Card of the Day - 2022-06-30

Wills Lawn Tennis 1931
W675-193 : W62-154 : W/252 [tobacco : UK] W.D. & H.O. Wills “Lawn Tennis 19312 large size (May 1931) 25/25

This set was only issued in the large size, and it is especially effective.

I am not sure who drew it, maybe someone out there knows. Or I might find it in one of the excellent articles written by Gordon Howsden covering Cigarette Card Artists. 

This is Helen Wills Moody, who was known by several names, starting with her birth name, from October 6, 1905, which was Helen Newington Wills. The Moody was from her first husband, a stockbroker who she wed in 1929, and divorced in 1937, and then she became Helen Wills Roark when she married an Irish polo player in 1939. She did not have any children.

She was the first female American sportswoman to be famous all across the world, and primarily for her talent, for she won Wimbledon eight times; though she was often seen in the company of film stars and royalty. Her main draw was the fact that she created a new style of women`s playing costume, to accentuate her gracefulness, shorter skirts, and pleated, and a white visor against the sun.