Now you may be wondering of the connection between this card and King`s Lynn?
Well at one time the town, or more correctly the area, was known simply as Linn, and most of it was covered by water, hence the name. There is some debate as to whether that word is Celtic, which is usually stated to mean a pool. However a bit of research has uncovered that a linn is the pool beneath a waterfall, and that does fit a lot of the Scottish Linn rivers and pools, but not ours.
The truth is that it almost certainly comes instead from Old English, hlynn, which means a torrent, and suggests that the land in that area was not always water, but was flooded, almost certainly at a time those naming it remembered, but we have all forgot.
This sudden influx of water was important though, for it made the area into a booming centre for trade, where ships could tie up with ease. And in the 13th century this may have been part of the reason why the King John Charter turned the by then rechristened Lynn into a borough, not only that, but one in charge of making its own decisions. giving it self governing powers – which all reflected the town’s importance as a key trading centre.
But in 1537 everything changed, for King Henry VIII took over the town, and called it Lynn Regis, Regis being Latin for King. Hence our card - for Henry VIII is the King of King`s Lynn.
This set is described in our original Lambert & Butler Reference Book, issued in 1948 as : "Fronts lithographed in colour without photo basis. Backs in green, with descriptions. 1906-1908."
By the time of our World Tobacco Issues Index, just under a decade later, it had been reduced to "Sm. Nd. (40)" - possibly because it was taking them too long to find out what the "without photo basis" actually meant as I am still hunting that myself, though I believe it means that the artwork is created from life not a flat object. But do correct me if I err.