1934 Butterfinger Premiums Set (R310)

‘It’s In The Details’

Title R310 Butterfinger Premiums
Year 1934
Size 7 3/4″ x 9 3/4″
Images Black and White
Type Candy/Gum
Number in Set
65

R310 Butterfinger Overview

R310 Bottomley.jpg

The 1934 Butterfinger photographs were nearly 8″ x 10″ in size. These featured black and white images of players and a replica signature on the fronts.

The photographs were distributed with each five-cent Butterfinger candy bar. A total of 65 of the premiums are included in the set. While they are blank-backed, a few have been seen with the names of candy stores on the reverse.

Similar to the smaller R316 Kashin premium photographs from around the same time period, these were printed on a thinner stock. Cataloged as R310, these pictures are distinctive, in part, because they are printed on very thin paper. If you’ve ever held one, they bend quite easily and feel like they are a page from a very old book. Because of that, it’s common to find them with creasing or even more significant wear, including tears.

A similar set was also produced in Canada with the V94 set. That issue is often referred to as the Canadian Butterfinger set because of the close resemblance to this set, even though it was actually produced by O-Pee-Chee.

The American Butterfinger version is not only slightly larger in size but also has a few more photos in the set.

Butterfinger Overprints

1934 Butterfinger Overprint R310While the 1934 Butterfinger photos are relatively uncommon, a much rarer type exists.

Some Butterfingers have been found with a unique overprinted ad at the top. Now, calling these ‘variations’ is a bit misleading. That’s because these aren’t variations at all. Instead, they were advertising displays that promoted the actual photographs that were available. They are often called variations, though, because they utilized the same images as found on the regular photos in the set.

These ads were printed on a thicker stock and are more durable. But the most distinctive feature is a bright red overprint stamp at the top of them. That stamp, as shown here, is pretty important. It not only distinguishes these from ‘regular’ R310 Butterfinger photos but also gives us some insight on how they were available.

The stamp mentions that the photos were free with the purchase of a five-cent Butterfinger candy bar. That was different from many other premium items, which often required a bunch of purchases, similar to the 19th Century tobacco albums that were made available. Without these, we may never have been able to trace their origins or even know that these were Butterfinger photographs.

These ads are believed to be display pieces where Butterfingers were sold, alerting buyers to the promotion. As they were display items, they are printed on a thicker stock from the others. These are quite rare and commons can fetch $100 or more.

 

R310 Butterfinger Checklist

  1. Earl Averill
  2. Dick Bartell
  3. Larry Benton
  4. Wally Berger
  5. Jim Bottomley
  6. Ralph Boyle
  7. Tex Carleton
  8. Owen Carroll
  9. Ben Chapman
  10. Mickey Cochrane
  11. Jimmy Collins
  12. Joe Cronin
  13. Alvin Crowder
  14. Dizzy Dean
  15. Paul Derringer
  16. Bill Dickey
  17. Leo Durocher
  18. George Earnshaw
  19. Dick Ferrell
  20. Lew Fonseca
  21. Jimmie Foxx (both corrected and ‘Fox’ misspellings exist)
  22. Ben Frey
  23. Frankie Frisch
  24. Lou Gehrig
  25. Charlie Gehringer
  26. Lefty Gomez
  27. Ray Grabowski
  28. Lefty Grove
  29. Mule Haas
  30. Chick Hafey
  31. Stanley Harris
  32. Frank Hogan
  33. Ed Holley
  34. Rogers Hornsby
  35. Waite Hoyt
  36. Walter Johnson
  37. Jim Jordan
  38. Joe Kuhel
  39. Hal Lee
  40. Gus Mancuso
  41. Heinie Manush
  42. Fred Marberry
  43. Pepper Martin
  44. Oscar Melillo
  45. Johnny Moore
  46. Joe Morrisey
  47. Joe Mowrey
  48. Bob O’Farrell
  49. Mel Ott
  50. Monte Pearson
  51. Carl Reynolds
  52. Red Ruffing
  53. Babe Ruth
  54. John Ryan
  55. Al Simmons
  56. Al Spohrer
  57. Gus Suhr
  58. Steve Swetonic
  59. Dazzy Vance
  60. Joe Vosmik
  61. Lloyd Waner
  62. Paul Waner
  63. Sam West
  64. Earl Whitehill
  65. Jimmy Wilson

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