4. Book Review: "Sweet Recollections" by Eric Varon
The two baseball card sets produced by the Philadelphia Caramel Company in the early nineteenth century are just two of the thirteen known sets produced by the company. The baseball cards are designated as sets E95 and E96 in the "American Card Catalog" (see examples below). Other sets produced by the company feature diverse subjects including boxers, military uniforms and accessories, domestic dogs, Native American Indian leaders, "airships" and a variety of "Zoo" birds, animals and fish.
All of these card sets, as well as painstakingly researched details about the company's owners and their competitors in the confectionery markets of the region are discussed in vintage collector Eric Varon's recently released book, "Sweet Recollections: The Story of the Philadelphia Caramel Company of Camden, New Jersey."
Following a foreword by well known hobbyist and auctioneer Robert Lifson, Varon's book is divided into three parts. The first part tells the story of the region's confectionery trade and the two pioneers that founded Philadelphia Caramel Company. Here, Varon uses actual newspaper accounts and a variety of public records to document his narrative.
The next several chapters of Varon's book are devoted to a discussion of the premiums offered by Philadelphia Caramel. Part III includes an appendix of detailed checklists for each of the thirteen card sets produced by the company from about 1907 through 1915.
The book's illustrations include several images of the company's founders, early factories, and front and back examples from each of the thirteen card sets that the company produced.
In his conclusions, Varon devotes several pages to his observations about a children's writing tablet (see example at left). The notebook is thought to have been produced shortly after the distribution of the baseball card sets. Several such notebooks have become known to the hobby--all in the past decade--and they help to explain the occasional discovery of blank-backed versions of the Philadelphia Caramel baseball cards, which were cut from the notebooks.
There are no markings on the notebooks to tie them directly to the Philadelphia Caramel company and Varon makes the case that they were likely produced by another company. Card images of five players are found on each notebook cover, and all player images are found in either the E95 or E96 Philadelphia Caramel card sets.
A Checklist and full Set Gallery is provided on the Old Cardboard website for both of the baseball card sets produced by the Philadelphia Caramel.
"Sweet Recollections: The Story of the Philadelphia Caramel Company of Camden, New Jersey" can be ordered using PayPal directly from the author's website at www.PhiladelphiaCaramel.com. Price is $15.40 including first class shipping.
5. News Briefs (A Digest of Recent Hobby Happenings)
Article Index Expanded. Old Cardboard's Vintage Baseball Card Article Index has been expanded to include all vintage baseball card articles published in SGC Collector magazine. The index has also been updated with articles from the most recent issues of Old Cardboard magazine and mini-articles from the Old Cardboard eNewsletter. The index now contains more than 800 articles--all focused on the vintage baseball cards and memorabilia hobby. The index can be quickly accessed via a direct link from the home page of the Old Cardboard website.
Legendary Plans All-Photo Auctions. Legendary Auctions is planning its first all-photograph auction scheduled to close the end of September. The lots will include photographs from the archives of the Detroit News and Sport Magazine. Although the images cover a wide variety of subjects, it will include baseball images by photographer Charles Conlon and others. The September auction will be the first of several events that will include millions of images of Sports and Americana. Updates about future auctions will be posted on the Legendary Auctions website.
Lyman and Brett Hardeman
Old Cardboard, LLC.
Old Cardboard, LLC. was established in December 2003, to help bring information on vintage baseball card collecting to the hobbyist. Produced by collectors for collectors, this comprehensive resource consists of three components: (1) Old Cardboard Magazine, (2) a companion website at www.oldcardboard.com and (3) this eNewsletter. The Old Cardboard website contains more than 500 pages of descriptive reference information for baseball card sets produced fifty years ago or longer. Each of these set summaries has a direct set-specific link to 
auctions and a similar link to 
's powerful search engine for further research. The website also includes a Show and Auction Calendar, an eBay Top 50 Vintage Sellers List, and much more. As a result, the Old Cardboard website makes a great "Alt-tab" companion for vintage card shoppers and researchers. Old Cardboard eNews provides current hobby news, upcoming shows and auctions, and updates to the website and the magazine. It is published around the middle of each month. For a FREE subscription to the eNewsletter, or for subscription information on Old Cardboard Magazine, please visit the website at www.oldcardboard.com. If you find this information resource helpful, please tell your friends. We need your support and your feedback. Thank you.
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