With origins dating back to 1880, the Richards-Wilcox company produces hardware, storage, and conveyor systems for all sorts of structures and facilities. Nearly 150 years later, the company is still in business today. But some collectors of old sports cards are familiar with the brand through its large distribution of calendar-themed trade cards in the early 1900s.
About the Richards-Wilcox Trade Cards
Many trade cards were designed as a blank slate of sorts. They included some sort of image and then allowed a number of different companies to utilize them to advertise for their particular business. However, the Richards-Wilcox trade cards, to the best of my knowledge, were used exclusively for their own business.
Richards-Wilcox was originally based (and is still located in) Aurora, Illinois. The company produces all sorts of mechanical solutions, with a particular focus on garage doors, conveyor systems, and other types of hardware used in buildings. Today, they boast themselves as the ‘leading manufacturer of specialty hardware and door accessories’ nationwide.
As opposed to most of the trade cards that utilized cartoon or lithographic images and were issued in the 19th century, these cards pictured actual subjects. If you’ve seen any number of these cards, you know that they have two main distinguishing characteristics.
Most, if not all, picture only women. I cannot say they feature exclusively women, simply because I have never seen a full catalog of the series. But of the dozens of these I’ve seen, I have not seen one yet picturing a man.
Second, these cards were not merely advertisements. They were calendar cards and, as such, intended to be somewhat useful. They preceded most ink blotters, which took on that same style of calendar card a bit later. However, since their usefulness ran out by the following month, the majority of them were almost certainly discarded in large quantities soon after they were issued.
The cards are all in black and white or have a sepia tone, and were printed on white or an off-white card stock. They are roughly the size of a postcard, measuring about 3 3/8″ wide by 5 3/8 tall. Fronts include an image of the subject, the Richards-Wilcox name, and a calendar for a particular month and year at the bottom, helping us to easily date their time of distribution. Backs include an assortment of advertisements for Richards-Wilcox products (and, in some cases, a poem).
The appearance of the cards did change slightly as the series evolved. Different fonts were used and formats changed occasionally. But the overall layout mostly remained the same — picture, title, Richards-Wilcox name, and calendar. At least some of the images were taken by the Stadler Photographing Company, whose name appears on some of the cards. That company was based out of New York and, more importantly in this context, nearby Chicago, providing a more obvious link to the Aurora-based business.
Sports, You Say?
The majority of these cards are decidedly non-sports subjects. The range of those sorts of subjects varies, but many simply depict a pretty woman in different poses and sometimes accompanied by flowers. Some that were issued for July (presumably in a celebration of the 4th of July) have more of a patriotic theme with an American flag.
But without question, the most desirable cards in the series focus around the sports issues.
Sports was certainly not a small subset of the overall series. I’ve cataloged nearly 30 of these types of cards and, since I’ve been on the lookout for them, have found new ones with some degree of regularity. I have no doubt that there are many sports cards than I have confirmed to date.
The series includes many of the major American sports, including football, hockey, and yes, baseball. Other sports featured in the series cover golf, tennis, swimming, and more. Some are even dedicated to showing fans and cheerleading. None of the women pictured are believed to be actual athletes, despite being dressed at times in full uniform.
Most of the sports were featured more than once. For example, baseball was a popular subject. The company created at least six different baseball cards with an assortment of titles including, “A Pennant Winner,” “Get in the Game,” “Play Ball,” “Batter Up,” “Getting Home From Third,” ” and “The Winning Pitcher.” The other sports cards in the series have titles with a similar tie to that particular sport.
The sports cards were scattered throughout the series. However, 1913, in particular, boasted quite a few of them with more than half of the year being dedicated to sports cards.
Checklisting Difficulties, Rarity, and Pricing
I’ve yet to locate a complete checklist of the series. And frankly, many of the dozen or so copies I personally have are the only examples I have come across. I have seen duplicates of some cards on rare occasions but that is not the norm. You rarely see the same card twice if you are not a hardcore collector of this issue.
Thus, it is difficult to determine the number of total sports subjects, let alone the entire number of cards issued. The cards cover at least three different decades. They date as far back to at least 1909 (perhaps earlier) and running into at least the 1920s. At a minimum, there appear to be at least 15 years worth of cards as the earliest card I have seen is from 1909 and the latest, 1923. Assuming they were issued continually every month, that would give us a total of 180 cards between those years.
Regardless of how many there are, suffice to say, the cards are quite rare. They were printed over enough years that there are usually a handful for sale on online marketplaces, such as eBay. However, finding specific cards or even cards in a particular sport can be challenging. They rarely come up for sale.
As previously mentioned, the majority of these cards were probably discarded once the month expired. It is also not known how far from a geographical standpoint that these cards were distributed. At best, they were likely a regional issue. At ‘worst,’ distribution could have been limited only to that city and/or the immediate surrounding area. I am not convinced that the distribution of these cards was terribly great.
Common cards in the series are often priced modestly. On eBay, the less desirable non-sports cards usually start in the $5-$10 range. However, demand for the sports subjects is more intense. Lesser sports issues usually start in the $15-$25 range. Baseball, football, and hockey cards can sell for as much as $50 — or even more, if there is enough interest.
Related Stories:
5 Key T206 Southern Leaguers
T330 Piedmont Art Stamps are Unique … and Elusive
100 Years After the Black Sox Scandal, Buck Weaver Cards Have Never Been Hotter
The Wayback Collector: Babe Ruth Collectibles Leading the Way in REA Fall Auction
5 Bargains of Pre-War Stars in Strip Card Issues
Pre-War Food Issues Offer Unique Options to Collectors
Supplements are Affordable Pre-War Options
1916 Tango Eggs Mysteries Abound
