This card shows more than one camera, used to take different photographs at the same time or one immediately after the others, much as Muybridge used to record his stunning series of continuous photographs. On our card they are called "A battery" of cameras, though Muybridge called his a "bank of cameras"
The first mention of this set in the cartophilic press was in The London Cigarette Card Company`s "Cigarette Card News" magazine, No.10, Vol.1 (July 1934), as part of the regular "Notes on Current Series" written by C.L. Porter. And that reads :
B. Morris & Sons. How Films are Made. Series of 25 small cards. This is really original and interesting covering practically the whole processes involved in producing a film. Full and intelligible descriptions of the methods used are printed on the back of each card, The scenes of the "shots", etc, are reproduced in colour. They are, perhaps, in some cases, the weak spots of the series, as the printing is a trifle crude. Facilities for this production were granted by the Gaumont British Corporation, Ltd., at the Shepherds Bush Studios
In fact the bottom of the reverse actually says "Facilities for the preparation of this series granted by Gaumont-British Picture Corporation Ltd." though it does not say that they were at Shepherds Bush
Both our original and our updated World Tobacco Issues Index simply describes this set as :
"HOW FILMS ARE MADE. Sm. 67 x 36. Nd. (25)
That is not the entire story though, because there seems to be a piece of information which is missing. For in the London Cigarette Card Company catalogue for 1995 the set is retailed as either
A) white card - 3d. each - or 10/- a set
B) cream card - 1d. each - or 1/6 a set
And this means that the two types of card were of sufficient supply that sets could be offered of each, as opposed to sets where one of the boards or printings was sold as a set and the other was only sold as odds.
The issuer, B. Morris & Sons, are just as intriguing. They were founded in 1810, and were recorded as being at Half Moon Passage in Aldgate, East London by 1826. Their claims to fame were that they were the first to make “compressed” cigarettes, the first to issue gift coupons in their packets, and one of the earliest to issue cigarette cards, yet today, to the general public, and even many card collectors, their name is quite unknown. They seem to have issued batches of cards then nothing, and then started again - their first cards were inserted in packets in 1897, this is recorded as M884-060, a group known as “Beauties (Collotype)” which have various backs and we still do not know how many were issued. From 1897 until 1900 most of their cards were of actresses and beauties, the difference between the two, for our newer readers, being that actresses were named on the cards and beauties were not. Several of these sets were also issued by other firms.
In 1900 they produced their first advertisement card, and some believe that they would have stopped here had it nor been for the Boer War, which led them to issue a set of twenty V.C. Heroes entitled “Boer War 1900” (M884-070) and a plain back, unnumbered set known as “Boer War Celebrities” (M884-080 – 1901 - known by the acronym “PAM”, the M being for Morris.)
After these they did halt, briefly, before issuing “London Views” (M884-090) in 1904. This either lasted in the packets a very long time, or there was another break, before, in 1910, or some say 1912, they produced one of my favourites, five sets each of six cards which are deemed to make up a set called “General Interest”(M884-130). I tend to favour 1910, but if so it took two years before another set appeared, and this was “Marvels of the Universe”. Again a war kept them going, the First World War, and in 1915, from seemingly out of nowhere, they suddenly issued several sets of silks, “Battleship Crests” (M884-220 - 1915), “English and Foreign Birds” (M884-240), and “English Flowers”, which was available as a set of 25 (M884-230.1), and a set of 50 (M884-230.2). The set of 25 can be found either branded for “Panel Cigarettes” or unbranded, and then there is a version with a very curious printing error which tends to support the theory that they were produced in another land, for instead of mentioning “Crewel silk”, it instead says “Cruel silk”.
After this flurry of silk production, they returned to cards in 1916, with their own “War Celebrities” (M884-180) and also becoming one of the many issuers of “War Pictures” (M884-190 - 1916), before producing “National and Colonial Arms” (M884-160) in 1917. And then, another break.
They picked up speed quite a bit in the 1920s and 30s, issuing nineteen sets, including ours, but again continually halting for short breaks. They did a super one called “Motor Series” (M880-350 - 1922) that covers their mechanics and parts, rather than brands of vehicle; and M884-360 is a very sought after one, for it shows the wonders of Queen Mary`s Dolls House, a much loved attraction at the 1924/1925 Wembley Exhibition, before being relocated to Windsor Castle.
Their last set was “Racing Greyhounds” (M884-670 – 1939/1940) issued with “Forecasta” brand, and this was almost certainly stopped by the Second World War.