walker
83. Wesley Barry
84. J. Beery
85. Antonio Moreno
91. The White House (Boy Scouts bicycling in front of White House)
93. D. Fairbanks and Mary Pickford
Black and white numbered versions of these (numbers all different from blue versions):
1. Babe Ruth
6. The White House
13. Wm. Duncan - Movie Star
27. Evelyn Pierce
31. Mickey Daniels - Pathe Comedies
Orange-toned unnumbered versions of these:
Betty Bronson
F. X. Bushman, Jr.
Dawn O'Day
Evelyn Pierce
Red-toned unnumbered versions of these:
Betty Bronson
Brooklyn Navy Yard
F. X. Bushman, Jr.
Charlie Chase
Joe Cobb
Clyde Cook
Dustin Farnum
Hoot Gibson
Jack Hoxie
Harry Langdon
Chas. Lindbergh
Mexican Roping Contest
Tom Mix
Barnie Oldfield
Babe Ruth
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