Card of the Day - 2023-10-04

Wills Arms British Empire Specialities
W.D. & H. O. Wills [tobacco : UK] "Arms of the British Empire" - Specialities (1910) 7/50 - W675-337.A : W62-214.A : W/40.C

So here we have a very curious card indeed with several links to curry. Firstly, as we found out already, the Thackerays were heavily involved with the East India Company, his father, and his grandmother on his mother`s side both being civil servants in their employ. The East India Company also state in several places that they brought to this country the first ever curry powder, which was based on such a product enjoyed by their staff. And the reverse of this card shows that the company was of such importance that this card actually tells us that "no arms are registered for India". This means that very often the company arms were used to stand for the whole country - a company which purchased land from local rulers, and were allowed to have their own armies, some of which are the forerunners of British Army regiments.

This set was issued in several formats, including four standard size printed on card, which are described in our original Wills` reference book part III as : 

40. 50 ARMS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. Fronts lithographed in colour; backs with descriptive text. Issued 1910. 
HOME ISSUE - Backs in grey.
    A. With I.T.C. Clause.
GENERAL OVERSEAS ISSUE - Backs in black.
    B. Without I.T.C. Clause. Subjects similar to A
AUSTRALIAN ISSUE - Backs in grey.
   C. Without I.T.C. Clause. With "Wills Specialities" advertisement.
   D. Without I.T.C. Clause. With "Havelock" advertisement.

In C and D subjects have been redrawn, similar to A except for card No.1 in which "Hong Kong"replaces "Hudson Bay Company". In these two issues, the descriptive text has been added in a blue colour shade. 
The same basic designs were used for a series printed on satin, medium sized cards mounted on thin board. This series is recorded in Section IV of Wills` issues. 

Some time we will use the satin ones, and give a fuller description, but here we will just note that the medium size is 70 x 48 m/m and large (which is without Wills` name) is 82 x 55 m/m - plus that they were issued between 1910 and 1915.  And before we race on, only the home issue ever seems to have had the full date of issue recorded, which was October 1910. 

Now by the time of the update to the Wills` reference book, part IV, it had become known that there was yet another set of the standard sized cards, and these are described therein as : 

40. ARMS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE - see page 90 
There is an anonymous series not recorded :-
B1. With Album Clause ("...price 25 c. each"). Anonymous issue in Canada, see page 41, item C42, of Mr. Burdick`s American Catalogue.  

The plot thickens further in our World Tobacco Issues Index because W62-112 declares two more sets, a first and second series each of 25 large cards. I cannot find these in the original reference books, maybe you can?

As for our set, that is listed as W62-214, under "Australian Issues". The description is quite short, only :

ARMS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. Sm. Nd. (50) See X21/200-126.1.B.
A. "Wills` Specialities" back
B. "Havelock" back

The updated World Tobacco Issues Index, by the way, is exactly the same wording except for the cross reference, which in that case leads to RB.21/200-126-1B. Now these codes lead to the Handbook to the World Tobacco Issues Index (X21) and the British American Tobacco Index (RB.21). In the Handbook there is a most excellent write up - which I will try to get scanned in - and it also tells us that there is a summary in "The Cartophilic World" on page 1442 with an amendment on page 1485. So I will try to get those scanned in as well, if I can. Not sure what is in the British American Tobacco book yet, but will look in a minute