95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>leon</b><p>Since there started out to be such an underwhelming show of knowledge in the E98 origins thread I figure I would throw something a little more concrete out. Also, before I get going I want to thank T-Rex for helping a brother out on that thread. It usually just takes someone to say "anything" to get the ball rolling. I sure wish all of the lurkers that read the board would contribute a little more too. Oh well, wish in one hand......ya'll know the rest. At any rate a friend recently showed me something, that I ended up buying, that I believe will enlighten us on where the Nadja E92/E104 cards originated. After I saw this I contacted a few folks, including Pete C. to see what they/he knew, specifically. When I asked the question where the "Nadja Caramel Co." terminology came from the response(s) were: " I assumed "....which, although a good assumption that I don't think is true now, was exactly what I wanted to hear. No empirical evidence. Well, my fine feathered friends.....here is evidence where Nadja's came from. I should physically have this today or tomorrow but wanted to go ahead and show it (knock on wood). It is marked Patented Jan.1890, No. 20426 inside lid. There is still a paper label on the bottom marked Packed by No. 3 and it is stamped Sept. 27, 1906. It is a few years earlier than our cards but there is little doubt, in my mind, where Nadja's came from, now. Blanke-Wenneker Candy Company, St.Louis, MO.....<br /><img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1144339746.JPG"> <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1144339815.JPG"> <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1144339829.JPG">

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>Richard</b><p>Leon - that is an unbelievable companion piece! Beautiful! What are the dimensions of the box?<br /><br />

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>cmoking</b><p>cool stuff Leon. That fully explains why the E92 Nadja St. Louis players are relatively easy to find.

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>Paul</b><p>So now do we have to call these things "Blanke-Wenekers"?

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>andy becker</b><p>very cool, thanks for sharing!!!

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>Ted Zanidakis</b><p>Leon<br /><br />You are the greatest (along with Jackie Gleason). This is just a great piece.<br />We need more "empirical evidence" like this to confirm (or dispel) all our wild<br /> speculations on things 100 years old.<br /><br />And, thanks for the "kudos" in getting your thought-provoking Thread rolling.<br /><br />Just remember.....E92 &gt;&gt; E101..E102..E104..E105..E106

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>robert a</b><p>Leon,<br />Thanks for sharing that beautiful piece! When it arrives could you also share the dimensions of the box?<br /><br />Robert

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>Brett</b><p>I saw that item on ebay.

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>Mike</b><p>Hmm....well now I know where my Bresnahan came from. I love new discoveries. Thanks Leon.<br /><br />

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>leon</b><p>It measures 11-1/4" in length and 7-1/4" wide. It is 2" high.<br /><br />edited to add that my assumption is smaller packs came in it that had a card in them...

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>Ted Zanidakis</b><p>Leon.....those dimensions imply a lot caramels, so now let's speculate on<br />how many cards were contained within ?<br /><br />T-Rex Ted

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>robert a</b><p>Leon,<br />There's stains on the inside of the box. Might we assume that the caramels were placed directly into the box? <br /><br />Robert

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>Joe Jones</b><p>This box was stamped 1906 which does not necessarily mean that the cards came in this style of box. The most important news here though is where the company is from and what type of product they made. Thats a neat find leon and I would love to have one myself for display purposes.

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>leon</b><p>Come to find out that the 1906 year was the year of "The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906", Effective Jan 1, 1907. It is possible that the date on this box is referencing that Act. There is a chance that this box is actually a few years later....the learning/searching continues..

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>Mark Tylicki</b><p>Leon - thank you so much for the information. I was able to purchase a 1910 Nadja Caramels E104-I Chief Bender earlier this year and this tidbit of news makes it that much better. Awesome!<br><br>------------------------------<br />MY COLLECTION: <a href="http://www.rustywilly.com/MYCOLLECTION.htm" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://www.rustywilly.com/MYCOLLECTION.htm</a>

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>leon</b><p>Got the box. The bottom stamp is most likely the date of packing, since it's hand stamped and partially on a tag and partially on the box itself..and not a Govt. looking stamp.....You may continue to see this box after the pic goes away on this site, in my personal collection, on my website....

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>BcDaniels</b><p>That box is very cool. Only Nadja piece apart from cards I have ever seen.It is glass case material for sure chief~<br />

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>PC</b><p>If you really want to track down all the leads on this, you could look up who owns/owned Patent No. 20426 dated Jan. 1890. I do not think it changes the conclusion about the identity of the manufacturer, since the manufacturer is clearly identified on the box, but it might be interesting to see who filed for the patent.

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>Colt McClelland</b><p>Here is a link to the only patent I could find that was issued in 1890 and ended in "20426":<br /><br /><a href="http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=2&u=%2Fnetahtml%2 FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=0&f=S&l=50&co1=AND&d=PALL&s1=189001$.P D.&Page=Prev&OS=ISD/1/$/1890&RS=ISD/1/$/1890" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=2&u=%2Fnetahtml%2 FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=0&f=S&l=50&co1=AND&d=PALL&s1=189001$.P D.&Page=Prev&OS=ISD/1/$/1890&RS=ISD/1/$/1890</a><br /><br />Click on the 88th patent listed to view the image of the patent. It is for an "evaporating apparatus" invented by a Mr. Richard Peters of Manistee, Michigan. Maybe this machine was somehow used in the process of making the caramels? Maybe the same company that made the Nadja Caramels used this machine for some other product they made? <br /><br />

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>Troy Kirk</b><p>Here's a 1914 ad for Nadja. Now we know their address in St. Louis.<img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1144818432.JPG">

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>leon</b><p>That's very cool. May I ask where you found that ad, if you did after the exposure here on the board, and what kind of periodical it was in? If it's for sale I would be interested in it as a neat ancillary item....regards

95 yr old mystery solved - Nadja origins
 

Posted By: <b>Shawn Adkins</b><p><img src="http://www.showmesavants.com/baseball/temp/Nadja_building.jpg"><br /><br />Photo is circa 1900-1910 by my best guess.