Definitive Dating of Some Allen & Ginter Cards Including N28 & N29

[Joe_G.]

Originally Posted by 1880nonsports

would be worth sharing with them silly nonsport guys....

Hello Henry, I was originally going to post this on the Non-Sport Forum but thought twice after seeing the angst against posts that include sports cards, particularly baseball. I am however very interested in any feedback the Non-Sport members might have, especially if they are aware of other sources such as what David shared here.

Mark, interesting info on your finds. If N28 extended into 1889 it may be the longest run for any pre-ATC A&G set which wouldn't surprise me as they are amongst the most plentiful as you pointed out. The album release (which was Nov. 1st '88) typically signaled the end of card distribution but if the set was popular why not extend distribution. Most of A&G sets only lasted a couple months and they would be replaced by the next set, seemingly targeting two sets at any given time (my timeline is incomplete, there are other sets that need to be spliced in).

David, your December 1, 1941 Card Collector's Bulletin is fabulous, thank you for posting. This early work by Harry Lillien utilizes a different source than the Tobacco Journal I studied. Most of the information lines up within days or weeks while others are off a fair bit and I'd like to study further. Looks like I need to plan a visit to NYPL to study Harry's sources (if I cannot access them online). Really cool stuff, I'm going to modify my timeline a bit. Please let me know if you locate another source that dates nineteenth century cards.

Mike, yep, the N29 cards were certainly based on earlier images of Morrill and Getzien. Both the N28 Bennett and N29 Getzien are based on photos taken in 1888 (only year Detroit had striped jersey).