Country of Issue: California, USA
Year of Issue: 1916-1920
Color/B&W: B&W
Number of Cards in Set:
Card Size: 1 3/4" x 2 11/16"
Issued as insert with what product: Given out to patrons of the theatre.
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Issuing Company: Country of Issue: California, USA Year of Issue: 1916-1920 Color/B&W: B&W Number of Cards in Set: Card Size: 1 3/4" x 2 11/16" Issued as insert with what product: Given out to patrons of the theatre. |
Notes: Checklist incomplete. This checklist encompasses a large group of very similar cards that were issued at multiple movie theatres from about 1916 through early 1920. These are small black and white cards that usually have an advertisement for a theatre on the back, often with show dates for upcoming movies. There are some cards with blank backs as well.
When original collections of these cards are found, there are usually cards with advertisements from multiple theatres in the collection. The two that seem the most common are the T & D Theatre and the Kinema. The T & D cards seem to be the earliest, dating to the 1916-1917 time period. T & D stands for Turner & Dahnken, Inc., a theatrical company located at 942 Market Street, San Francisco, California.
The T & D Theatre appears to have been a chain of theatres in California in the 1910s. The backs of these cards often just mention T & D Theatre, but sometimes are specific to a theatre from a particular city. Cities seen so far on the backs of these cards include Oakland, San Jose, Berkeley, and Watsonville.
There are other California theaters that issued cards in this time period that have the same basic look and feel as the T & D cards. Because of this, it appears that these theatres were probably all part of the T & D Theatre chain, even when the names of the theatres were not T & D. These other theatres include the Kinema, Franklin, Tivoli, Sequoia, St. Francis, Alhambra, Millers, Reliance and possibly others as well. Cards are often found advertising both the Kinema and Franklin on the same card. The Kinema cards date from 1917-1920.
For the T & D card of Marguerite Clark for "Out of the Drifts," three different backs have been seen, one for the T & D Theatre with showtimes coming Friday March 10, another for the T & D Oakland Photo Theatre with showtimes on March 19-20-21, and a third for the T & D Berkeley Theatre with showtimes for three days beginning on April 2. It is very likely that other cards from this set have similar back variations. For the Clark card, the date on the T & D Theatre version is printed as Mar 10, but hand changed to Mar 17. I've seen two different copies of this card with the same change, so it appears that this was done by the issuer for all of those cards. Unlike today's movie distribution when all theatres get the film at the same time, this seems to indicate that the reels for the films of that period were passed from theatre to theatre and shown on different dates in different cities.
Blank backed cards with the same design as the T & D backed cards have been found with two different groups of these cards, indicating that they were probably also given out at the T & D Theatre, though it is possible that they were distributed in a different way.
The Reliance Theatre cards include the year of 1916 in the date that is listed on the backs of the cards. This is unusual, as the rest of the cards from other theatres show only the day and month and not the year. The Reliance Theatre was located in Oakland, California. According to Cinema Treasures, it opened on September 2, 1916 and was renamed the American Theatre on August 4, 1917. The two Reliance cards I've seen have dates in October 1916, so these came out very soon after the theatre opened.
The Alhambra and Millers Theatre cards show the name of the theatre on the fronts of the cards.
Thanks to Richard Minns for help with this checklist.
Click the picture above to view a picture checklist for this set.
T&D Theatre (1916-1917)
John Barrymore in "The Red Widow"
Carlyle Blackwell in "Sally in Our Alley"
Donald Brian in "The Smugglers"
Billie Burke in "Gloria's Romance"
Billie Burke in "Peggy"
Billie Burke in "Peggy" (pictured with dog)
Billie Burke in "The Mysterious Miss Terry"
Mrs. Vernon Castle in "The Whirl of Life"
Lina Cavalieri in "The Eternal Temptress"
Marguerite Clark in "Out of the Drifts"
Marguerite Clark in "Little Lady Eileen"
Marguerite Clark in "The Fortunes of Fifi"
Marguerite Clark in "The Valentine Girl"
Hazel Dawn in "The Saleslady" (with hat)
Hazel Dawn in "The Saleslady" (no hat)
Marie Doro in "The Heart of Nora Flyn"
Marie Doro in "Castles for Two"
Marie Doro in "Diplomacy"
Douglas Fairbanks in "Down to Earth"
Dustin Farnum in "Ben Blair"
Geraldine Farrar in "Maria Rosa"
Irene Fenwick in "A Girl Like That"
Elsie Ferguson in "Barbaray Sheep"
Pauline Frederick in "Her Better Self"
Pauline Frederick in "Sapho"
Pauline Frederick in "Sleeping Fires"
Pauline Frederick in "The Hungry Heart"
Jane Grey in "The Flower of Faith"
Louise Huff in "The Lonesome Chap"
Louise Huff in "The Reward of Patience"
Peggy Hyland in "Saints and Sinners"
Peggy Hyland in "Babette"
Margaret Illington in "Sacrifice"
Anita King in "The Race"
Winifred Kingston in "The Parson of Panamint"
Louise Lovely in "Bettina Loved a Soldier"
Mary Miles Minter in "Environment"
Owen Moore in "The Kiss"
Owen Moore in "Rolling Stones"
Mae Murray in "Sweet Kitty Bellairs"
Mae Murray
Edith Newlin, T & D Soloist
Anna Pavlowa in "The Dumb Girl of Portici"
Mme. Petrova in "The Undying Flame"
Olga Petrova in "The Soul Market"
Mary Pickford (Your Ad Here)
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford in "A Romance of the Redwoods"
Mary Pickford in "Cinderella"
Mary Pickford in "Hulda From Holland"
Mary Pickford in "Less Than The Dust"
Mary Pickford in "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm"
Mary Pickford in "The Little Princess"
Florence Reed in "A Woman's Law"
Wallace Reid in "The House of the Golden Windows"
Cleo Ridgley in "The Love Mask" (head and shoulders)
Cleo Ridgley in "The Love Mask" (full body)
Myrtle Stedman in "The American Beauty"
Myrtle Stedman
Myrtle Stedman in "As Men Love"
Anita Stewart in "The Girl Philipi"
Edith Storey in "Money Magic"
Blanche Sweet in "The Sowers"
Blanche Sweet in "The Thousand Dollar Husband"
Lenore Ulrich in "The Intrigue"
Fannie Ward in "Betty to the Rescue"
Fannie Ward in "For the Defense"
Fannie Ward in "Gutter Magdalene"
Fanny Ward in "On the Level"
Pearl White in "The Iron Claw"
Kathlyn Williams in "The Near Do Well"
Kathlyn Williams in "The Redeeming Love"
The Franklin Theatre
Mignon Anderson in "Even as You and I"
Louise Glaum in "A Strange Transgressor"
Bessie Love in "The Sawdust Ring"
Kinema only, or Kinema-Franklin, or Orpheum-Kinema (1917-1920)
Fatty Arbuckle in "Fatty at Coney Island"
Fatty Arbuckle
Theda Bara in "Heart & Soul" (Week of July 15th)
Jack Barrymore in "Raffles" (All Week Mar. 24-31)
Enid Bennett in "Rightous Manhandler" (week of May 12) (title on front of card says "She Knew Him")
Hobart Bosworth in "Behind the Door" (no week listed) (vertical card - wearing hat) (1919)
Hobart Bosworth in "Behind the Door" (no week listed) (horizontal card - not wearing hat) (1919)
Catherine Calvert in "The Career of Katherine Bush" (Week of August 24th) (1919)
June Caprice in "Patsy" (Week of July 29)
Irene Castle in "The Firing Line" (head and shoulders) (Week of September 21st)
Irene Castle in "The Firing Line" (view to knees) (Week of September 21st)
Marguerite Clark in "Girls" (Week of August 3rd)
Marguerite Clark in "Out of a Clear Sky" (hat) (Xmas Week December 22nd)
Marguerite Clark in "Out of a Clear Sky" (no hat) (Xmas Week December 22nd)
Marguerite Clark in "Rich Man - Poor Man"
Marguerite Clark in "Seven Swans"
Marguerite Clark in "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
Ethel Clayton in "Men, Women and Money" (Week of August 24th)
Jane Cowl in "Spreading Dawn" (Week of Oct. 28th)
Dorothy Dalton in "Flare-Up Sal" (Week of Feb. 24-Mar. 2)
Dorothy Dalton in "Love Me" (Week of April 7-13)
Dorothy Dalton in "Other Men's Wives" (view to waist) (Week of July 20th)
Dorothy Dalton in "Other Men's Wives" (full body view) (Week of July 20th)
Dorothy Dalton in "Secret Love Letters" (Week of Jan 13-19)
Dorothy Dalton in "The Market of Souls" (Coming)
Douglas Fairbanks in "Arizona" (Week of January 19)
Douglas Fairbanks in "Bound in Morocco" (Next Week Sept. 22-28) (title on front of card says "Who handed me this?")
Douglas Fairbanks in "Headin' South" (All Week Mar 17-23)
Douglas Fairbanks in "Modern Musketeer" (Week of Jan. 27-Feb 2)
Douglas Fairbanks in "Mr. Fix It" (May 26-June 1)
Douglas Fairbanks in "Say! Young Fellow" (July 21st to 27th)
Douglas Fairbanks in "Picture in the Papers" and William S. Hart in "Hell's Hinges" (Week of Dec 16th)
Douglas Fairbanks and William S. Hart (back unstudied)
Geraldine Farrar in "The Woman God Forgot"
Geo. Fawcett and Clarine Seymore in "The Girl Who Stayed at Home" (Week of May 25)
Elsie Ferguson in "Song of Songs" (Week of Mar. 10)
Elsie Ferguson in "The Danger Mark" (Next Week Aug. 25)
Elsie Ferguson in "The Marriage Price" (Sunday April 6)
Elsie Ferguson in "The Lie" (Week of Oct. 6th) (1918)
Elsie Ferguson in "The Rose of the World" (Week of Feb. 17)
"Girl of the Sea" (Coming)
Dorothy Gish in "Boots" (Week of March 16th) (horizontal)
Dorothy Gish in "Boots" (Week of March 16th) (vertical)
Dorothy Gish in "I'll Get Him Yet" (Week of June 8th)
Dorothy Gish in "Nobody Home" (Week of Sept. 14)
D. W. Griffith (Week of July 7) (title on front of card says "Griffith himself in the trenches")
William S. Hart in "Border Wireless" (Week of December 29th)
William S. Hart in "Breed of Men" (looking straight at camera) (Sunday, April 6th)
William S. Hart in "Breed of Men" (looking sideways) (Sunday, April 6th)
William S. Hart in "Money Corral" (Week of June 29)
William S. Hart in "Riddle Gawn" (looking straight at camera) (Next Week October 20)
William S. Hart in "Riddle Gawn" (turned sideways) (Next Week October 20)
William S. Hart in "Selfish Yates" (Week of Aug. 4)
William S. Hart in "Shark Monroe" (All Week Sept. 8 to 14)
William S. Hart in "Square Deal Sanderson" (Week of August 10)
William S. Hart in "The Bargain of Two Gun Hicks" (Week of Aug. 12th)
William S. Hart in "The Cold Deck" (Week of Oct. 21st)
William S. Hart in "The Patriot" and Douglas Fairbanks in "Half-Breed" (Week of Mar. 31)
William S. Hart in "The Disciple" and Mary Pickford in "The Little American" (Week of Sept. 16th)
Sessue Hayakawa in "The Honor of his House" (June 16-22)
Sessue Hayakawa in "The Secret Game" (Week of Jan 6-12) (1918)
Harry Houdini in "The Grim Game" (Coming)
Lila Lee in "The Cruise of the Make Believes" (portrait) (Oct 13 Week)
Lila Lee in "The Cruise of the Make Believes" (full body) (Oct 13 Week)
Douglas MacLean and Doris May in "23 1/2 Hours" (no week listed) (1919)
Mae Marsh in "Polly of the Circus" (All Week Sept 9)
Mabel Normand in "Mickey" (Week of April 13)
Jack Pickford in "His Majesty, Bunker Bean" (Next week June 23-29)
Jack Pickford in "Huck and Tom" (Wed-Sat June 5-8)
Jack Pickford in "Tom Sawyer" (Week of Jan 20)
Mary Pickford in "Captain Kidd, Jr." (week of May 18)
Mary Pickford in "How Could You, Jean?" (no week listed)
Mary Pickford in "M'Liss" (All week of July 28)
Charles Ray in "The Busher" (Week of June 22)
Charles Ray in "The Egg Crate Wallop" (Coming)
Charles Ray in "The Girl Dodger" (Sunday, March 9th)
Wallace Reid in "The Dub" (Week commencing Sunday, March 23rd)
Wallace Reid in "The Roaring Road" (Week of May 25)
Elizabeth Risdon in "The Manxman" (Week of Nov. 11th)
Gloria Swanson in "Don't Change Your Husband" (horizontal) (Week of March 2nd, 1919) (Swanson unidentified on card)
Gloria Swanson in "Don't Change Your Husband" (vertical) (Week of March 2nd, 1919) (Swanson unidentified on card)
Gloria Swanson in "For Better, For Worse" (Week of June 1)
Blanche Sweet in "Unpardonable Sin" (no hand on face) (Week of April 27) (1919)
Blanche Sweet in "Unpardonable Sin" (hand on face) (Week of April 20) (1919)
Henry Walthall in "False Faces" (Sunday, March 9) (1919)
Bryant Washburn in "Love Insurance" (Week of September 7) (1919)
Kathlyn Williams in "We Can't Have Everything" (Week of December 8th)
Clara Kimball Young in "The Eyes of Youth" (no week listed) (1919)
Unidentified actress in "The Auction Block" (Christmas Week)
A Husband Snatcher (Sept. 29-Oct. 5)
A "Mother of Liberty" (all next week June 30-July 6)
If I were a king and you were a Christian slave (Week of Nov. 2nd)
Ship-wrecked in an evening gown, what a delectable morsel... (Week of Nov. 2nd)
Alhambra Theatre
Theda Bara in "A Fool There Was"
Jane Lee in "A Small Town Girl"
Geo. Walsh in "Melting Millions
Millers Theatre
Wm. Farnum in "American Methods"
Mary Martin in "The Derelict"
Geo. Walsh
Red Apple Theatre
May Pickford
Reliance Theatre (1916)
Beverly Bayne (Sunday, October 22, 1916)
Ethel Clayton (Sunday, October 29, 1916)
Sequoia Theatre (1916)
William Farnum (card has a different design)
Geraldine Farrar in "Maria Rosa"
Harold Lockwood
Mary Pickford
H. B. Warner
Theatre St. Francis (1916)
Anita King in "Anton, the Terrible"
Tivoli Opera House (1916-17)
Gail Kane in "The Velvet Paw"
Mary McLaren in "Shoes"
Mary Miles Minter in "Environment"
Blank-Backed Cards
May Allison
Roscoe Arbuckle
Roscoe Arbuckle - Mabel Normand
Theda Bara
Bessie Barriscale
Bessie Barriscale
Dorothy Bernard
Carlyle Blackwell
Alice Brady
Billie Burke
Billie Burke
Charlie Chaplin (unidentified on card)
Marguerite Clark
Marguerite Clark
Marguerite Clark
Dorothy Davenport
Marion Dentler
Bessie Eyton
Dustin Farnum
Geraldine Farrar
Thelma Francis
Pauline Frederick
Lillian Gish
Louise Glaum
Edna Goodrich
Kitty Gordon
Kitty Gordon
Billy Hale
Ella Hall
Ella Hall
Alma Hanlon
Juanita Hansen
Juanita Hansen
Helen Holmes
Stuart Holmes
Bertha Kalich
Frank Keenan
Dorris Kenyon
Mollie King
Jane Lee
Eddie Lyons
Mary MacLaren
Edna Maison
Mae Marsh
Vivian Martin
Vivian Martin
Vivian Martin
Edna Mayo
Mary McAlister
Mary McAlister
Buddie McQuoid
Thomas Meighan
Tom Moore
Ann Murdock
Mae Murray
Mabel Normand
Louise Orth
Virginia Pearson
Virginia Pearson
House Peters
Mme Olga Petrova
Jack Pickford
Lottie Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Elsie Pleming
Charles Ray
Kittens Reichert
Virginia Lee Riblet
Cleo Ridgely
Ruth Roland
Marin Sais
Fritz Schlade
Myrtle Stedman
Ford Sterling
Emily Stevens
Anita Stewart
Ruth Stonehouse
Edith Storey
Mack Swain
Blanche Sweet
Blanche Sweet
Blanche Sweet
Norma Talmadge
Fay Tincher
Agnes Vernon
Bob Vernon
Marie Walcamp
Lillian Walker
Lillian Walker
George Walsh
George Walsh
Fannie Ward
Fannie Ward
Nellie Waters
Kathlyn Williams
Clara Kimball Young
Clara K. Young
Lucille Young
Unidentified Actor and Actress (Geraldine Farrar and Wallace Reid)
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