Two posts in the same week? I am back, baby! Okay, not really. But I did manage to find a couple of cards I needed for my non-sports tobacco card collection.
This is the final card I needed to complete my 25 card 1889 Kinney N230 Famous English Running Horses set. It is diamond cut and a bit short side-to-side. I don't know if it has been trimmed, but I am not trying to put together a high grade set, so it doesn't really matter. I am mainly looking for affordable eye appeal and this has it. Now I need to get serious about N229 (Famous American Running Horses) and N231 (Great American Trotters.) I have exactly 3 and 1 from these sets, respectively. They seem much harder to come by. eBay searches turn up a lot of N230; considerably fewer of the other two. But, that is what the chase is for, no?
This my 10th card from the 1890 Allen & Ginter N18 Parasol Drill set. It is a 50 card set, so I have a long way to go.
What I am listening to: The Saint of Lost Causes by Justin Townes Earle
A couple posts ago, I showed off some framed bookplates that featured artwork from the Duke N101 set. I mentioned that I didn't have any cards from that set. Shortly thereafter, a dozen or so cards from that set came up individually on eBay. Most ended up selling right in that $15-$20 range. I low bid hoping to bottom feed my way into at least one. And I did get exactly one.
I've got to be honest, I cannot find any information about Villous horses. There is a lot of naturalist engravings and prints from the Victorian era. But, nothing modern. I have no idea if this references a breed or if it is a proper name. Going to have to ask my horse friends that are more knowledgeable than I am.
What I am Listening To: No Man's Land by Bob Seger
One day after stating the blog would return to being silent for a while, I am back with another post. I am on fire!
What could be the catalyst? An envelope from Night Owl! What did I get?
This is the 8th card I have received from the 15 card Mares and Stallions insert set in 2019 Allen & Ginter.
The cards were wrapped in paper inside the envelope. The first thing I saw as I unfolded the paper was the name "Clayton Kershaw" and I was confused. Why would he send me a Kershaw card? Once I completely exposed the card, it all came back to me. A while back he showed this card on his blog and, in what I thought was a throwaway comment, said that if he ever came across another, I'd happily trade for it. I had completely forgotten until this showed up and I cannot express how happy this makes me. It has been added to my binder of horse themed cards.
On a separate, but related note, I have to express my admiration for Night Owl. I have been told I am a good writer, but it is in the context of business communication. My boss tells me that my executive updates never have to be corrected for spelling, grammar, or to increase clarity. But, when it comes to creative writing, I am a complete failure. Some people have what it takes to write creatively. Others don't. I don't, but NO does. How he writes for his work, and then cranks out multiple blog posts a week for years on end is nothing short of amazing.
And I think he may have included a little of that magic in this envelope. As I re-sleeved the partial 1973 Topps football set I bought over the weekend, a tiny little spark crossed between two synapses in the over-ripe melon I call a head. And I actually have an idea for a blog post that is more than just showing off what I got at the most recent show. I have already started the research, but there is much more to do. I hope to have it out by this coming weekend. I m pretty excited about it. Stay tuned.
What I am listening to: "Why Not Me?" by The Judds
My horse themed card collection has mainly focused on pre-war tobacco cards. But something came up recently that I just couldn't pass up. Specifically, Western movie star Exhibit cards. These cards were issued by the Exhibit Supply Company for distribution in arcades. They are basically the same as the baseball exhibit cards which we all know so well; only differing in the subject.
Bob Baker had a fairly short Hollywood career, appearing in 25 westerns between 1937 and 1944. While subsequent to that he made a few appearances as a stuntman, he was mainly a "normal" person holding normal jobs, including a time as a saddle and leather goods maker.
While he did have a few start turns in minor releases, Dick Foran was mainly a supporting actor, often in John Wayne vehicles. He had a fairly long career on the screen, stage, and on television as can be seen in his fairly sizeable filmography on IMDB.
Stuart Hamblen had an even sparser acting career, appearing in only 10 films. But, he found fame in other areas. His conversion in a 1963 crusade was considered by Billy Graham as a turning point in the popularity of his ministry. Additionally, Hamblen wrote the oft recorded popular song, This Ole House, and the gospel song "It Is No Secret." I was surprised to find that I have two versions of This Ole House in my music library, a swing arrangement by The Brian Setzer Orchestra and a more traditional country version by Loretta Lynn. However, the first and probably most iconic version was by Rosemary Clooney.
Tom Keene was born George Duryea in my hometown of Rochester, NY. He had a very long film and TV career, starting in 1928 and continued through 1960, ending with 6 guest appearances on Ozzie and Harriet. Alas, his final appearance on the big screen was in the delightfully horrible Ed Wood turn "Plan 9 from Outer Space."
Gary Cooper. Do I really need to say more? Of course not. Y'all know Gary Cooper. Everyone has seen High Noon, right? And, by God, you must have seen Pride of the Yankees, where he plays Lou Gehrig.
Roy Rogers. More than a fast food joint.
There is a town north of Oklahoma City called Guthrie. It was the original capitol of Oklahoma Territory and, upon statehood in 1907, was the first state capitol. The capitol moved to Oklahoma City in 1910 and Guthrie reverted to a sleepy rural town and (Logan) county seat. Coincident with that time a bar known as the Blue Belle sat at the corner of Harrison and 2nd St. It has existed, in various incarnations but not exactly continuously, to today (it is a Mexican restaurant at the moment). But, during the territorial days one of the persons tending bar was, prior to his movie career, Tom Mix. He also found work at the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch, which is the subject of the wonderful Michael Wallis book "The Real Wild West."
There is little I could write that would do justice to Gene Autry's life. While no one would confuse him for Michelangelo, he is, in his own way, a Renaissance man. Seriously, go read his biography on Wikipedia. I will note two things:
There is a small town just east of Ardmore, Oklahoma named for Autry. There is a Gene Autry museum in town that I have yet to visit, but will some day.
Gene Autry was the first owner of the Los Angeles/Anahiem/California Angels and a vicepresident of the American League from 1983 through 1998, his tenure only ended by his passing. Also of interest, the Angels ball club retired the number 26 in honor of Autry, as he was considered the teams 26th man.
What I am listening to: This Ole House by Rosemary Clooney.
The next of my horse themed tobacco card pickups is the 1939 (issued) Will's Cigarette's 40 card series of the top racehorses and jockeys of 1938. I was able to get the entire 40 card set for about $15 delivered.If there are any horse racing history fans out there in my "vast" readership, please note that the set was issued in the United Kingdom, and is focused there, so there is no Seabiscuit or War Admiral cards.
The WD &HO Wills company was founded in 1786 under a different name, and was the first British tobacco company to mass produce cigarettes and was also one of the first such companies to offer trading cards with their products. In 1901, Wills along with 13 other British tobacco companies merged into the Imperial Tobacco Company, including the previously covered John Player & Sons. They offered their first trad card in 1887, but didn't begin offering general interest sets until 1895.
The cards themselves are a hair narrower than your modern sports card and about 3/8" shorter, so they still fit well into a 9 pocket page. The artwork is fantastic. I find that it is quite realistic in how it captures the moods and mannerisms of horse and rider. As I was researching this post, I have seen the same artwork offered in print form, though generally listed as Artist Unknown. I don't know if this means the tobacco company commissioned the work to be done or licensed existing artwork. What is interesting to me is that the first 27 cards are vertical, while the last 13 are horizontal. I don't know if this indicates that the cards were issued in series, but it is a curious thing. More research will be needed.
With regard to the subjects, there are (obviously) 40 different horses, but 21 different jockeys including Pat Beasley who appeared 6 different times. In case you were wondering, I did not attempt to trace the lineage of any of our horses to the subjects in this set. While I know people who are fascinated by bloodlines, I found the research tedious and of little more than passing interest.
Up next will be an Australian issue from 1906.
What I am listening to: South Central Rain by R.E.M.
Back in 1996, I accepted a promotion that involved a move from Columbus, OH to Oklahoma City. At the time, my wife had just finished her first year in law school at Ohio State. Our arrangement was that she would stay behind for her 2L year, then do her last year at the University of Oklahoma. After she finished, we would move back to Ohio. Horseback riding lessons were part of the deal of her moving here. That plan fell apart as, 20 years on, we are still on Oklahoma and own a 17 acre farm were we have 5 horses. Well, "fell apart" probably isn't the right term to use there. "Backfired spectacularly" is probably more appropriate.
So, why am I telling you this? Well, while trawling through Ebay one day, I came across a set of horse themed tobacco cards and it made me think that I should look into collecting horse themed trading cards. In general, they seem reasonably priced relative to their sports themed cousins. So, off I went. My first acquisition was a lot of 22 unique cards from the 1933 John Player's "Derby and Grand National Winners" cigarette issue, for about $7 delivered. I've since added a couple more lots, bringing my total to 40 unique cards out of the 50 card set.
All of the horses featured in this set were thoroughbreds. One thing that may not be commonly known outside the horsey set, is that many breeds were built with some thoroughbred blood and, indeed, many breed associations still allow out-crosses to thoroughbreds and any off-spring would still be eligible for registration. So, it occurred to me to see if I could trace the pedigree of our horses (specifically those that were breed registered to horses featured in this Player set.
I will show those results in a follow-up post. But, let me talk briefly about the set.
The genesis of the John Player & Sons tobacco and cigarette company was a small tobacco factory started in 1820 in the West Lothian region of Scotland. John Player bought the company in 1877 and opened a factory in Nottingham. Player merged with the Imperial Tobacco Company in 1901, but retained it's own brand identity. Various Player's brand tobacco products are still sold today.
Player's was the first UK company to offer trading cards in their cigarette packages, starting with "Castles and Abbeys" in 1893 and continuing until 1940. It appears as if they printed approximately 250 different sets during that time. For more details about their various offerings see CigaretteCards.co.uk
What I am listening to: Santa Claus is Coming to Town by The Reverend Horton Heat
