Paw-Nee Oats Ink Blotters Set and Checklist

Posted on October 9, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Paw-Nee Oats Ink Blotters
Year	1900s (?)
Size	3 15/16″ x 8 13/16
Images	Color
Type	Trade
Number in Set	2 (?)

Paw-Nee Oats Ink Blotters Overview

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.

This blotter is an advertisement for Paw-Nee Oats. Paw-Nee Oats was a food product from as early as the 19th century or early 1900s.

When collectors think of food products that offered a child’s prize inside, they typically thought of Cracker Jack. However, Paw-Nee Oats did that even earlier. These blotters provided a list of prizes that children could receive inside of their packaging.

Most of the prizes were not sports related. However, the first prize mentioned is a baseball. And one of the blotters in the set includes a baseball player readying to swing a bat. This blotter is confirmed to be part of a set as at least one other blotter (featuring girls and a boy) is known. These blotters are quite rare and, while I have not been able to confirm the date of release, judging by the boy’s outfit and other similar Paw-Nee advertising, it appears to be a relatively early example of a blotter dating to possibly the early 1900s.

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.