Pet Cigarettes was one of the many Allen & Ginter brands in the 19th century, but is that the same brand found on this multi-sport set from 1910? Maybe, but this was a regional issue, as can be learned from reading the biographies on the backs of the cards. Almost all of the 40 participants shown were either from the West Coast or they performed their activities there. I haven’t been able to find anything about Kopec Cigarettes.
These are gorgeous cards that were made by the same printer who created the 1910 and 1911 Obak sets, which often get praised as the nicest of all deadball era issues. There are a few major celebrities in this set: Jack Johnson, the legendary boxer; Joe Choynski, who helped train Johnson after they spent a night together in a local jail; and Tom Longboat, the extremely successful Six Nations long distance runner who won the Boston Marathon, competed in the Olympics, and went on to participate in WWI. John L. Sullivan also makes an appearance; he’s the only boxer not shown in an active pose. Boxing subjects predominate, but there are also aviators, runners, swimmers and one roller skater.
There are 40 cards in total, all of which can be found with either advertising back. The group below is missing only Frank Gotch and Abe Attell. Cards with Kopec backs are definitely the scarcer of the two, however there doesn’t seem to be much of a premium paid for them. This isn’t a widely collected set but there is always demand.
