And for our last clue, we had the player`s surname, Tanner. A tanner was the nickname, for a sixpence, which everyone thinks was always solid silver but was only so until 1816, after that being slowly adulterated until after the Second World War when it was entirely cupro-nickel, an amalgam of copper and nickel.
The sixpence was still about after decimalisation, and were also left as legal tender, but they were only now worth tuppence ha`penny, under half of the six pence they were before. They remained legal tender until 1980 as well. However the sixpence is still going, for they are produced as souvenirs at Christmas by the Royal Mint - and they are silver!
So let us start with RB.21 which is the British American Tobacco Booklet, published in 1952 and the last of the soft cover series of reference books. That tells us, under code 369, that this set consists of "large cards, size 80 x 60 m/m, front with player`s head in black and white, coloured background, No`s 1-31 with background in green and no`s 32 - 62 in plum. Back in black, with brief details of player in English and Afrikaans, and indicating that a wallet to hold the cards can be obtained from tobacconists or from Box 78 Cape Town; this cardboard wallet gives the itinerary of the tour with spaces for the scores to be added. Numbered series of 62. U.T.C. issue - the inscription "Box 78 Cape Town" provides the indication of issuer."
I still dont know why these cards can be found with the two backgrounds - do please enlighten. I have heard that the cards did fit in the wallet, and was rather ashamed to hear that it says so on the back of the card.
Our World Tobacco Issues Index supplies us with the above, shortened. It gives a slightly different size of 79 x 60 m/m and simply says "coloured background" without mentioning the green and the plum. But it does direct us back to RB.21, which is always useful. And a similar shortened description appears in our updated World Tobacco Issues Index.