Card of the Day - 2021-11-06

Simonets Jersey Footballers
Simonets Ltd [tobacco : O/S - Jersey] “Local Footballers” (1913) 24/50 - S459-150 : S68-1

Let us start Movember with a fine moustache indeed. And by thanking Mr. Pearks for this scarce card. 

This is George Martin LePage, otherwise known as "Dampy". We know that the surname Le Page comes originally from France, and, as you might expect, it does come from a retainer, or page, to a knight or wealthy family. Oddly it is much more common on Guernsey than on Jersey. 

On the card, it says that he is the "Wanderers Outside Left [and] an all round athlete, heading the batting averages of two different cricket clubs."

It continues that "Last year he proved himself a good partner to Wheway". Now this was Frank Wheway, and he died of wounds during the First World War in November 1917, just a short time after he had been sent out to war. Before that he had been Captain of the Jersey Wanderers, and, poignantly, their Vice Captain, Joe Whitworth, had been killed in action just a few days earlier. 

I have no idea why "Dampy" was so called - if anyone can enlighten us, please do. 

By the way he also appears on another set, as card 13 of "Jersey Footballers" by Cigarette Co. Jersey. These appear in our World Tobacco Issues Index as "Grey Background, Second Issue, numbers 1-50" (C86-1.2) 

Our World Tobacco Issues Indexes both tell us that the issuer of our card, Simonets, Ltd. were "taken over by Jersey Tobacco Co., 1936." and that their output "includes cards without reference to tobacco". This set is listed there as : 

1. Issues 1913-14
LOCAL FOOTBALLERS. Sm. 67-69 x 36. Black and white. Nd. (50). 

Their next issue was not until the 1920s, presumably because of the First World War. 

There is a checklist of our set at the Football Cartophilic Info Exchange/Simonets