Card of the Day - 2022-05-03

This just might be the most famous American train ever. It was called the "20th Century Limited" and it conveyed travellers from New York to Chicago between the years 1902 and 1967. It also gave us the phrase "red carpet treatment", because those travellers walked to the train along a length of red carpet. 

In July 1929 a second series of twelve “Famous Railway Trains” cards was issued, (C504-490.B.2 : C82-48.B.2 : C/56) again measuring 80 x 62 m/m.

Then in October 1929 came a standard sized set of the same name, (C504-490.A : C82-48 A : C/54) numbered 1-25.

These were all printed by Mardon, Son and Hall, with the fronts in letterpress using the four colour half-tone process. Presumably they also printed the version which was issued by British American Tobacco (overseas) hence the RB21 reference; and the third, for this book tells us that there were actually three issuers:

A is an anonymous issue, with letterpress on the back (presumably the B.A.T. version, as they were really into anonymity – the code on this is ZB07-310 : ZB6-29).

B is listed as “Ogden`s Guinea Gold Cigarettes issue, small cards, series of 25, which our original Ogdens reference book RB.15 codes as O/79 and the World Tobacco Issues Indexes code as O100-670 and O/2-197. The reference book and the original index tells us the set was issued in New Zealand, though the date is obviously not known, the reference book giving “about 1930” and the index “1927/8”, whilst the more recent version tells us that this was part of a trio of sets that fitted into one album, all being issued at the same time; the two other sets being Dominion Tobacco Co`s “People and Places Famous in New Zealand History”  and Ogden “British Trees and Their Uses"  (which was also issued by British American Tobacco, Edwards Ringer and Bigg, and Lambert & Butler).

And closing off was C, our set(s), the small card series of 25 and the large first and second series of twelve each. It seems odd that this size varies between being called small and standard. Anyway I have tracked down this card in the small/standard size, it is 24/25 and you can see it in the New York Public Library. The text is identical except for one instance, where a “20” replaces a “twenty”

According to my 1950 London Cigarette Card Catalogue, which only covers British cards, so only shows the Churchman set, the scarcest version was our one, as the standard sized set was listed at 6d a card and 17/6 a set, and the second series large at 9d a card and 12/6 a set. However our set is only listed as odds, at 2/6 each; no sets were currently available. 

By the way the “20th Century Limited” also appears on Ardath “Speed Land Sea and Air” (1935) 26/50