Card of the Day - 2022-06-10

This set is a very unusual one, because it was issued twice. Our version, with the golden border and the blue non-descriptive back came along in 1902. Then it was re-issued with descriptive text on the reverse, in 1923. Also in 1923 came a re-issue of "Wonders of the World", but rather than the green back which had been the original 1908 version, it was changed to grey. 

Both versions of our set are described in the World Tobacco Issues Indexes as : "NATIONS (A) Sm. 61 x 36 Unnd. (20) "Over 250" back. See H.97" - with one exception, the size, for the reissue measures different, being 62 x 36.

A trip into the Handbook to look at H.97 gives us this : 

H.97 NATIONS (titled in post-1920 issue only). Fronts per Fig.97 in colour. Unnumbered series of 20. 
Pre-1919 - 
Cohen Weenen - "Sweet Crop, over 250 subjects . . ." back
Anonymous. Plain back, fancy gold border to front. 
Post-1920 - 
Cohen Weenen - Descriptive back

The Nations depicted are then listed in alphabetical order. These are : 
America, Belgium, China, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Wales. 

However you will also find a card of Bavaria. This was a substitute card, in the post-1920 issue only, and it replaced Germany. However it only replaced it with the title, the picture is exactly the same on both. 

In the 1950 London Cigarette Card Company catalogue, the retail price of our cards is quoted as between 6/6 and 20/- for odd cards and £20 for a set. The anonymous gilt bordered cards are listed directly below, as odds only, at between 25/- and 50/-

By the way, I have found the anonymous version, in the original World Tobacco Index, and quite by accident. It is coded as ZJ3-55, under section three, Anonymous Issues with plain back, and sub section 2, cards with captions in English. it is catalogued as 

NATIONS (A). Sm. 62 x 36. Unnd. (20). See H.97. Issued in U.K.Also found in longer size with fancy gold bordering. 

Now the odd thing to me is that this anonymous version is of the same size as the re-issue and not of the original set. And I am not sure about this longer size with the fancy gold border - does that mean that the smaller anonymous set has no border, or a different coloured one? Or does it mean that both have gold borders but one is more decorative in some way? Would be interested to hear from anyone with these anonymous sets to clear up the mystery.