Vintage Card Of The Month: 1933 Goudey Indian Gum Geronimo

 

This month’s VCoM comes from the 1933 Goudey Indian Gum release. This 1933 Indian release is made up of 216 cards depicting famous Native Americans, tribes, events, cowboys and adventurers like Buffalo Bill Cody, Sitting Bull, George Custer and Four Bears.

The set was skip numbered and cards were released in packs of Goudey gum in 1933 as an incentive. If things were not difficult enough to catalog the release add in different backs. This set has various ink colors as well as “Series of …” backs (48, 96 and 192) plus a slight change in the wording too. This card is officially listed as #25c with a “Series of ninety-six” back.

The Geronimo card is in horrible condition with a hole dead-top center (you know some kid has this tacked to the wall), rounded corners, creases upon creases and based upon the giant stamp on the back the card the original owner apparently wanted everyone to know it was his card. The card is basically a filler card until I can get a better copy for my collection and it only cost $4 shipped so the condition is not a major factor.

This post comes with a little story, though at this point and time it appears to be a dead end. I have been collecting for roughly 25 years and while I have seen cards with names and all kinds of marks over the years but I have never come across a card where a kid stamped not just a name but an address too.

I decided to play Encyclopedia Brown and went on a search using the address and I was able to come up with Andrew listed in the 1940 census with his birthdate as 1924, meaning that he would have been 9 years old when he owned this card. I was unable to find an address for Andrew but the census listed his siblings and I was able to find a PO Box for his younger sister Martha still in Rome, New York.

I wrote a letter to Martha explaining that I was trying to get in contact with Andrew or anyone in his family who would like the card. I was hoping to return a treasured card to the Schuster family knowing that I would love to have any cards that were owned by my father or grandfather when they were kids.

It has now been a year and I have not had any responses from Martha or the family so I am figuring that this is a story that will remain unfinished.

Vintage Card Of The Month: 1933 Goudey Indian Gum Joe Logston

This month’s VCoM comes from the 1933 Goudey Indian Gum series, these cards were included in penny packs of Goudey Gum in 1933. The 96-card checklist was made up of military commanders, Native Americans, pioneers and Western scenes. Some of the names on the checklist; Pocahontas, Billy the Kid and Buffalo Bill. This is card #66 from the set.

 

Joe Logston was your typical early American pioneer, his stories always revolve around killing people and things with his bare hands and surviving through situations that a normal human being would perish. One of the most repeated tales about Logston is about the time he killed two big Indians after they ambushed him. They had him dead to rights but he prevailed and not only killed both Indians, but he knocked out one guy with a single punch and then used the Indians own knife to kill him.

 

This card is surprisingly in amazing condition, the edges are straight, the corners are slightly rounded but still hold their shape, the colors are beautiful, the cardboard is still solid and the back is legible and besides some discoloration from wear on the edges is beautiful. The glaring problem is the ink stains on the front, some of the ink has begun to break down but is still visible. On the humorous side, with the ink splotches over his eyes it looks like Logston is wearing sunglasses.

Vintage Card Of The Month: 1933 Goudey General Sturgis

This month’s VCoM comes from the 1933 Goudey Indian Gum series, card #71 General Sturgis. These cards were inserted in to Goudey Gum packs, the 96-card checklist was made up of military commanders, Native Americans, pioneers and Western scenes.

Samuel Sturgis spent his entire adult life in the military seeing combat during the Mexican-American War, the Civil War and the Indian Campaign of the late 1800s. He served in the cavalry and was actually captured during the Mexican-American War, he served as company commander through the Civil War and was later made commander of the 7^th Cavalry over an egotistical Lt. Colonel named George Armstrong Custer. Sturgis’ son, James Sturgis, served as Custer’s Lieutenant during the Battle of the Little Bighorn. His other son, Gen. Samuel Sturgis II, also served during the Civil War, Indian Campaign and WWI. His grandson, Gen. Samuel Sturgis III, served during WWI, WWII and the Korean War. The City of Sturgis, South Dakota is named after him.

This card is in good shape, no creases, tears or chips. The edges are straight but the corners are slightly rounded. The colors are starting to dim and there are a couple of small stains on the back. The card though has held up well and still has that solid cardboard feel when you hold it. This is probably one of my better conditioned vintage cards in my collection.