Regional pre-war sets are, as expected, usually quite rare. Such is the case with a little-discussed set produced by Voskamp’s Coffee and Tea in 1913.
1913 Voskamp’s Basics
These cards were the creation of a company called B.H. Voskamp’s Sons, Inc., a wholesale grocer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was located at Penn Avenue and 11th Street, which is right in the City’s downtown area. If you’re familiar with Pittsburgh at all, you can envision how that would be a popular location for the enterprise. While Pittsburgh’s downtown area has changed significantly in the last 100 years, just a few blocks away is the famous Strip District area, which houses all sorts of food and beverage entities. The area has long since been a hub for all sorts of ethnic foods and beverages.
While Voskamp’s was a grocer, the focal point of these cards is on their coffee and tea products. Backs of the cards advertise their ‘Fancy Blend Coffee’ and ‘Drawing Room Tea.’ One of these cards was placed inside each of those packages.
The cards, by the way, pictured members of the hometown Pittsburgh Pirates. In all, a total of 20 players comprise the checklist, which is printed on the backs. Several players were featured but the focal points are easily Hall of Famers Honus Wagner and Max Carey. Wagner, in particular, was the team’s captain and sits atop the non-alphabetical checklist. The fronts of the cards are basic and understated.
One big omission from the set is Hall of Famer Fred Clarke. Clarke was with the Pirates in 1913 at the time the set was produced and continued playing until 1915. But in 1913, he was a 40-year-old barely getting on the field. From 1913 through 1915, he appeared in only 12 games, according to Baseball Reference. While Clarke wasn’t much of a contributor in his later years, it’s still a little surprising he couldn’t find his way into this set after being such a key player for the Pirates in the early 190os.
A Special Promotion
Voskamp’s, like many companies, encouraged collectors to complete an entire set. That would have meant that they had to buy a lot of coffee and tea and, well, that was surely what Voskamp’s was after.
As an incentive to do that, they offered a promotion to collectors. As mentioned on the backs, each collector completing a set could bring the cards to Voskamp’s for a reserved seat in the grandstand area at Forbes Field to see the Pirates play. Collectors also had the option of taking two general admission seats or four bleacher seats instead.
It should be noted that, even though Voskamp’s was after your cards, they weren’t really after your cards. Per the promotion’s ‘rules’, the cards were returned the collectors. That is important because it makes it pretty clear that the redemption program was not a reason for the rarity of this set. Cards were not collected then discarded by the company as is believed to have occurred with some other pre-war issues.
1913 Voskamp’s Prices
Voskamp’s cards are not easy to find and even when they do surface, they are expensive. Commons generally start around $500-$600 in decent shape with the Wagner being the most expensive card. Last year, a modest SGC 3 Wagner sold for more than $21,000 at auction.
1913 Voskamp’s Checklist
The Voskamp’s checklist (presented in order on the backs of the cards) is as follows:
- Honus Wagner
- George Gibson
- Mike Simon
- Billy Kelly
- Marty O’Toole
- Howie Camnitz
- Claude Hendrix
- Joe Conzelman
- Babe Adams
- Hank Robinson
- Jack Ferry
- Dots MIller
- Jim Viox
- Bobby Byrne
- Max Carey
- Solly Hofman
- Chief Wilson
- Ed Mensor
- Everett Booe
- Ham Hyatt
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