Card of the Day - 2021-10-03

Sunday's clue was the set title, “Star Girl”, a term which could cover all female cosmonauts and astronauts. I find these most attractive cards, with the astronomical backdrop and the gilt edged star. 

All 25 cards were all illustrated as figure 30, item number H.30, on page 15 of the 1950 London Cigarette Card Company Handbook of British Cigarette Card Issues, Volume One 1888-1919, compiled by Charles Lane Bagnall. In case you are wondering why, this set was also issued by several British cigarette and tobacco companies, though these sets are all catalogued under the title of simply "Star Girls". These were B046-800 A.Baker & Co. 1898 (odds were on sale from 25/- to 75/-), B381-600 Jas. Biggs & Sons 1900 (30/- to 90/-), H192-700 W.J. Harris or Harris & Sons 1899 (60/- to 150/-), P891-800 Pritchard & Burton 1900 (80/- to 240/-), and twice in 1899 by Salmon & Gluckstein as S041-400 (a "red" or pinkish red backed version with the company name in small lettering at 100/- to 300/-, and a "brown" or reddish-brown backed version with the company name in capital letters and of a different setting at 80/- to 240/-). All the above issuers were based in London. Then it was also issued by H766-350 Hudden & Co. Ltd of Bristol 1900 (no cards in stock), L645-800 H.C. Lloyd of Exeter 1899 (in the wonderfully named "Tipsy Loo" brand - 50/- to 140/-), and M958-170 B. Muratti & Co. Ltd of Manchester and London 1899 (40/- to 120/-). There is also an anonymous, plain backed version which is usually regarded to have been issued by a British company.
The set was then issued overseas, slightly later, in 1903 by British American Tobacco (with the "green net" back design), and this is also catalogued as "Beauties - Star Girls".

In our 2003 "British Tobacco Issues Handbook" the set is still H.30, and the block figure 30, but on page 22. Our knowledge had increased though, the set had been discovered as F756-200 issued in 1901 by Franklyn Davey, whilst the Harris cards were now thought to be vari-backed with six variations ("All Gay" Virginia Tobacco "Packets only..." and "Sold everywhere..." / "American Blend Tobacco, either vertical or horizontal format / "Super Navy Cut" "Cigarettes" or 'Mild"), and the Lloyd set is further described to be plain backed with the brand on the front, either all in capitals, or in upper and lower case. Overseas, the American Tobacco cards had been found in the "green net" back design, and three cards had been found by a new issuer, Grande Fabrica de Cigarros de Henrique Bastos & Cia of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. These had the captions in Portuguese and are referenced as B157-700