The "Exclusive 12" of the T205 set

[marcdelpercio]

I collect a lot of the non-sports sets and I am not aware of any ATC sets that link different series of unrelated subjects into one set. There are a (very) few from this era like the T227s that have assorted athletes beyond just baseball players, but I can't think of any ATC release that combines and self-identifies athletes and non-athlete cards into a single set.

[T205 GB]

Originally Posted by marcdelpercio

I collect a lot of the non-sports sets and I am not aware of any ATC sets that link different series of unrelated subjects into one set. There are a (very) few from this era like the T227s that have assorted athletes beyond just baseball players, but I can't think of any ATC release that combines and self-identifies athletes and non-athlete cards into a single set.

I just find it hard to believe there are zero test sheets, notes, drawings, discussions, documentation, or anything confirming there was to be 400 players. Yet they went on to print another entire T207 set. So I guess it is possible the Military and bird series were part of the 400 series if the T227's had it and really who knows what other sets were created together but because some guys categorized them they were broken up. We can only speculate but the numbers of those sets together add up better than they didn't just print them IMO.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by T205 GB

I just find it hard to believe there are zero test sheets, notes, drawings, discussions, documentation, or anything confirming there was to be 400 players. Yet they went on to print another entire T207 set. So I guess it is possible the Military and bird series were part of the 400 series if the T227's had it and really who knows what other sets were created together but because some guys categorized them they were broken up. We can only speculate but the numbers of those sets together add up better than they didn't just print them IMO.

For why they might stop T205s and change to T207s it might be good to look at what was happening with other things from an aesthetic viewpoint. The teens were a time when the arts and crafts movement was strong with some emphasis on less ornate design. While I really like them, T205s T80 etc have always struck me as a throwback to the more ornate stuff of the 1800's. Art Nouveau might have covered T205s, and the others, but the designs don't flow like good art nouveau.
So perhaps they were a bit unpopular either as old fashioned or if art nouvaux, just not all that good.
They were also probably expensive to produce. The silver border T220s may have been a set cut short for the same reason, but were finished witout the silver borders.
T207s would have been much cheaper to make. Using maybe half as many colors. And 200 less 8 pose variations plus 200 T207s also comes in right at 400. (And yes, that's a huge stretch given nearly no shared backs between those two sets)

Steve B

[Ease]

Steve, its not that far of a stretch, they have broad leaf and cycle backs in common. Maybe they were transitioning to newer brands, we don't see as many cycle and even less broad leafs in t205 compared to piedmont, sweet cap, etc.

[marcdelpercio]

I've always found the possibility intriguing that the T207 set was meant to be the final series of T205 as the numbers would be very close to matching 400. The thing that always pulls me away from that conclusion though, is the player duplication. There are 80+ subjects, including quite a few players who were scarcely even minor stars, in the T207 set which are also in the T205 set. Some duplication would be expected, especially with the more popular players, as is seen with the different T206 series. But to repeat nearly half the set's players, with only a few of those overlapping players being top stars, seems unlikely to me.