R310 Butterfinger Ruth

Distributed as premiums with Butterfinger candy bars, these supersized black and white cards are listed in the American Card Catalog as Set R310.

The white-bordered card fronts all display full body action poses. Labeling is limited to a simulated autograph of the player, written in the lower portion of the card. All Butterfinger cards are blank-backed.

R310 Butterfinger Variation (Red Ad Overprint)

The cards are found in one of two primary variations. The most common format is illustrated in the example card at left for "Babe" Ruth. These are printed on thin stock not much higher in quality than that of a typical newspaper. All 65 players in the R310 Player Checklist are found in this format.

A less common variation is printed on heavier card stock. These are easy to identify from the bright red advertizing overprint at the top of the card. The ad offers a "Free Baseball Picture" (from the R310 set) with the purchase of a 5-cent Butterfinger candy bar. Only seventeen of the players in the R310 checklist have been reported with this overprint, which was apparently used by the storekeeper for display advertizing. The seventeen players are identified in the R310 Checklist on the Old Cardboard website.

Other color-tinted variations of the Butterfinger cards are sometimes encountered on eBay or at card shows (see James Collins example at left).

These were most likely not colorized by the Curtis Candy Company (makers of the Butterfinger candy bars), but by would-be artists applying their skills after the cards were distributed.

"Fox" Error Card

"Foxx" Corrected Card

One card in the R310 Butterfinger set (that of Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx) can be found with his simulated autograph spelled both incorrectly as "Fox" and correctly as "Foxx."

The examples at right illustrate both of these variations. The single "x" version no doubt was produced first and the error was subsequently corrected. The first (single x) version is a little more difficult to find and brings a modest premium.

Vintage collectors will also note that the most frequent spelling of Foxx's first name is "Jimmie" (not Jimmy as printed on both versions of his Butterfinger cards).

R310 Butterfinger (Dean)

1933 Goudey (#223 Dean)

1934 Goudey (#6 Dean)

Several of the poses used in the Butterfinger set are based on the same photographs used for the Goudey Gum Regular issues of 1933 (R319) and 1934 (R320).

Examples of cards from all three sets for the Cardinal's Hall of Fame pitcher Jerome "Dizzy" Dean are shown here. All three cards are displayed at approximately one-third actual size for comparison.

Other poses from the 1933 Goudey set common to the R310 Butterfingers are those for Gus Mancuso (Goudey card #237) and Mel Ott (Goudey card #207).

Similarly, players from the 1934 Goudey regular issue that are based on the same photographs as the Butterfingers are James Collins (Goudey card #51) and Oscar Melillo (Goudey card #45).

A set of slightly smaller cards that use most of the same poses found in the R310 set was distributed in Canada, and carries a separate listing (V94) in the ACC. Strong documented evidence shows, however, that the Canadian V94 cards were distributed by O-Pee-Chee Gum Company of London, Ontario, Canada (not Butterfinger).

A Set Profile, Checklist and Gallery of Cards for the R310 Butterfinger cards is provided on the Old Cardboard website. The checklist identifies the Butterfinger cards that have known "red ad" variations. It also cross-references the handful of Butterfinger poses that are derived from the same photographs used in the 1933 and 1934 Goudey regular issues.

The Butterfinger candy bar was first introduced in 1923 in Chicago, Illinois by Otto Schnering, founder of the Curtiss Candy Company.

The company (and the popular Butterfinger brand) is well known for its creative marketing promotions, including the 1930's dropping of thousands of candy bars attached to mini-parachutes from bi-planes over many American cities. Also among the numerous company promotions was the 1934 point-of-sale distribution of the oversized baseball player "cards" described above and known to collectors today as Set R310 Butterfingers.

Complete 1892 N360 Set (select any image to enlarge)

This scarce set of nine cards depict drawings of buxom young women in various baseball action poses. The set is listed in the American Card Catalog as set N360 "Baseball Scenes" promoting several different cut plug tobacco brands.

The colorful lithographs are labeled with a copyright notice in the lower right corner by Donaldson Brothers, N.Y. Otherwise, the card fronts are unnumbered and, except for some found with advertising overprints, contain no additional text.

It appears that the cards in this series were lithographed as stock cards for which a number of tobacco brands printed their promotional messages, resulting in a number of back variations.

Images for some of these backs are displayed below:

Examples of several N360 backs. Schedule backs are for the August and September 1892 season.

Backs promoting other brands, including Gay Head and M.T. Coffey, have been reported.

The schedule-back cards have a "Smoke and Chew Little Rhody Cut Plug" advertising label printed in the lower right corner of the card fronts.

The National League schedules on the backs of the schedule-back cards shown are for August and September, 1892, thus confirming the 1892 date of distribution for the set. Some collectors suggest, however, that the set was distributed over a several year span.

A close look at the example backs above reveals that the sponsor name for the "Cockade" and two of the "Ideal" backs are printed on a taped add-on sticker applied after the original backs were produced. Thus, the name of the sponsor brand that was originally printed on the card was changed.

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A discussion of the N360 color lithographed women baseball cards above would not be complete without mention of two closely related sets identified in the American Card Catalog. They are the N285 "Morning Glory Maidens" and the N557 "National Sports" sets. Both are believed to also have been distributed in 1892.

N285 Morning Glory Maidens

The N285 Morning Glory Maidens set contains 51 cards that can be divided into three groups: Games, Trades, and Months of the Year. The set contains only one card related to baseball, captioned appropriately "Base Ball."

Shown at left, the card front depicts a player at bat along with the caption at lower left. The reverse includes a promotion for the Morning Glory Tobacco brand followed by a checklist for the set. The producers logo, "D. Buchner & Co., New York," is printed at the bottom. Two additional back designs (both with redemption messages) are known for the set.

The N557 National Sports set contains ten cards that represent popular sports from each of ten different countries. They are: America, England, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Persia, Scotland and Spain.

N557 National Sports Series

As with the N285 series, the N557 set contains only one card related to baseball. It also shows a batter in position (this one in patriotic red, white and blue attire) and is captioned "America" at the lower right.

A "copyright" notice is placed in very small print at the bottom left with the lithographer "Donaldson Brothers" along the lower right edge.

The card backs promote the Little Rhody Cut Plug brand in a fancy white-on-black design.

An N360 Set Profile, Checklist and Gallery of all ten cards is provided on the Old Cardboard website. Set Profiles for the N285 Morning Glory Maidens and the N557 National Sports set have also been added.