Just for fun - these are the Burpee tomatoes in 1939

[nctomatoman]

Seems like one of my goals is going to be to try to go for a complete collection of Burpee seed catalogs (well, maybe between 1900 and 1960 or something like that).

Today I just got a 1939 Burpee - here is what they listed for tomatoes:

Red fruited (21 listed):

Break O'Day (bullseye variety)
Pritchard (Scarlet Topper) (bullseye)
John Baer
Sunnybrook Earliana
Grothen's Globe (bullseye)
Spark's Earliana
Penn State (bullseye)
The Burbank
Early Baltimore
Farthest North
Bonny Best
Nystate
Marglobe (bullseye)
Dwarf' Stone
Chalks Early Jewel
Matchless (bullseye)
Stone
Rutgers (bullseye)
Norton
Beefsteak
Greater Baltimore

Pink fruited (14 listed):

Fordhook First
June Pink
Burpee's Globe (bullseye)
Early Detroit
Sweetmeat
Gulf State Market
Self Pruning
Trucker's Favorite
Dwarf Giant (bullseye)
Jack O'Hearts (bullseye)
Oxheart
The Burpee
Glovel
True Giant Ponderosa (bullseye)

Yellow or Orange fruited (5 listed):

Tangerine (bullseye)
Golden Ponderosa
Golden Queen
Yellow Pear
Yellow Plum

So, a total of 40 different tomatoes...surprised to not see red cherry or plum, or any paste tomatoes.

I think most people remember Burpee for using the Bullseye on what they consider to be their top varieties.

A few things surprised me on the list - they obviously consider Chalk's, Baer and Bonny Best to be distinct/different, others think that they are so similar that they are essentially synonyms.

A few rather rare pinks are on the list that seem to be long gone or renamed- The Burpee, Sweetmeat, and Jack O'Hearts.

And Tangerine sounds interesting - they describe it as 4 inches or more in diameter, with an orange skin color but a much paler hued interior. Another one that may be gone or renamed??