1910 American Caramel Die-Cuts Set and Checklist (E125)

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	E125 American Caramel Die-Cut
Year	1910
Size	Varies
Images	Color
Type	Candy/Caramel
Number in Set	44

E125 American Caramel Overview

The American Caramel company was known for a variety of candy card sets. But in 1910, the company tried something a bit less standard with a set of die-cut baseball cards. They were distributed by American Caramel with their Action Picture Caramels product.

The die-cuts featured color images of players along with an attached stand that could be used to stand the players up. The cards are all sorts of shapes and sizes because they are die-cuts.

A total of four teams are represented in the set – the Boston Red Sox, New York Giants, Philadelphia Athletics, and Pittsburgh Pirates. As the Pirates won the 1909 World Series, they are called, “Champion of the World” on the backs of their cards. Some players were honored with more than one card. Variations of Hall of Famers Honus Wagner and Tris Speaker exist as each player has both a batting pose and a fielding pose.

Backs of the baseball cards include a checklist for the team of the specific player featured on the front.

A point of contention exists with regards to a card for Danny Murphy of the Philadelphia Athletics. The card has been long checklisted for some time because Murphy appears on the Athletics checklist on the back of the cards of players from that team. However, the card is either exceedingly rare or was not printed because an image of it has not been publicly seen in recent years.

Some of the cards state that they were patented in July 1910 while others state only that a patent was applied for. That helps us to determine that the cards would probably not have been issued earlier than the July 1910 date. They also bear the name ‘P.R. Warren Company’ on the back, citing their Lowell, MA location — likely the producer of the cards.

Boxing

Interestingly, there are two boxers included in the set as well – Jack Johnson and Jim Jeffries.

These have also been categorized as E125 American Caramel Die-Cut cards despite the fact that they have different backs. The backs of those cards call them ‘The Big Fight Action Pictures’ and state that Johnson and Jeffries are pictured in six ‘of their favorite positions’ with one given free with each penny’s worth of the company’s Big Fight Caramels brand.

It is unclear if six of each fighter exists or if the language means there are three of each. But the boxing versions are rare with only a few having been discovered. So far, not even three variations of each of the two fighters are known.

The inclusion of Jackson and Jeffries makes sense given the dating of this set. The two squared off in an iconic 1910 fight that was called, ‘The Fight of the Century.’ The match was highly anticipated and numerous cards and collectibles surrounding it were produced.