Arbuckle Coffee Trade Cards Banner
 

SHORT SETS

Size: (approx.) 3¼" x 5¼" or 5¼" x 3¼"
Date: Undated
Lithographer: Unidentified

These two small groups of cards don't appear to belong to any of the larger sets of 50 or 100 cards that Arbuckles' typically issued. The illustrations used for these cards were also used, with some slight modifications, in cards that are found in the Miscellany - Unnumbered series (Donkeys) and Satire - Part 2 series (#71, #72, #73, #74, and #83). These cards are also up to ¼" larger than the common Arbuckle cards.

The back of each card in either group contains the standard "Four Points" sales pitch, in a vertical format, explaining the virtues of Arbuckles' Ariosa Coffee. (See examples.) Once again, the styles differ slightly from those found on the more common cards with the same illustrations.

I'm guessing that these cards were issued slightly earlier than the matching cards found in the larger sets, but I can't really say that for sure. I can't even say that the cards within each group were issued at the same time. It's entirely possible that they were issued independently. In the case of the Satire cards, the cartoon for "Driving A Bargain" was originally published in the  March 26, 1887, issue of Judge, while "A Poor Excuse Is Better Than None" showed up in the September 17, 1887 issue. "Home, Sweet Home" originally appeared in the September 7, 1887, issue of Puck, "Energetic Measures" appeared in the July 18, 1888 issue, and "She Bought A New One" showed up in the July 25, 1888 issue. That should at least date the first appearance of the corresponding Arbuckle cards as being sometime after those publication dates. I'm also assuming, due to their size, that these were "insert" cards rather than "counter" cards, but they certainly could have served as either.


CLICK ON ANY THUMBNAIL TO VIEW FULL SIZE CARD

DONKEYS
SATIRE
Home,
Sweet Home
Driving
A Bargain
She Bought
A New One
A Poor Excuse Is
Better Than None
Energetic
Measures