Card of the Day - 2022-05-29

This is the first series, the second followed in November 1938. Both these, and all the other Gallaher non- photographic coloured sets of 48 cards, were printed by E. S. & A. Robinson Ltd of Bristol, including the unissued and untitled "Screen Lovers" or "Screen Partners" (G075-880) of which only twenty plain backed cards are known. I do not know, but presume that they were also producing the unissued and untitled "Modern British Transport" (G075-850). Anyone with more info on these two sets, or a scan of a front, please write in....

There is another group of “Dogs” issued by Gallaher, these sets of just 24 cards were issued in 1934, and can be collected in several different styles; you can find the cards with captions in either script or block letters, and either in a small or large size text, but in addition the script version was reprinted using a different colour of card, white or cream. The script letters are more valuable, but not by much; in 1950 the London Cigarette Card Catalogue offered script odds at 3d. each or block letters at 1d. each, with the sets being respectively 10/- or 1/9d. 

Corgis have had a long connection with the Queen, the breed is traditionally Welsh, but Godfrey Phillips “Our Puppies” (P521-468 : P50-120 ~1936) 24/30 explains that “There are two varieties of Welsh Corgi – the Pembroke with short tails, and the Cardigan with longer tails.”  Whilst Hornimans Tea “Dogs” (HOR-310 : HOF-11 ~1961) 41/48 states that their card is of a “Welsh Corgi (Pembroke)”

The unusual link between the last card and this card is that Liam Devlin & Sons Limited issued a set of 48 cards of Corgis, but not the dogs, these were “Corgi Toys” (DEV-040 : DEV-1.8 ~ 1971). These were again issued with their sweet cigarettes and so I do wonder whether these ought not to be cartophilic, after all they were issued with cigarettes just not with the nicotine kind!  The set showed die cast toys, thrillingly not just cars, there was a horse box, a Land Rover, and tractors (this says more about me than I really should admit), as well as film, music and tv tie-ins like the MonkeeMobile, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, even a couple of James Bond vehicles. It’s a fun set, and getting scarcer, because of the crossover interest from toy car collectors.