Card of the Day - 2022-05-20

Here is Bing Crosby, looking very youthful in his sailor’s hat, marking the day, dare we say it, admirably.

The reverse of this card tells us that he “first entered the theatrical profession with two others as “The Three Rhythm Boys”.He was born in 1904, in Tacoma, Washington, and got his first big part when still quite young in “The Big Broadcast”. We can expand this a bit as the other Rhythm Boys were Harry Barris and Al Rinker, and you can read about them on wikipedia, which includes lots of links to sights and sounds. The Big Broadcast was released in 1932

Now this set is a rather unusual one. If you look at Gallaher’s “Champions of Screen and Stage” most will have a red back, and this one is blue, but there are two blue back versions, the difference being found in the firm’s name, for more usually you get “Issued by Gallaher Ltd., Virginia House, London & Belfast” in block letters, and this one has “Gallaher’s Cigarettes” in a rather fancier style.

All three sets were printed by E. S. & A. Robinson Ltd. of Bristol, who printed many other Gallaher sets, and all three were issued in 1934. However there does not seem to have been any reason given for the difference in the reverse colours or printings.

Reaching for my trusty London Cigarette Card Catalogue for 1950, I see that the red backed version was retailed at 1d. each for odds, and 4/- a set, but special offers were available through the Abridged Catalogue. The blue backed series were listed separately but priced the same, 6d. each for odds and 30/- for sets.