This second clue was also another form of photographic card, and that is a standard black and white photo, but coloured, with translucent, see-through paint. This is known as a hand-coloured photograph, and it was indeed coloured by hand, usually by women and young girls. If you look at the card you can see their strokes, and also that when they painted the green lawn they did not lift for the white lines, so they are a greenish-white rather than standing out brightly.
Anyway the subject of this photo shows another source of national pride, our cricketers - whilst also it stands to represent those long hot English summers when we sit, with our picnic hampers, on the grass, and watch a local cricket match, on the village green. And this is something that our overseas readers will imagine that we do way much more of, than we actually do.
By the way, is there anyone out there who knows the identity of this cricketer ? Was he, or did he become famous ? Is this his unknown rookie card? And if you are a keen collector of cricketing cartophilia, do you have this one yet, or is it unknown, so far, to you, buried away, as it is, in this general photographic set ?
Now we have managed to show another version of the set this week, that being the set of fifty cards with the black backs - which is why B. below is bold and will send you there if you click on it.
Our original World Tobacco Issues Index catalogues this set as :
THE HOMELAND SERIES. Nd. See Ha. 539.
a) Small. All hand-coloured
A. Back in blue. (50)
B. Back in black. Glossy or semi-glossy front. (50).
C. Back in black. Matt front. (54) and varieties
(b) Medium size. All hand-coloured except G.
D. Back inscribed "Hand Coloured Real Photos". (50)
E. As (D), inscribed "Reprinted at the ...." (56)
F. As (D), words "Hand-Coloured" dropped (56)
G. As (F), words "Real Photos" centred under series title (56)
However, whilst our set, and sets B. and C., remain the same in our updated version, there has been a discovery, forcing the (b) section to alter. This now reads :
(b). Medium size. All hand-coloured except (Fa)
D. Back inscribed "Hand Coloured Real Photos". (50) (a). matt (b.) glossy
E. As (D), inscribed "Reprinted at the ...." (56). Matt
F. As (D), words "Hand-Coloured" dropped. Words "Real Photos" centred under series title on some numbers. (56) (a) uncoloured (b) hand coloured.
Curiously, nowhere in either book does it mention that this set was also issued by Millhoff. That is left to Ha.539, which tells us that the Millhoff set was issued as a small size set of 54 and a medium size set of 56. It adds that the printings are similar, but not identical, with thirty-three of the Cavanders subjects being also in the Millhoff set. It also explains the words "and varieties" in the Cavanders "C" printing, listing ten cards that can be found with different titles and/or different subjects, and adding that there are two back texts for card number thirty four, plus "innumerable minor variations as between printings, see C.N.N. No.62 pages 27-29 and No.90, pages 46-47. See also "Review", Vol.2, page 33 and "Notes and News" Vol.1, page 105."
So I will see which of these I can track down by the newsletter.