Regionals/Food Issues

[philliesphan]

Brian-

Thanks for the note.

I don't have good information on how the Felin's were introduced to the hobby. I think Rob Lifson might have some information there -- I believe they were found in the early-to-mid 1980s, and I was too young then to be well integrated into the hobby scene. I simply don't know. Very few examples seem to trade, with most secured in long-term collections.

With regards to the Lummis Peanut Butter cards, I don't know there, either. I haven't heard any valid theories. There was a bit find of the Sealtest sticker cards in the 1980s as well. However, the Lummis have always been scarce, with my knowledge of even veteran dealers at most having handled a dozen or two over the past three decades. I've heard a story that they were affixed by glue or otherwise to the outside of the jars, but I believe that was more of a working theory than anything. Suffice it to say, I think the Peanut Butter was popular at the time, and I do not think many of the cards survived, which suggests perhaps it was not a broadly distributed set.

At least with the Felin's, there are some contemporaneous advertising in period publications that suggest the cards were intended to be issued.

m

[quitcrab]

1977 English's Chicken lid

[Mark70Z]

Love the chicken lid. We know you have a lot more regional/food issues so go ahead and post em.

[brian1961]

Marc---

I'm certain you are correct that the Felin's came into the hobby in the 80's. Rob Lifson may very well have discussed that in one of his then-yearly auction catalog. He is usually wise to try to include that type of hobby provenance and history in his listings. Of a certainty the cards were intended to be released. Obviously, they were produced by Milprint of Wisconsin, the same firm that did the baseball trading card promotions for Glendale, Stahl-Meyer, Briggs, Hunter Wieners, and the Peter's Meats 1961 Minnesota Twins. Also, the three-year run of Johnston Cookies Milwaukee Braves.

At this point in time, we only have the best that conjecture can offer, as to why Felin's never followed through with their Phillies trading card promotion.

As for Lummis, "I know KNOT-TING", as dear Sgt. Schultz from Hogan's Heroes would say. Except, an interesting observation given to me at one of the early major shows I attended in about 1973. I believe it was at the big one in Detroit. One of the prime dealers I loved to purchase cards from was Philadelphia resident Irv Lerner. At that time, Irv Lerner was first and foremost a collector. Among the major items on his advanced, high-powered radar were Lummis Peanut Butter cards. He told me that even in a massive convention as this one in Detroit, he seriously doubted he would encounter a Lummis anywhere in that large room. As a teen who appreciated fine postwar regional issues, that left a lasting impression on me. Whether or not he wound up getting one for his substantial collection that weekend, he never said anything, so I imagine his Lummis hunting efforts came up empty.

While I never was fortunate enough to get a Lummis card, I view them with an utmost admiration. Also, I lament no one in the adult hobby back then sought to write meaningfully about them, but then you'd have to find a former youngster who avidly collected them in 1949 to interview. Such a person might be tougher to locate than an actual Lummis card! It was probably a low-key one shot promotion to boost sales of a peanut butter that already was enjoying robust sales. Besides, the backside of your Lummis cards does not even mention the card promotion; rather, the main promotion in the company's eyes---how to win free tickets to a Philadelphia Phillies game.

Best regards, Marc. Must go. ---Brian Powell

[Bored5000]

As a Phillies fan, I always love reading about the Felin's Franks and Lummis Peanut butter cards as well. I wondered if there was a find of the Sealtest stickers last year when Heritage auctioned off a total of 22 of them. Of the 22 Sealtest stickers, 14 of them were Ashburn.

http://www.ha.com/c/search-results.z...sealtest+cards

Here is a 1995 article that talks about Ashburn super collector Fred McKie. The article mentions that McKie has (had) an Ashburn Lummis Peanut Butter card.

http://articles.philly.com/1995-07-2...on-memorabilia

[whiteymet]

Originally Posted by Bored5000

As a Phillies fan, I always love reading about the Felin's Franks and Lummis Peanut butter cards as well. I wondered if there was a find of the Sealtest stickers last year when Heritage auctioned off a total of 22 of them. Of the 22 Sealtest stickers, 14 of them were Ashburn.

http://www.ha.com/c/search-results.z...sealtest+cards

Here is a 1995 article that talks about Ashburn super collector Fred McKie. The article mentions that McKie has (had) an Ashburn Lummis Peanut Butter card.

http://articles.philly.com/1995-07-2...on-memorabilia

Hi Eddie:

I forgot about that article. I still have my Lummis Ashburn.

Fred

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by whiteymet

Hi Eddie:

I forgot about that article. I still have my Lummis Ashburn.

Fred

LOL That was awkward. I didn't realize you could have posted your own article.

[philliesphan]

Originally Posted by Bored5000

As a Phillies fan, I always love reading about the Felin's Franks and Lummis Peanut butter cards as well. I wondered if there was a find of the Sealtest stickers last year when Heritage auctioned off a total of 22 of them. Of the 22 Sealtest stickers, 14 of them were Ashburn.

http://www.ha.com/c/search-results.z...sealtest+cards

Eddie -- I'm not sure it was a find, per se. My understanding was that at the Valley Forge Shows of the 1980s, Sealtest Stickers were available in the hundreds. I imagine that the ones Heritage had last year was probably the accumulation of some dealer/collector who sourced them from Valley Forge a few decades ago.

m

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by philliesphan

Eddie -- I'm not sure it was a find, per se. My understanding was that at the Valley Forge Shows of the 1980s, Sealtest Stickers were available in the hundreds. I imagine that the ones Heritage had last year was probably the accumulation of some dealer/collector who sourced them from Valley Forge a few decades ago.

m

Thanks for the information.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by brian1961

While I never was fortunate enough to get a Lummis card, I view them with an utmost admiration. Also, I lament no one in the adult hobby back then sought to write meaningfully about them, but then you'd have to find a former youngster who avidly collected them in 1949 to interview. Such a person might be tougher to locate than an actual Lummis card! l

I know this is an old thread, but the current REA auction seems like it should be relevant as to how how exactly the Lummis Peanut Butter cards were distributed. REA currently has an Ashburn Lummis card that a non-collector in the Philadelphia area originally obtained in 1949. It seems amazing that a non-collector would keep the card for 66 years, but REA auction doesn't answer the ovious question of how exactly they were distributed -- even after locating an original Lummis collector from 1949.

Here is an except from the current REA auction:

"This miracle card has been consigned directly from a non-collector in the Philadelphia area who obtained it in 1949 as a youngster and has saved it all these years. It is, unfortunately, the only example from this rare set that he kept over the last sixty-six years."


http://bid.robertedwardauctions.com/...x?itemid=38920

[whiteymet]

Originally Posted by philliesphan

Brian-

Thanks for the note.

I don't have good information on how the Felin's were introduced to the hobby. I think Rob Lifson might have some information there -- I believe they were found in the early-to-mid 1980s, and I was too young then to be well integrated into the hobby scene. I simply don't know. Very few examples seem to trade, with most secured in long-term collections.

With regards to the Lummis Peanut Butter cards, I don't know there, either. I haven't heard any valid theories. There was a bit find of the Sealtest sticker cards in the 1980s as well. However, the Lummis have always been scarce, with my knowledge of even veteran dealers at most having handled a dozen or two over the past three decades. I've heard a story that they were affixed by glue or otherwise to the outside of the jars, but I believe that was more of a working theory than anything. Suffice it to say, I think the Peanut Butter was popular at the time, and I do not think many of the cards survived, which suggests perhaps it was not a broadly distributed set.

At least with the Felin's, there are some contemporaneous advertising in period publications that suggest the cards were intended to be issued.

m

Hi Guys:

A collecting friend of mine tells me he has vivid recollections of getting his Lummis cards at the movie theater as a kid. Sort of a promotion/premium I guess.

You can check out this thread for a couple of shots of ads for the Felins I posted awhile back:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=198672

Fred