Country of Issue: USA
Year of Issue: 1917 to about 1921
Color/B&W: B&W
Number of Cards in Set: Issued in boxed sets of 50 (unnumbered)
Card Size: 1 15/16" x 3 5/16"
Issued as insert with what product: Sold as a set in a box for 10 cents.
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Issuing Company: Kromo Gravure Photo Co. - Detroit, Michigan Country of Issue: USA Year of Issue: 1917 to about 1921 Color/B&W: B&W Number of Cards in Set: Issued in boxed sets of 50 (unnumbered) Card Size: 1 15/16" x 3 5/16" Issued as insert with what product: Sold as a set in a box for 10 cents. |
Notes: Checklists incomplete. The Kromo Gravure sets are a bit complicated to checklist, so I would appreciate any information that can be provided by others, especially checklists for sets still in their original boxes.
Kromo Gravure issued at least 6 boxed sets of cards in the late 1910s. The basic design of a Kromo Gravure card shows a black and white photo of a movie star on the front, with the name of the star either printed or in script. Backs are blank.
Kromo Gravure cards were issued in boxed sets of 50 cards. The Kromo Gravure name and the set title of "Leading Moving Picture Stars" are both printed on the boxes, but neither is printed on the cards themselves. Collectors without knowledge of Kromo Gravure cards often have great difficulty identifying Kromo Gravure cards that are found without their boxes.
Four of the Kromo Gravure boxes state Set 1, Set 2, Set 3, and Set 4 on the box. These cards have white borders. I am trying to identify all the cards that came in these boxes. From my early attempts at this, it looks like there might have been different groups of cards in these boxes at times.
Another Kromo Gravure box does not state a set name and contains 50 borderless cards. There appears to be a lot of duplication of the photos used for this set and the cards from Sets 1-4, though there are some additional cards. The box from this set shows a price of 10 cents for the box when issued. I don't know at this time whether there was more than one set of borderless Kromo Gravure cards issued.
Another Kromo Gravure set contains white borders, but the pictures have rounded corners. These cards are rectangular in shape - the rounded corners are inside the picture area of the cards. There appears to be a lot of duplication of the photos used for this set and the cards from Sets 1-4. There were probably at least two different boxed sets of these cards.
For the white bordered cards, there were at least two different printings, with many minor cropping variations and some other variations. It looks like some of the cards in the first printing contained signatures that were very difficult to read, and those signatures were improved in later printings. The pictures were often cropped a little differently between the printings, resulting in the pictures being zoomed in or out a bit. There are also some other variations, such as Margery Wilson's signature changing and the top of the background of Mabel Taliaferro's card changing quite a bit. There are two different pictures for some of the stars in this set, and it is possible the pictures were changed between the different printings.
Date info: After extensive checking on the stars in the borderless set, it is clear that it was issued in about 1917. Jackie Coogan is found in the White Border Set 4 set, and collector David York pointed out that Coogan didn't make it big until 1921, so that set was probably issued at about that time or possibly a bit later. This leads to the conclusion that the Kromo Gravure sets were issued over a period of years in the late 1910s and early 1920s.
Thanks to Pat Battles, David York, Mike Aronstein, and Jim McCullough for help with this checklist.
I am going to checklist these cards in two different ways. I am going to group all the cards that have the same border style together, since it is impossible to tell which set a card was from unless you had the original box with all the cards in it. For example, I am going to show a checklist of all the white border Kromo Gravure cards, then a checklist of all the borderless cards, then a checklist of all the rounded border cards. After this, I am going to show checklists of all the sets as they looked coming out of the boxes. I don't have all this information at the moment, but will put it together as information becomes available. If you have any of these cards or complete sets still in the boxes, please check your cards against these checklists and let me know if your cards match or if you have any others. These checklists are a work in progress, and I am interested in any new information that can be provided.
Kromo Gravure Sets Grouped by Border Style
These checklists may contain cards from multiple sets, but they all have the same border style.
White Border Set (these include cards that came out of Kromo Gravure boxes marked Set 1, Set 2, Set 3, and Set 4 and also might include other cards)
Kathryn Adams
Winifred Allen
May Allison
Augusta Anderson
Mary Anderson
Fatty Arbuckle
Marguerite Armstrong
Agnes Ayers
King Baggot
King Baggot (name on collar)
Theda Bara
Wesley Barry
Ethel Barrymore
John Barrymore
Beverly Bayne
George Beban
Belle Bennett (no fingers showing)
Belle Bennett (fingers showing)
Enid Bennett
Constance Binney
Alice Brady
Gladys Brockwell
Billie Burke
Frances X. Bushman
Alice Calhoun
Catherine Calvert
June Caprice
Ora Carew
Jewel Carmen
Dolores Cassinelli
Mrs. Vernon Castle
Barbara Castleton
Lina Cavalieri
Helene Chadwick
Lon Chaney
Charles Chaplin
Mildred Harris Chaplin
Naomi Childers
Marguerite Clark
Ethel Clayton
Ethel Clayton (with dog)
Marguerite Clayton
George M. Cohan
Betty Compson
Jackie Coogan
Miriam Cooper
Virginia Lee Corbin
Marguerite Courtot
Jane Cowl
Grace Cunard
Pauline Curley
Dorothy Dalton
Viola Dana
Bebe Daniels
Mildred Davis
Priscilla Dean
Carter de Haven
Florence Deshon
William Desmond
Dorothy Devore
Dorothy Donnelly
Mrs. Sidney Drew
William Duncan
Maxine Elliott
Julian Ettinger
Madge Evans
Elinor Fair
Douglas Fairbanks
Dustin Farnum
William Farnum
Geraldine Farrar
Elsie Ferguson
Patsy De Forest
Pauline Frederick
Mary Fuller
Adele De Garde
Mary Garden
Margaret Gibson
Dorothy Gish
Lillian Gish
Louise Glaum
Edna Goodrich
Kitty Gordon
Evelyn Greeley
Corinne Griffith
Texas Guinan
Elaine Hammerstein
Virginia Hammond
Alma Hanlon
Juanita Hanson
William S. Hart
Sessue Hayakawa
Hobart Henley
Josephine Hill
Helen Holmes
Stuart Holmes
Taylor Holmes
Louise Huff
Lloyd Hughes
Gladys Hulette
Charles Hutchinson
Peggy Hyland
Elsie Janis
Edith Johnson
Justine Johnstone
Buck Jones
Leatrice Joy
Alice Joyce
Gail Kane
Zena Keefe
Frank Keenan
Madge Kennedy
Madge Kennedy (seated)
Doris Kenyon
Warren Kerrigan
Mollie King
Alice Lake
Lila Lee
Gladys Leslie
Elmo Lincoln
Harold Lloyd
Harold Lockwood
Bessie Love
Montague Love
Eddie Lyons
Bert Lytell
Mary MacLaren
Douglas MacLean
Molly Malone
Martha Mansfield
Mae Marsh
Vivian Martin
Shirley Mason
Doris May
Edna Mayo
Mary McAlister
May McAvoy
Gertrude McCoy
Katherine McDonald
Raymond McKee
Lucille McVey
Mary Miles Minter (with headband)
Mary Miles Minter (no headband)
Tom Mix
Owen Moore
Tom Moore
Lee Moran
Antonio Moreno
Harry Morey
Ann Murdock
Mae Murray
Mme. Nazimova
Pola Negri
Anna Q. Nilsson
Mabel Normand
Eva Novak
Jane Novak
Eugene O'Brien
Seena Oliver
Gertrude Olmstead
Marie Osborne
Jean Paige
Virginia Pearson
Ann Pennington
Eileen Percy
Olga Petrova
Dorothy Phillips
Jack Pickford
Mary Pickford
Eddie Polo
Arlene Pretty
Marjorie Rambeau
Albert Ray
Chas. Ray
Wallace Reid
Billie Rhodes
Irene Rich
Cleo Ridgley
Edith Roberts
Will Rogers
Ruth Roland
Alma Rubens
William Russell
Monroe Salisbury
Jackie Saunders
Eileen Sedgwick
Josie Sedgwick
Betty Shade
Myrtle Stedman
Ford Sterling (long tie)
Ford Sterling (bow tie)
Emily Stevens
Anita Stewart
Roy Stewart
Edith Story
Gloria Swanson
Blanche Sweet
Mabel Taliaferro
Constance Talmadge
Norma Talmadge
Olive Tell
Olive Thomas
Fay Tincher
Madlaine Traverse
Florence Vidor
Lillian Walker
George Walsh
Gladys Walton
Fannie Ward
Robert Warwick
Bryant Washburn
Emily Whelan
Pearl White
Earl Williams
Kathlyn Williams
Margery Wilson
Clara Kimball Young
Borderless Set
Date info: After checking most of the actors and actresses on the Imdb, it is clear that this set was issued in about 1917.
May Allison
Augusta Anderson
Agnes Ayers
King Baggot
Theda Bara
Ethel Barrymore
Beverly Bayne
Alice Brady
Billie Burke
Francis X. Bushman
Mrs. Vernon Castle
Chas. Chaplin
Marguerite Clark
Marguerite Clayton
Bobby Connelly
Grace Cunard
Viola Dana
Adele De Garde
Dorothy Donnelly
Mrs. Sidney Drew
Howard Estabrook
Douglas Fairbanks
Dustin Farnum
William Farnum (portrait)
William Farnum (Waist Up)
Margarita Fischer
Pauline Frederick
Mary Fuller
Lillian Gish
Edna Goodrich
Kitty Gordon
Alma Hanlon
W. S. Hart
Hobart Henley
Helen Holmes
Stuart Holmes
Louise Huff
Peggy Hyland
Alice Joyce
Warren Kerrigan
Harold Lockwood
Edna Mayo
Gertrude McCoy
Mary Miles Minter
Owen Moore
Ann Murdock
Mabel Normand
Jane Novak
Nance O'Neil
Baby Marie Osborne
Virginia Pearson
Ann Pennington
Olga Petrova
Jack Pickford
Mary Pickford
Arlene Pretty
Cleo Ridgley
Ruth Roland
William Russell
Jackie Saunders
Jean Southern
Myrtle Stedman
Emily Stevens
Anita Stewart
Blanche Sweet
Norma Talmadge
Lillian Walker
George Walsh
Henry B. Walthall
Fanny Ward
Robert Warwick
Bryant Washburn
Pearl White
Crane Wilbur
Earl Williams
Kathlyn Williams
Ben Wilson
Clara Kimball Young
Rounded Corners Set
May Allison
Augusta Anderson
Agnes Ayers
King Baggot
Theda Bara
Beverly Bayne
Alice Brady
Billie Burke
Francis X. Bushman
Mrs. Vernon Castle
Chas. Chaplin
Marguerite Clark
Marguerite Clayton
Bobby Connelly
Grace Cunard
Viola Dana
Adele De Garde
Dorothy Donnelly
Mrs. Sidney Drew
Howard Estabrook
Douglas Fairbanks
Dustin Farnum
William Farnum
Pauline Frederick
Margarita Fischer
Mary Fuller
Dorothy Gish
Lillian Gish
Edna Goodrich
Kitty Gordon
Alma Hanlon
W. S. Hart
Hobart Henley
Helen Holmes
Stuart Holmes
Louise Huff
Peggy Hyland
Alice Joyce
Warren Kerrigan
Harold Lockwood
Edna Mayo
Mary McAlister
Gertrude McCoy
Mary Miles Minter
Owen Moore
Ann Murdock
Mabel Normand
Jane Novak
Nance O'Neil
Baby Marie Osborne
Virginia Pearson
Ann Pennington
Olga Petrova
Jack Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford (bobbed hair)
Arlene Pretty
Cleo Ridgely
Ruth Roland
William Russell
Jackie Saunders
Jean Southern
Myrtle Stedman
Emily Stevens
Anita Stewart
Blanche Sweet
Norma Talmadge
Lillian Walker (portrait)
Lillian Walker (riding togs)
George Walsh
Henry B. Walthall
Fannie Ward
Robert Warwick
Bryant Washburn
Pearl White
Crane Wilbur
Earl Williams
Kathlyn Williams
Ben Wilson
Clara Kimball Young
Kromo Gravure Sets as they came out of the Box
These have been checked directly from an original box (by me or reported by someone else)
Set 1 (these are also listed in the White Border Set checklist)
May Allison
Augusta Anderson
Agnes Ayers
King Baggot
Theda Bara
Beverly Bayne
Alice Brady
Billie Burke
Frances X. Bushman
Marguerite Clark
Marguerite Clayton
Grace Cunard
Mrs. Sidney Drew
Dustin Farnum
William Farnum
Pauline Frederick
Adele De Garde
Lillian Gish
Edna Goodrich
Kitty Gordon
Alma Hanlon
Helen Holmes
Stuart Holmes
Louise Huff
Alice Joyce
Mary McAlister
Gertrude McCoy
Mary Miles Minter
Owen Moore
Ann Murdock
Jane Novak
Marie (Baby) Osborne
Virginia Pearson
Jack Pickford
Mary Pickford
Arlene Pretty
Cleo Ridgley
William Russell
Jackie Saunders
Myrtle Stedman
Emily Stevens
Anita Stewart
Norma Talmadge
George Walsh
Fannie Ward
Robert Warwick
Bryant Washburn
Earl Williams
Kathlyn Williams
Clara Kimball Young
Set 1 (these are also listed in the White Border Set checklist)
I purchased this box and looked at it myself - There were exactly 50 cards in the Set 1 box. This box had Set 1 printed on both sides of the box, but not on the front.
Mary Anderson
Agnes Ayers
Theda Bara
Enid Bennett
Frances X. Bushman
Jewel Carmen
Mrs. Vernon Castle
Charles Chaplin
Mildred Harris Chaplin
Ethel Clayton
Virginia Lee Corbin
Priscilla Dean
William Duncan
Dustin Farnum
Pauline Frederick
Kitty Gordon
Texas Guinan
Elaine Hammerstein
Alma Hanlon
Helen Holmes
Louise Huff
Gladys Hulette
Gladys Leslie
Elmo Lincoln
Bessie Love
Montague Love
Vivian Martin
Shirley Mason
Antonio Moreno
Mabel Normand
Jane Novak
Seena Oliver
Jack Pickford
Marjorie Rambeau
Will Rogers
Ruth Roland
Monroe Salisbury
Myrtle Stedman
Edith Story
Blanche Sweet
Mabel Taliaferro
Constance Talmadge
Norma Talmadge
Olive Thomas
George Walsh
Robert Warwick
Bryant Washburn
Pearl White
Margery Wilson
Clara Kimball Young
Set 2 (these are also listed in the White Border Set checklist)
Mary Anderson
George Beban
Belle Bennett
Enid Bennett
Gladys Brockwell
June Caprice
Jewel Carmen
Ethel Clayton
George M. Cohan
Miriam Cooper
Virginia Lee Corbin
Jane Cowl
Florence Deshon
William Desmond
Maxine Elliott
Julian Eltinge
Douglas Fairbanks
Geraldine Farrar
Elsie Ferguson
Patsy De Forest
Pauline Frederick
Mary Garden
Margaret Gibson
Corinne Griffith
William S. Hart
Taylor Holmes
Gladys Hulette
Peggy Hyland
Gail Kane
Madge Kennedy
Gladys Leslie
Harold Lockwood
Bessie Love
Mae Marsh
Mme. Nazimova
Mabel Normand
Seena Oliver
Olga Petrova
Wallace Reid
Ruth Roland
Alma Rubens
Ford Sterling
Edith Story
Mabel Taliaferro
Constance Talmadge
Olive Tell
Olive Thomas
Emily Whelan
Pearl White
Margery Wilson
Set 2 (these are also listed in the White Border Set checklist)
This set was reported by Pat Battles - There were 52 cards in the Set 2 box.
Augusta Anderson
Agnes Ayres
King Baggot
Beverly Bayne
Alice Brady
Gladys Brockwell
Billie Burke
Mrs. Vernon Castle
Marguerite Clark
Virginia Lee Corbin
Grace Cunard
William Desmond
Mrs. Sidney Drew
Julian Ettinger
Douglas Fairbanks
Dustin Farnum
Wm. Farnum
Geraldine Farrar
Pauline Frederick
Lillian Gish
Kitty Gordon
Wm. S. Hart
Stuart Holmes
Louise Huff
Alice Joyce
Gail Kane
Harold Lockwood
Bessie Love
May Marsh
Mary McAlister
Mary Miles Minter
Mme. Nazimova
Mabel Normand
Mary Osborne
Olga Petrova
Jack Pickford
Mary Pickford
Wallace Reid
Ruth Roland
William Russell
Myrtle Stedman
Anita Stewart
Constance Talmadge
Norma Talmadge
Olive Tell
Olive Thomas
George Walsh
Fanny Ward
Bryant Washburn
Pearl White
Earl Williams
Clara Kimball Young
Set 3 (these are also listed in the White Border Set checklist)
Kathryn Adams
Catherine Calvert
Ora Carew
Dolores Cassinellis
Lina Cavalieri
Helene Chadwick
Mildred Harris Chaplin
Naomi Childers
Pauline Curley
Dorothy Dalton
Mildred Davis
Patsy De Forest
Florence Deshon
Dorothy Devore
William Duncan
Maxine Elliott
Madge Evans
Elinor Fair
Dustin Farnum
William Farnum
Elsie Ferguson
Margaret Gibson
Evelyn Greeley
Corinne Griffith
Texas Guinan
Elaine Hammerstein
Virginia Hammond
Josephine Hill
Gladys Hulette
Charles Hutchinson
Peggy Hyland
Edith Johnson
Frank Keenan
Mollie King
Bert Lytell
Vivian Martin
Shirley Mason
Owen Moore
Tom Moore
Harry Morey
Seena Oliver
Ann Pennington
Albert Ray
Ruth Roland
Monroe Salisbury
Ford Sterling
Fay Tincher
Madlaine Traverse
George Walsh
Bryant Washburn
Set 4 (these are also listed in the White Border Set checklist)
This set was reported by David York.
Winifred Allen
Marguerite Armstrong
Wesley Barry
Alice Calhoun
Barbara Castleton
Helen Chadwick
Lon Chaney
Naomi Childers
Betty Compson
Jackie Coogan
Marguerite Courtot
Bebe Daniels
Madge Evans
Juanita Hansen
Carter DeHaven
Sessue Hayakawa
Lloyd Hughes
Charles Hutchinson
Elsie Janis
Edith Johnson
Justine Johnstone
Buck Jones
Leatrice Joy
Zena Keefe
Warren Kerrigan
Alice Lake
Eddie Lyons
Molly Malone
Martha Mansfield
May McAvoy
Katherine McDonald
Tom Mix
Lee Moran
Pola Negri
Eva Novak
Eugene O'Brien
Gertrude Olmstead
Jean Paige
Eileen Percy
Eddie Polo
Charles Ray
Irene Rich
Edith Roberts
Eileen Sedgwick
Josie Sedgwick
Betty Shade
Roy Stewart
Gloria Swanson
Florence Vidor
Borderless Set (checklist missing 1 card)
The box that these came in has a printed price of 10 cents on it, and it states that there are 50 different photos. The set I have seen contained 50 cards, but there were 2 copies of the Henry B. Walthall card, so there were only 49 different cards. This was probably a mistake, and there is probably another card not checklisted here that I haven't seen. Some of these cards have the name printed, while others are in script. Blank backed.
Date info: After checking most of the actors and actresses on the Imdb, it is clear that this set was issued in about 1917.
May Allison
Agnes Ayers
King Baggot
Mrs. Vernon Castle
Chas. Chaplin
Marguerite Clayton
Bobby Connelly
Viola Dana
Adele De Garde
Mrs. Sidney Drew
Douglas Fairbanks
Dustin Farnum
William Farnum
Margarita Fischer
Mary Fuller
Lillian Gish
Edna Goodrich
Kitty Gordon
Alma Hanlon
W.S. Hart
Helen Holmes
Stuart Holmes
Louise Huff
Peggy Hyland
Alice Joyce
Harold Lockwood
Gertrude McCoy
Mary Miles Minter
Jane Novak
Nance O'Neil
Baby Marie Osborne
Virginia Pearson
Ann Pennington
Mary Pickford
Arlene Pretty
Cleo Ridgley
Ruth Roland
Jackie Saunders
Jean Southern
Emily Stevens
Anita Stewart
Norma Talmadge
Lillian Walker
Henry B. Walthall
Crane Wilbur
Earl Williams
Kathlyn Williams
Ben Wilson
Clara Kimball Young
Rounded Corners Set
The box that these came in has a printed price of 10 cents on it, and it states that there are 50 different photos. The set I have seen contained 48 rounded corner cards and 6 white bordered cards, so I don't know if some mixing of these cards occurred after they were purchased. Only the rounded corners cards from this box are listed below. Some of these cards have the name printed, while others are in script. Blank backed.
May Allison
Augusta Anderson
Agnes Ayers
King Baggot
Mrs. Vernon Castle
Chas. Chaplin
Grace Cunard
Viola Dana
Adele De Garde
Dorothy Donnelly
Mrs. Sidney Drew
Dustin Farnum
William Farnum
Margarita Fischer
Mary Fuller
Lillian Gish
Edna Goodrich
W. S. Hart
Hobart Henley
Stuart Holmes
Alice Joyce
Edna Mayo
Gertrude McCoy
Mary Miles Minter
Owen Moore
Mabel Normand
Jane Novak
Nance O'Neil
Baby Marie Osborne
Virginia Pearson
Ann Pennington
Olga Petrova
Mary Pickford
Arlene Pretty
Cleo Ridgley
Ruth Roland
Jean Southern
Myrtle Stedman
Emily Stevens
Anita Stewart
Blanche Sweet
Norma Talmadge
George Walsh
Robert Warwick
Bryant Washburn
Earl Williams
Ben Wilson
Clara Kimball Young
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