Here we have the first set listed under Sumner`s Typhoo Tea in our original British Trade Index. So it therefore gets the job of being the home page for those issues, and also, for the reason why it is called Sumner`s.
Let us start with that, and a quick biography. It all starts with a man called William Sumner, a tea dealer of some standing, who, in 1863, wrote a book called ‘A Popular Treatise on Tea’. His son, John Sumner, then took over the business. He had two sons, the older also called John Sumner, and, as time went by, they took over the business. In the early 1890s, John Sumner (junior), split the business up, keeping the grocery part whilst his brother kept the chemists. In the early 1900s, he suddenly realised that when he cut the tips off the tea leaves he could sell them, instead of sweeping them off the floor and throwing them away, especially if he marketed them as being cures for nerves and indigestion.
This is a lovely set, and how thrilling to have the date of issue to the very day! It is actually printed on the back as "773. 11/6/27, but do let me know if this should be the 6th of November and I will amend.
The cards are unnumbered, and there is a list in both versions of our Trade Indexes, but it is hard to scan as neither book will lay flat enough. But it will eventually appear as I believe you can get anything to happen if you keep working away at it for enough time.
They are indeed cut-outs, and if you look closely around the outline between the blue and the figure you may glimpse the perforations with which you could push the figure forwards and bend back the blue.
They were originally reported as measuring 112 x 36 m/m in our original British Trade Index volume 1 of 1962, but later altered to 102 x 36 m/m in British Trade Index volume 3.
By the way there are three cards showing sheep in this series, but this is actually a Shetland Shepherd and his collie, which closes our tribute to Shetland Wool week very suitably. And some time I will upload the back below here so it is readable the right way up....