Our third clue was the emperor Caesar Augustus shown here on this super cameo, but also award yourself a brownie point if you knew that sardonyx, from which this is made, is the original birthstone for the month of August. It was not just for decorative jewellery though, because a particular quirk of its make up is that hot wax will never stick to it, so it was also used for important seals and signets so that they retained their sharp outlines rather than being slowly obscured with each use.
As far as Caesar Augustus, and his link to this month, well yes, it was indeed named for him. And there is also symbolism in that it follows July, named for Julius Caesar. The two men were connected too, Augustus being Julius`s grand nephew.
Cavanders are described in our Directory of British Issuers as being a Branch of the United Kingdom Tobacco Company Ltd (Godfrey Phillips Ltd.). It also states that their address at that time was 112 Commercial St., London E but that they were previously at 65/67 Gt. Eastern Street, London E.C., and 7 Whitechapel Road. And at one time they had not only a Manchester address, their registered office, in Tib Street - but a Glasgow address as well.
Despite this, they were founded in Portsmouth, in 1775. Strangely they did not start inserting cigarette cards until quite late, after the First World War, in 1923, with a set of forty-eight large cards called "Regimental Standards". However once they started they were quite prolific, and issued not only standard letterpress cards like this, but photographic ones and also stereoscopic ones.
This set is simply listed in our World Tobacco Issues Indexes as "THE NATION`S TREASURES Md. Nd. (25)" . My 1955 London Cigarette Card Catalogue supplies the measurements, of 77 x 51 m/m, and also a retail price from that year, this being 6d. a card or 17/6 a set.