1910-1911 Sweet CaporalHockey Postcards

History & Corrections

Much disinformation has been written about this early Imperial Tobacco hockey card issue. First, the set was printed and distributed beginning in 1911, not 1910. Anyone who categorizes this set as 1910-11 is incorrect. Georges Vezina made his debut with the Montreal Canadiens on December 31, 1910 and the picture used in this set is clearly an airbrushed version of an early photograph of Georges Vezina in a Chicoutimi uniform. Therefore, the earliest this set could have been created and distributed by Imperial Tobacco would have been in 1911, especially because it was not printed in Canada.

Second, there is only good anecdotal information that these cards were distributed one at a time in large cigarette tins. The ratio of 1911 Imperial Tobacco Sweet Caporal Hockey Postcards to 1911-12 C55 Imperial Tobacco Hockey cards, a parallel of the postcard set, is approximately 1:100. However these 1911 Imperial Tobacco Sweet Postcards were distributed, it is safe to say that it would have required a large container and the promotion, based on cost alone, would made accumulating a set all but impossible.

The majority of the time these 1911 Imperial Tobacco Sweet Caporal Hockey Postcards are encountered, they are found as a complete set. What has never been published is the fact that each of the 45 players featured in the set received both a complimentary complete set of 1911 Imperial Tobacco Sweet Caporal Hockey Postcards as well as a complimentary complete set of 1911-12 C55 Imperial Tobacco hockey cards. At least a dozen of these sets are still intact today.

Dimensions & Construction

Many people and publications have written that these are all standard postcard size – this is also incorrect. In reality, each of these Imperial Tobacco Sweet Caporal Hockey Postcards is 3 5/16 inches wide by 5 3/8 inches high. The back of each card is labeled “POST CARD” and has a clear division (left and right) in terms of where the address is to be written. On the left note section, “PRINTED IN BRITAIN” is printed. While the set was printed in Britain, it was only distributed in Canada. This makes sense because Imperial Tobacco was an arm of the British American Tobacco Company, also known as BAT.

The front of each card is a real black and white photograph which was been retouched to allow for the addition of the team logo. The front surface is glossy and includes a metallic sheen. The writing at the top includes the statement “PROMINENT CANADIAN HOCKEY PLAYERS” above “SWEET CAPORAL CIGARETTES SERIES.” At the end of the top line the number of the player is indicated. At the bottom, the name of the player is above the team name. Interestingly, this is also one of the first card sets which is numbered on the front.

Contents & Related Set

The set of 1911 Imperial Tobacco Sweet Caporal Hockey Postcards is identical in composition, numbering, and photography to the 1911-12 C55 Imperial Tobacco Hockey Card Set. The difference is that the 1911-12 C55 Imperial Tobacco Hockey Card Set contains color line drawings, is 1.5 by 2.5 inches in size, and has a different information on the back of each card.

The greatest players of the time period are included such as second year cards of #1 Paddy Moran (Hall of Fame), #3 Barney Holden, #6 Tom Dunderdale (Hall of Fame), #9 Fred Lake, #11 Marty Walsh (Hall of Fame), #14 Bruce Ridpath (Hall of Fame), #15 Bruce Stuart (Hall of Fame), #16 Percy Lesueur (Hall of Fame), #20 Fred Cyclone Taylor (Hall of Fame), #28 Ernie Ernest Johnson (Hall of Fame), #29 Jack Marshall (Hall of Fame), #30 Harry Hyland (Hall of Fame), #31 Art Ross (Hall of Fame), #32 Riley Hern (Hall of Fame), #33 Gordon Roberts (Hall of Fame), #34 Frank Glass, #35 Ernie Ernest Russell (Hall of Fame), #37 Art Bernier, #41 Didier Pitre (Hall of Fame), #42 Edouard Newsy Lalonde (Hall of Fame), and #45 Jack Laviolette (Hall of Fame).

Players featured on their Rookie Cards are #2 Joe Hall (Hall of Fame), #4 Joe Malone (Hall of Fame), #5 Ed Oatman, #7 Ken Mallen, #8 Jack MacDonald, #10 Albert Kerr, #12 Hamby Shore, #13 Alex Currie, #17 Jack Darragh (Hall of Fame), #18 Steve Vair, #19 Don Smith, #21 Bert Lindsay, #22 H.L. Larry Gilmour, #23 Bobby Rowe, #24 Sprague Cleghorn (Hall of Fame), #25 Odie Cleghorn, #26 Skene Ronan #27 Walter Smaill, #36 James Jim Gardner (Hall of Fame), #38 Georges Vezina (Hall of Fame), #39 G. Henri Dellaire, #40 R. Rocket Power, #43 Eugene Payan, and #44 George Poulin.