[Archive]

Posted By: Hal Lewis

As most of you know, the conversation last week was on whether the "original" Peck & Snyder store address in 1869 when the first "baseball cards" were issued was:

22 Ann Street (as indicated on the back of some cards); or

126 Nassau Street (as indicated on the back of other cards).

We found evidence that by the 1880's, the official address for Peck & Snyder's was "126, 128 & 130 Nassau Street" ... so there was no question that the Nassau Street address became a permanent address ...

but there was speculation that the Ann Street address was either another entrance to the SAME store ... or was maybe a previous location altogether.

WELL ... I just heard back from the librarian at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., who I had asked to please check and tell us the address that Peck & Snyder listed in their catalog from 1868 ... and here is the response:

************************************

Librarian 1:
Dear Mr. Lewis:

Thank you for visiting the Library of Congress web site.

The book contained the following address for Peck & Snyder Sporting Goods:

105 Nassau Street, New York

Best wishes,
The Digital Reference Team/am
Library of Congress

************************************

SO ... THERE IS STILL NO DEFINITIVE ANSWER ... BUT ...

If you check out a map of the area...

105 Nassau Street (ODD number address) IS on the SAME SIDE of the road as 22 Ann Street ... whereas 126 Nassau Street (EVEN Number address) is NOT.

Thus, there is NO WAY that 126 Nassau Street and 22 Ann Street were different entrances into the SAME store on the intersection of Ann & Nassau.

HOWEVER ... with the 1868 address of 105 Nassau Street ... which is clearly on the SAME side of the street as 22 Ann Street and is MUCH closer to the CORNER ... there is a VERY distinct possibility that THESE were different entrances into the SAME store (as they are only "30 paces" away from each other)!

Having found NOTHING in existence on the internet or anywhere to indicate that Peck & Snyders was ever at 22 Ann Street AFTER 1869 ... it really doesn't seem to support the assumption of Peck & Snyder possibly having TWO separates stores, one at EACH of the two addresses.

My conclusion: Either P&S started at 105 Nassau Street and moved to 22 Ann Street before finally ending up at 126 Nassau Street ... or 105 Nassau Street and 22 Ann Street were the SAME store.