Card of the Day - 2021-10-09

This set is too late for our most recent Trade Index, which stops at 1970, so the code comes from our vintage version Part Three.

This is a set I have not come across much, and I don't think it is particularly funny for the person run through with the arrow. This card has sometimes been said to represent King Harold, but it almost certainly does not. For starters, the text mentions football between Saxon serfs and Norman soldiers taking place less than a hundred years after the battle, and also because, as we all know, King Harold was struck in the eye, with an arrow which reputedly had a note affixed to it that said "To Harold's Eye".

Or do we? For according to modern research there is no proof of any of this, and even the wording on the Bayeux tapestry does not specifically mention which person is King Harold, it just says the words "Hic Harold Rex Interfectus Est" {Here King Harold was killed] above several people, one of whom just happens to have an arrow in his eye, but the King could equally well be the soldier who has slumped forwards on to his horse's withers, or the one falling to the floor at the horse's hooves. And then there is another theory that none of these people are King Harold, for the Latin word "interfectus" does not only mean killed, it also means destroyed or defeated, so perhaps it means simply what happened to his forces or his kingdom through the Battle of Hastings. Lots to mull over there!

Our original British Trade Indexes say that Primrose Confectionery was based in Argyle Avenue and Farnham Road Slough, the change occurring during the issue of "Space Patrol" in 1970, as that set can be found with four different address variants. According to the reverses they started out in Argyle Avenue offering an album for 9d, then Argyle Avenue was removed, then the album price was altered to a shilling but there was no mention of Argyle Avenue, and finally a new address in Farnham Road was added. It says that you can also find a printing of Popeye which misspells the address and reads "Argyll Avenue". However, a quick search of a Slough A-Z shows that actually this is the correct spelling, it is "Argyll" and not "Argyle". Curiouser and curiouser...

Primrose cards were mostly given away with what we used to call sweet cigarettes but are now sanitised and Americanised to candy sticks; they still remain cigarette shape, but sadly no longer have the great fun of having those lipstick red coloured ends to simulate the shimmering glow of an actual cigarette. If you are just starting out as a Primrose collector, do note that their 1961 "Famous Footballers" set was only printed with "F.B.S.1" not their name - and their "Cowboy" cards (1960) had neither name nor initials. Most of their sets are film and TV tie ins - including Amos Burke / Burke's Law, Andy Pandy, Batman (these being tattoos not cards), Bugs Bunny, Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Dads Army, Dr.Doolittle, The Flintstones, Joe 90, Laramie, Laurel & Hardy, Popeye, Quick Draw McGraw, Space Patrol, Star Trek, Superman, Tarzan, and Z Cars. In 1968, they also produced a set for the Beatles animated adventure movie "Yellow Submarine", and, according to https://pleasuresofpasttimes.com/popt-shop/the-beatles-yellow-submarine-1968-primrose-confectionery-8-5cm-badges-set-of-4/ badges and mirrors were also available. With my "badge dealer" hat on, I can say that what are known as "button" badges and mirrors are not at all dis-similar, all the maker would do is insert a mirrored surface in the back area, rather than the pin and clip for the badge.