Here is Doctor Victor Edward Milne (no relation to the author, at least not so far as I have found out) and he was born in 1897 in Aberdeen, Scotland. He was in the Royal Engineers during the First World War, and after that ended he joined Aberdeen Football Club; actually his father had been the first ever chairman, and is still commemorated on the Aberdeen F.C. website. The Doctor as his title is there because he was qualified as a medical doctor, He left Aberdeen, but did not give up football, as he then played for Aston Villa in the late 1920s. When he retired from playing football he went back to medicine, becoming a local GP and also, rather charmingly, the club doctor for Aston Villa Football Club in the early 1930s.
He died in 1971.
According to the Trading Card Database / V E Milne he appears on three cards, but our card is not included. Neither is J. A. Pattreiouex`s "Footballers Series" – captions in brown (1927) in which he is card 90.
Pinnace was a brand name, and it started including tiny photos of footballers, measuring about 45 x 35 m/m, in 1922. The small cards could be exchanged for various large “cabinet sized” photographs of players or teams. They are a bit of a minefield, as there are many different back and front styles, and some even exist with no back printing at all. However, because the number on the small sized card was tied, for the most part, to that player, collectors have the great delight of being able to trace their sporting careers.
This "Pinnace" card is slightly different as it is a larger, or “premium” card. These are described in our original Godfrey Phillips reference book (RB.13, published in 1949), as :
B. Large Cards, size 83 x 59 m/m. Number issued unknown.
1. "Oval" design back, in black
2. "Single lined oblong" back, address "PINNACE" PHOTOS, in black. Fronts : -
(a) Player`s name at head, team at base
(b) Player`s name at base, no name of team, Some cards have printed slips surcharged on back with name of team.
(c) Player`s name and team at base
By the time of our World Tobacco Issues Index, this has been altered, to :
FOOTBALLERS (A). Lg. Selected numbers only issued. ...P50-46
1. Back style 1, in black
2. Back with "Double-lined Oblong", address "PHOTO" or "PINNACE" PHOTOS.
3. Back with "Single-lined Oblong"
In the updated version of this volume, there is some additional information, namely :
FOOTBALLERS (A). Skipped numbers in most printings. ... P521-290.B.3
B. Large Size. All believed to be skipped numbers.
1. Back 1 - "Oval" design, in black.(?514)
2. Back with "Double-lined Oblong", address "PHOTO". (?852)
3. Back with "Double-lined Oblong", address "PINNACE" PHOTOS. (?2461). Some with player`s name only at base, or player`s name and team reversed.
Not sure what happened to the "Single-Lined Oblong" in this volume? Any ideas..?