We have been told that not just Chelsea have The Blues - as a nickname. Actually there are several other British teams called that, all based on the colour of their home strip. Test your knowledge, then when you run out of time, and patience, just have a look at EverybodyWiki/blues. Actually they leave one out, as Manchester City also calls itself the blues, though it is light blue. There are also overseas teams called the blues, both France, and Italy, where both the mens and womens Italian National Teams have this nickname. And down in Australia, the Carlton Football Club are also nicknamed the Blues, hence our card
This set first appears in our original Wills reference booklet part III, where it is listed as :
68. 28 FOOTBALL CLUB COLOURS AND FLAGS (adopted title). Unnumbered. Fronts per Fig.45, lithographed in colour, inscribed "Capstan Cigarettes". Backs in grey, no descriptive text. Australian issue, between 1905-15
A. With "Capstan" advertisement on backs.
B. With "Havelock" advertisement on backs.
- Ballarat F.C.
- Ballarat Imperial F.C.
- Bendigo City F.C.
- Brighton F.C.
- Brunswick F.C.
- California Gully F.C.
- Carlton F.C. (H)
- Collingwood F.C.
- Eaglehawk F.C.
- Essendon (Association) F.C.
- Essendon (League) F.C.
- Fitzroy F.C.
- Footscray F.C.
- Geelong F.C.
- Golden Point F.C.
- Melbourne F.C.
- Melbourne City F.C.
- Northcote F.C.
- North Melbourne F.C.
- Port Melbourne F.C.
- Prahran F.C.
- Richmond F.C.
- St. Kilda F.C.
- South Ballarat F.C.
- South Bendigo F.C.
- South Melbourne F.C.
- University F.C.
- Williamstown F.C.
Note. - Cards are known without printing on front and with plain backs; these are thought to be printer`s material and not part of a regular issue.
So that leads to my wondering whether you can get a complete set of each advertisement back? Also I imagine that when it says "without printing on front" in the note section, it means the brand is missing but the picture is there? Also why 28 cards? And are there any missing teams that might make it up to thirty cards? Then there is the why as to the fact that some of the cards are like ours, where the footballer and flag are in the horizontal format, and others, like the one pictured in the reference book, are in the vertical format. I am not sure if there is a reason, but that is why I decided to type the list, so that I could then add in the (V) and (H) so that an Australian Club Connoisseur could tell us if there was any connection between the teams so differentiated. I do know that in some sitand es it is mentioned that the cards are for the V.F.L., V.F.A., Ballarat and Bendigo Leagues, so maybe this is connected in some way?
However in our World Tobacco Issues Indexes this set is simply listed as:
FOOTBALL CLUB COLOURS AND FLAGS (A). Sm. Unnd. (28) Brand issues. See W/68
A. "Capstan" back
B. "Havelock" back