Card of the Day - 2022-05-27

Wrights were based in South Shields. They were always popular locally, in the North East of England, but this advertising campaign made them famous across the globe. It was a simple idea, making a little character who would appeal to children and allow them to incorporate the company`s biscuits into their adventures. Space was much on everyone`s minds, so that provided the theme.

They looked round for an artist, and found one they liked. Her name was Mabel Lucie Attwell. She specialised in drawing cute children, like the small boy in this campaign, called Mischief. He first appeared on the packaging and there was a club with a free badge and sundry other items.

Then in 1954 the company decided to use him on cards, knowing this would increase the number of packs sold as the young collectors tried to complete their sets and find out the whole story of Mischief, his sister Marie, and their jaunt to Mars with their uncle, rocket ship pilot "Jet" Wright. It was such an exciting trip that it ended with Mischief vowing to become a rocket pilot too - like many other boys, and girls, for in the 1950s it was quite far-sighted to have a girl character on such adventures. Though to be honest it was almost certainly done not for reasons of gender equality, but to double the sales of the product. 

This set first appeared in our original British Trade Index part two, where it said it could be found with two back printings, either A. "Issued by Wright's Biscuits Ltd.." or B. "Join the Mischief Club". This is a bit confusing for the words are at the base of the reverse. 

By the time British Trade Index part three was issued in 1986 another version had been discovered, this was coded as C. It still had the name, but only at the side, leaving a large space at the bottom of the reverse.

Part three also cleared up a spot of confusion, as some of the sets in part two of the British Trade Index had been listed in the wrong alphabetical order, and this gives us the unusual code of WRJT-1