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Main set page: D381 Overview & Gallery.
To demonstrate some of the variations in the D381 set, this page provides side-by-side scans of cards (some are in my possession and some aren’t). Whenever possible, it shows all 3 or even 4 cards issued for a player; otherwise, it shows scans of just those cards I have. If you have any scans that I don’t, please let me know. I’d greatly appreciate it.
Fleischmann cards were issued from 2 bakery locations in the Bronx and in Manhattan, as identified in the coupon text. Almost all variations can be tied to differences between the cards from these 2 locations. Ferguson cards always re-use the image and copyright from one of the Fleischmann cards, but they always have a 1-line caption and no publisher credit.
A list of players with known variations in their Fleischmann cards: Becker, Burns (Eddie), Clark, Collins, Hartzell, Janvrin (not shown here), Kantlehner, Konetchy, Landerus, Lewis, Mowrey, Oldring, Rariden (with variations from the same bakery location), Rousch, Rucker, Schang, Schauer, Speaker, Stengel, Thomas, Weilman, Wheat, and Wood (with variations from the same bakery location). Kocher and Keating have long been listed with variations in the Standard Catalog, but I’ve never seen either; it’s likely that their Ferguson cards swap their images. Knetzer is also catalogued as an error variation, but it appears that the card was never corrected.
This is a work in progress, so please come back again. My deep appreciation goes to Erick Lewin for many of the scans and for his advice. Please contact me with any questions or new info. Thanks.
Joe Wood – 4 different cards
Wood and Rariden are the only players I know of who have 2 variations from the same bakery location; both of the Wood cards from the Bronx Blvd. location are seen below in the middle. The card on the far left is from the 81st St. bakery and looks like the card just to the right. The card on the far right is Wood’s Ferguson card, which has the same photo and copyright as the card to the immediate left, but it also has a one-line caption that none of the others do. To summarize, there are 4 unique variations for Wood distinguished by different coupon locations, captions, photo croppings, and/or copyrights.
Eddie Burns – 3 different cards
The Burns card on the right is one of the few Ferguson cards with an attached coupon. The card on the left without a coupon came from the 540 East 81st St bakery. The Ferguson card’s copyright and picture match the Bronx Boul. card.
Duffy Lewis – 3 different cards
The Duffy Lewis cards have copyrights in the same handwriting but not in the same location. The Fleischmann cards list him at “Second Base” (a position he never played), while the Ferguson card has his position as “Left Field”, which is correct. The card with a 2-line caption and no coupon was issued from the 540 East 81st St bakery.
A.J. Schauer – 3 different cards
The 2-line caption card with no coupon is a Fleischmann issued from the 540 East 81st St. bakery. The 1-line caption card is a Ferguson. Its picture and copyright match the card with the Bronx Boul. location.
Fred Landerus [Luderus] – 3 different cards
The 1-line caption card with no coupon is a Ferguson. Its picture and copyright match the card from the Bronx Boul. location.
Tris Speaker – 3 different cards
The 2-line caption card in the middle is a Fleischmann from the 81st St. location. The 1-line caption Ferguson card on the right matches the image and copyright of the Bronx Boul. card.
C.D. Stengel/Stengle, W.A. Rariden, Mike Mowrey – Fleischmann cards with 1-line captions
These are all Fleischmann cards, but with 2-line vs 1-line captions depending on the bakery location, proving that cards without coupons with 1-line captions are not necessarily Ferguson cards. Not that the two Stengel cards also have the last names spelled differently. Rariden’s variations are from the same bakery location.
Roy Hartzell/Hartell, Erving L. Kantlehner/Kantlehuer – Fleischmann cards with spelling differences
Hartzell has a variation that’s a correction of a spelling mistake where the “z” was omitted from his last name. Kantlehner was spelled “Kantlehuer” on one of his cards. These cards plus the Stengel and the Killefer (Ferguson only) are the only spelling corrections, to my knowledge. Both cards without coupons are from the 81st St. location.
Ed Konetchy & Elmer Knetzer cards – errors and corrections (?)
Error variations for Konetchy and Knetzer have been included in the Standard Catalog D381 checklist for many years. It may have been Larry Fritsch or some other old time collector who provided the info about these confusing printings. Both Fleischmann cards of Knetzer below are a picture of Konetchy, so that error was definitely not corrected. Konetchy’s card from the “Bronx Boul.” location shows Knetzer. The only correct card that we’ve seen so far is the Ferguson example of Konetchy (this is the card below with the 1-line caption).
The Knetzer error card caption lists him with Cincinnati. He was bought by the team on April 30th, 1916 (per Retrosheet), so the card must have been issued in May of 1916 or later.
Tom Clark [Clarke] and Beals Becker
Clarke and Becker are players whose variations are also included in the Standard Catalog checklist. The cards for both players have different bakery addresses. While the same photo was used for both of Clarke’s cards, there’s no credit for Underwood & Underwood in the cropped version.
Edw. F. Rousch [Roush] – 2 Fleischmanns
Both of these Rousch cards are from Fleischmann locations. The one on the right lists his position as “Right Fielder” (vs. “Right Field”) and omits the publisher credit.
Chester D. Thomas – 2 Fleischmanns
The card without a coupon is definitely a Fleischmann since it has a 2-line caption. These variations were first noted many years ago. The photos and the copyrights are different for the two cards.
“Nap” Rucker and Carl Weilman – 2 Fleischmanns each
Another case of slight variations in Fleischmann cards. Each has different cropping and copyrights.
Zach Wheat, Rube Oldring, Ray Collins
Each example below without a coupon came from the 81st St bakery location.
Fred Snodgrass and Dave Bancroft – Fleischmann and Ferguson cards
For these players, the positions in the captions are different, which is also true for the Duffy Lewis card. The 1-line caption cards are likely Fergusons.
Fleischmann vs Ferguson examples
For the players below, there are differences only with the captions, not with the photos or copyrights. The 1-line caption cards are likely all Fergusons. The last 2 cards show the Killifer (Fleischmann) and Killefer (Ferguson) spelling differences.