Horace Partridge Company Blotters

Posted on September 10, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Horace Partridge Company Blotters
Year	1913-16
Size	3″ x 6″
Images	Black and White
Type	Trade
Number in Set	2

Horace Partridge Company Blotters Overview

Horace Partridge Company Blotters Ink blotters were generally rectangular cards that were popular in the days of fountain pens. They would usually be kept on desks and were used to allow people to wipe off excess ink. To properly absorb the ink, blotters are generally a little thicker and have a different texture than traditional cards.

The Horace Partridge Company, an equipment company out of Boston, produced at least two baseball-related blotters. One featured one of their Partridge League baseballs, which was an advertisement to buy that product. The balls cost $1.25 each or were $10.80 for a dozen. The other one featured the company as the official outfitters of the Boston Red Sox and shows manager Bill Carrigan apparently placing an order.

A firm date is not given on the blotters but the Red Sox one would appear to be from either 1913, 1915, or 1916 since Carrigan won the World Series with Boston in 1912, 1915, and 1916. In 1912, he was only a player but the cards could have been produced in 1913 when he became the manager. He was not with the club in 1917 so it does not appear to have been issued at that time.

While not standard trading cards, blotters with sports figures are absolutely collectible. Because they were used to absorb extra ink, you will often find them with ink spots all over them. Ones that haven’t been covered in ink demand a premium.

Blotters were generally an advertisement for a specific product, service, or organization. Along with a picture of a sports figure or team, they usually sought to promote some type of product or business.