1912-13 C57 Hockey Cards

Product Details

1912-13 C57 Hockey marked the end of the tobacco period for hockey card collectors. Other than the lack of color, this pre-war Imperial Tobacco set does not stray too far from the C55 and C56 editions.

The second era of tobacco cards wound down in the United States by 1912 as the companies in the American Tobacco Company were split by government regulations. When this happened, the market focused more on coupon-based premiums. In Canada, however, government regulations weren't an issue. But the competition was, so cards disappeared from packs shortly afterward. 1912-13 C57 Hockey was the final major set of that era and exhibited the migration away from cards as a tobacco-pushing tool.

1912-13 Imperial Tobacco C57 Hockey Set Details

1912-13 C57 Hockey fronts feature a black-and-white player photo surrounded by a white border. The player's name and team appear in the border area below his picture.

Backs are similar to C56 cards, having a "Hockey Series" design with two crossed sticks and a puck. The card number appears below that, and then the player's name and team. A short biography follows.

Like all the C-series hockey sets of the era, 1912-13 C57 Hockey has no advertising on the card itself. It's obvious that these cards were produced by the same makers as the C56 set due to the similarly-designed backs, so it's generally assumed that Imperial Tobacco issued them. There are 50 cards in the set, which is considered the toughest of the three main C-series sets to complete.

George Vezina appears on the key C57 card. Collectors also covet the pre-war cards of Art Ross, Cyclone Taylor and Newsy LaLonde.

Key 1912-13 C57 Hockey Cards:

• Georges Vezina #1
• Newsy LaLonde #44
• Art Ross #20
• Fred "Cyclone" Taylor #43
• Lester Patrick #41