now here we were looking at the building, described as a lodgings "a little house at once a first-floor and a top story"
Lodgings are often described as a house split into rooms, each one being rented by the owner, who often retains one of the rooms to live in. Tellingly it is usually seen as a temporary state of affairs, somewhere to live whilst you wait for somewhere better or bigger. Charles Dickens was rather fond of, or perhaps intrigued by them. and he wrote them into several books, plus they are the subject of a short story called. Mrs. Lirriper's Lodgings, which appears to have been part of the 1894 combined work called “Christmas Stories”. And thanks to Project Gutenberg / Mrs Lirriper you can read it free online.
Our second reference book devoted to the issues of R. & J. Hill, was published in 1942. They were a very early manufacturer, being established at 175 Shoreditch High Street in 1775 - though cigarettes would not be made for a hundred and fifteen more years. In these early works there was no attempt at cataloguing the sets by number, perhaps because the book lists the sets in alphabetical order, and it was felt that as the issue of cigarette cards would resume after the war, any numbering would have to be altered.
The entry for our set is as follows:
1926 50 HISTORIC PLACES FROM DICKENS CLASSICS (titled series). Size 2 9/16 x 1 1/2 inches. Numbered 1-50. Fronts printed in three colour letterpress from half-tone blocks, white margins. Backs, printed black only, with descriptions and "Issued by The Spinet House, R. & J. Hill Ltd., and Hy. Archer & Co. (see Henry Archer & Co.). Printed by Ripley & Co. London"
This series was re-issued January 1934 at the close of the coupon period.
I am rather excited to say that only today I have discovered a way of entering the fractions that were used in these early books, though it does make the lines slightly more spaced above and below. Also I am not sure how it looks on everyone`s computers or phones so if it gives you any problems just tell me and I will resort to the words again. I will also gauge the response before I go and change the rest!
Our original World Tobacco Issues Index has both versions together, under H46-57, simply saying :
A) Small 65 x 37 m/m. Nd. (50)
B) Large 80 x 66 m/m
a) Nos 1/26 small numerals under 2 m/m high
b) Nos 1/50 larger numerals over 2 m/m high.
This means that the cards were slightly smaller, for some reason, than the usual Hill issues of the time (1922-1930) that being 69-70 x 38 m/m. Strangely the large set was a smidgeon larger, but you can read about that at :
https://csgb.co.uk/publications/newsletter/2022-10-29
because it was the Diary dates card for Sunday the 30th of October, 2022
Much of the above text is repeated in our updated World Tobacco Issues Index, but the code is of course different. And it once more mentions that the set was re-issued in 1934, by which it means it was the remainders rather than a new printing which would have led to a new entry in our references. However, and thrillingly, we also get brand new information, that there was a "Special album issued entitled "The Dickens Album". So are there any of those in your collection that you can educate us about and share some scans?