My grandfather William Zabel was the President of Zabel Brothers Co in Philadelphia. I can vouch for the fact that Zabel Bros,. was the sole printer of Bowman cards beginning 1949 and then Topps. I am not sure when Topps printing ended at Zabel Bros. As far as I know, there was never a second printer during the time Zabel Bros. was printing the cards.
As for shipping from Zabel Bros. plant at 5th St. & Columbia Avenue to Topps, I am fairly certain barges were not used. The sheets were stacked on large pallets and those loaded onto trucks. While it is possible the trucks simply went to a dock in Philly, that is doubtful. I had summer jobs at Zabel Bros. because I was the only grandson and my grandfather was hoping I would eventually run the company after his son, my uncle, retired. So he gave me work in all parts of the printing process. Zabel Bros. was printer for many, many companies. It was a big operation. I never heard of anything being shipped by barge.
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