E91 American Caramel Series An Affordable Pre-War Option

Pre-war baseball cards aren’t always inexpensive. In fact, more times than not, their prices will put a severe damper on collector budgets. One of the more affordable mainstream issues, however, are the American Caramel E91 series.

E91 Basics

The cards are standard tobacco/caramel card size, measuring approximately 1 1/2″ wide x 2 3/4″ tall. Like other issues, these card have a white border with the player depicted in the middle. Along the bottoms are the player’s name, position, and team. The backgrounds feature a variety of color mixtures.

The backs state “Base Ball Caramels” at the top and include a player checklist. The bottoms of the cards read “Manufactured only by the American Caramel Co.”

The artwork on the cards isn’t outstanding and this is one of several issues that used some generic artwork. Some of the illustrations don’t provide a great resemblance of the player in question and that can be a bit of a turnoff for collectors.

A complete checklist follows this overview.

E91-A, E91-B, and E91-C

A total of three subsets make up the E91 series produced by the American Caramel Company. Each subset contains 33 cards for a grand total of 99. The cards are designated in the American Card Catalog as E91-A, E91-B, and E91-C to separate the three groups of cards. E91-A cards were created in 1908, E91-B in 1909, and E91-C in 1910.

Each subset looks virtually the same and there are no card numbers. The player artwork is in the same manner across the three subsets and the layout is the same as well. So how can collectors differentiate between three? For one thing, while some players are duplicated, there is a mixture of players in the three subsets. And fortunately, the three checklists are all displayed on the back in their entirety.

Finally, collectors can sometimes differentiate between the three sets based on the players’ teams. While E91-A and E91-B both feature the same teams (Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago), E91-C is different in that it includes only players from Pittsburgh, Washington, and Boston. Looking for a player such as former Pirates great Honus Wagner, for example? Know that you’ll find him in E91-C.

In terms of overall rarity, none of the three subsets are known to be significantly more difficult to find than the other.

Who’s In?

While each of the three subsets includes several lesser players, there is a nice roster here. Each subset has its share of stars and Hall of Famers.

In E91-A, collectors will find players such as Hall of Famers Chief Bender, Roger Bresnahan, Mordecai Brown, Frank Chance, Jimmy Collins, John Evers, Christy Mathewson, Joe McGinnity, John McGraw, Eddie Plank, and Joe Tinker. Many of the same players are found in E91-B. Also there are Hall of Famers Home Run Baker and Rube Marquard.

Since the teams are different in the E91-C set, that one includes a significantly different roster. That issue includes Wagner, Fred Clarke, Harry Hooper, Walter Johnson, Tris Speaker, Vic Willis, and Smokey Joe Wood.

Who’s Out?

There’s a star-studded lineup included among the three subsets, but there are also some notable players missing because of the teams included. The biggest? Easily Hall of Famers Ty Cobb and Cy Young. Also missing in action were several other big name players such as Hal Chase, Addie Joss, Ed Walsh, to name a few.

Still, despite those omissions and a limited checklist, there are enough Hall of Famers to keep collectors happy.

E91 Prices

One of the great aspects of the E91 cards is their affordability compared to other issues. Low-grade commons can be found on eBay for $20 or less and even ungraded mid-grade cards can be added to your collection for around $50-$75.

Stars, of course, are significantly more expensive. The biggest of the bunch are Wagner, Mathewson, and Johnson. Mathewson and Johnson in raw mid-grade condition generally will start around $500 on up, depending on condition. Wagner is a little more pricey and it’s hard to find even a better lower-grade card at under $750.

You can see what’s currently listed here.

Complete sets are extremely rare, but do occasionally come up for sale. One in low-mid grade condition sold back in 2014 for nearly $8,000.

91 American Caramel Checklist

E91-A

1. Ralph Seybold
2. Rube Oldring
3. Eddie Plank
4. Dan Murphy
5. Harry Davis
6. Rube Waddell
7. Fred Hartsel
8. Jimmy Collins
9. Simon Nichols
10. Ossee Schreckengost
11. Chief Bender
12. Luther Taylor
13. Fred Tenney
14. Albert Bridwell
15. John McGraw
16. Christy Mathewson
17. Iron Man McGinnity
18. J.B. Seymour
19. Daniel Shay
20. Art Devlin
21. Michael Donlin
22. Roger Bresnahan
23. Harry Steinfeldt
24. Johnny Evers
25. Mordecai Brown
26. Frank Chance
27. James Sheckard
28. Joe Tinker
29. Orval Overall
30. Johnny Kling
31. Ed Reulbach
32. James Slagle
33. Frank Schulte

E91-B

1. James Archer
2. Mordecai Brown
3. Ed Reulbach
4. Orval Overall
5. Frank Chance
6. Johnny Evers
7. Joe Tinker
8. Harry Steinfeldt
9. James Sheckard
10. Frank Schulte
11. Art Hoffman
12. Dan Murphy
13. Bob Ganley
14. Eddie Plank
15. Eddie Collins
16. Harry Davis
17. Harry Krause
18. Fred Hartsell
19. Home Run Baker
20. John Barry
21. Ira Thomas
22. Chief Bender
23. J.T. Meyers
24. Christy Mathewson
25. John McGraw
26. Rube Marquard
27. Fred Tenney
28. Larry Doyle
29. Albert Bridwell
30. Art Devlin
31. Jno Murray
32. Michael Donlin
33. J.B. Seymour

E91-C

1. George Gibson
2. Vic Willis
3. Sam Leever
4. Charles Phillipi
5. Allen Storke
6. J.B. Miller
7. Jap Barbeau
8. Fred Clarke
9. Tommy Leach
10. Owen Wilson
11. Honus Wagner
12. Charles Street
13. Tom Hughes
14. Bob Groom
15. Walter Johnson
16. Jon Donohue
17. James Delehanty
18. Wid Conroy
19. George McBride
20. George Browne
21. Clyde Milan
22. Bob Unglaub
23. P. Donohue
24. Ed Karger
25. Bob Check
26. Smokey Joe Wood
27. Jake Stahl
28. Ambrose McConnell
29. Harry Lord
30. Harry Hooper
31. Tris Speaker
32. Harry Niles
33. C. Wagner

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About Anson Whaley

Anson Whaley is a contributor to Sports Collectors Daily and has been an avid pre-war and vintage card collector for more than 20 years. Email him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter @PreWarCards.