Our second clue was that what was missing, namely the beer, and this should have suggested Oktoberfest. For some reason despite the name, it starts in mid September and ends on the first Sunday in October. However the first ever one was held in October, starting on the 12th. That was in 1810, and it was a way for the people to celebrate the royal wedding of the Bavarian crown prince, later Louis I.
Now this set is a bit confusing, but bear with me. In our original Ardath reference book, RB.6, published in 1943, there are two sets under this name, issued in the same year, and the same month. The descriptions are as follows :
Sept 1936. 25. Proverbs (titled series). Humorous sketches. Size 1 7/16" x 2 11/16". Numbered 1-25. Fronts printed in four colours from half tone blocks, white margins, grained backs, printed in grey, with descriptions, adhesive. Issued with Ardath Cork Tipped and State Express Cigarettes.
Sept 1936. 50. Proverbs (titled series). Humorous sketches. Size 1 7/16" x 2 11/16". Numbered 1-50. Fronts printed in four colours from half tone blocks, titled, with margins, grained backs, printed in grey, with descriptions, adhesive. Issued abroad and in New Zealand with State Express and Ardath Cigarettes, Nos 1-25 are the same as the above set.
The difference seems to rest just on the numbering, and on the tiny word "titled", which I presume is the bar with the wording in it which appears within the picture? It also seems rather strange that we had a smaller set here than they did when it was sent overseas. Don`t you think?
However in the original World Tobacco Issues Index (RB.23 - published in 1956) most of this is swept away, and replaced by simply :
PROVERBS. Sm.
A. Nos 1-25. Home issue.
B. Nos 1-50. Export issue.
This is slightly altered in our updated version (RB.123 - published in the year 2000) to a one line listing of : "PROVERBS. Sm. (A) Nos. 1-25 Home and export issue (B) Nos. 26/50. (25) Export issue."
On reading that I am suddenly led to wonder if that second part may have been intended to be issued as a second series in the UK too, but never was. In fact if you look at the online auctions, you often see people selling the 26-50 cards as a second series.
However I have not yet found a card for sale anywhere with a different back to ours, and I have the impression, rightly or wrongly, that the home issue 1-25 ought to say "Cork Tipped" as part of the branding box. So if you have one of these, do let us know!