Small but notable stash of 1916 Ferguson Bakery pennants uncovered

[spec]

Originally Posted by Leon

Great find and nice write up. A few of the facts need to be tweaked a little but overall it's a fantastic story. I am not sure we have any direct evidence of the small BF2s being issued by Ferguson but with groups being found, like this one, it sure points that way. Love the pennants and the large premium pennants...

I'm not sure I understand why you believe this group points toward a Ferguson connection. I see the location of the find as yet another clue Ferguson, which distributed only in the Boston area, was not involved with BF2s. Though the Ferguson ad card illustrates a premium pennant, it doesn't match the premium pennants we've seen so far, while the pillow top is a perfect match.

[Bugsy]

Originally Posted by spec

I'm not sure I understand why you believe this group points toward a Ferguson connection. I see the location of the find as yet another clue Ferguson, which distributed only in the Boston area, was not involved with BF2s. Though the Ferguson ad card illustrates a premium pennant, it doesn't match the premium pennants we've seen so far, while the pillow top is a perfect match.

I think what Leon was saying is that they were found together, which might illustrate a connection.

Also, we know the large premiums were distributed by Ferguson because the blotter specifically mentions the large pennants. How did a Ferguson premium end up in the location of the find?

[spec]

Originally Posted by Bugsy

I think what Leon was saying is that they were found together, which might illustrate a connection.

Also, we know the large premiums were distributed by Ferguson because the blotter specifically mentions the large pennants. How did a Ferguson premium end up in the location of the find?

I concur with you and Leon that these BF2s and the premium pennant likely came from the same issuer. It's just that the large pennant illustrated on the Ferguson blotter is in the style of the pennants on the pillow top, not this exaggerated version of the BF2 style. Furthermore, I'm not aware that any of the premium pennants have been found in the Boston area, while the extant pillow tops usually have been.

[Bugsy]

Originally Posted by spec

I concur with you and Leon that these BF2s and the premium pennant likely came from the same issuer. It's just that the large pennant illustrated on the Ferguson blotter is in the style of the pennants on the pillow top, not this exaggerated version of the BF2 style. Furthermore, I'm not aware that any of the premium pennants have been found in the Boston area, while the extant pillow tops usually have been.

The blotter mentions a 9" x 24" Photo Prize Pennant. The large Evers photo on the blotter is actually an image of one of the pillow top pennants. While nobody has found a 9" x 24" version of a pillow top pennant, over the past 20 years, there have been 15 or so like this Alexander to turn up that do measure 9" x 24." Is there an undiscovered set of large pillow top pennants out there or did the printer take a shortcut back in 1916 and not use an accurate image showing the large 9x24 pennant? I am comfortable making the leap that the 9x24 pennants mentioned on the blotter are referring to the large 9x24s that are in the catalog today, but I guess that conclusion isn't shared by everyone. I would love to hear other theories.

Thanks.

Chris

[spec]

Originally Posted by Bugsy

The blotter mentions a 9" x 24" Photo Prize Pennant. The large Evers photo on the blotter is actually an image of one of the pillow top pennants. While nobody has found a 9" x 24" version of a pillow top pennant, over the past 20 years, there have been 15 or so like this Alexander to turn up that do measure 9" x 24." Is there an undiscovered set of large pillow top pennants out there or did the printer take a shortcut back in 1916 and not use an accurate image showing the large 9x24 pennant? I am comfortable making the leap that the 9x24 pennants mentioned on the blotter are referring to the large 9x24s that are in the catalog today, but I guess that conclusion isn't shared by everyone. I would love to hear other theories.

Thanks.

Chris

Your theory that the printer might have taken a shortcut in illustrating the large pennant on the blotter is plausible. However, it does not match the Evers pennant on the pillow top, either, which would likely be the source for this image (note different design around the photo and the inclusion of position above player's name). In addition, none of the players depicted on the known premium pennants has a strong Boston connection (Jack Barry joined the Red Sox midway through the 1915 season, but he was in decline and was never a marquee player), which seems very odd for a Boston product. And, of course, the photos on the premiums, and the BF2s, are from the Mendelsohn repertoir of action shots, not the U & U portraits that appear on the verified D381 Ferguson issue of the same year.

[Bugsy]

Originally Posted by spec

Your theory that the printer might have taken a shortcut in illustrating the large pennant on the blotter is plausible. However, it does not match the Evers pennant on the pillow top, either, which would likely be the source for this image (note different design around the photo and the inclusion of position above player's name). In addition, none of the players depicted on the known premium pennants has a strong Boston connection (Jack Barry joined the Red Sox midway through the 1915 season, but he was in decline and was never a marquee player), which seems very odd for a Boston product. And, of course, the photos on the premiums, and the BF2s, are from the Mendelsohn repertoir of action shots, not the U & U portraits that appear on the verified D381 Ferguson issue of the same year.

Then I guess true Ferguson 9x24 pennants are yet to be discovered. Of course, I would be interested in hearing any explanations on the 9x24 photo pennants that are known to exist.

[spec]

Originally Posted by Bugsy

Then I guess true Ferguson 9x24 pennants are yet to be discovered. Of course, I would be interested in hearing any explanations on the 9x24 photo pennants that are known to exist.

Having no expertise in felt pennants, I can only wonder whether 9x24 was a common dimension in this period. If so, that would make the size match less compelling and enhance the possibility that the large pennants we've seen were a premium that was part of the BF2 promotion, wherever that was.
As for the fact that no large pennant matching the style shown on the Ferguson blotter has surfaced, the scarcity of the pillow tops (far fewer than 10 have been found) suggests extreme rarity, while their size and utility might have given them a better chance of survival.
By the way, although I collect the D381 Ferguson set, I have no real interest in the BF2s or larger pennants. My skepticism about their origin is purely the result of never encountering them in original holdings over a lifetime of collecting in the Boston area, nor having seen any advertising for them during many hours of microfilm research of Boston newspapers of the period.

[Leon]

here they are together...for comparisons sake...actually all three are different. This reminds me of Fulton Press Co and AWH E222 with their myriad backs on few examples. My guess is all of them are Fergusons. This blotter belongs to another board member, I hope he doesn't mind .

[FourStrikes]

definitely NOT the blotter, but Leon's post (showing the blotter / pillow top) reminded me of these two advertising trade cards showing pennants
in a similar configuration as the Peerless Bread piece and pillow top...

DS