So here we have something that the groundsman is not so pleased to see, Mr. Mole, who comes along and raises his mighty earthworks right slap bang in the middle of the formerly level and green playing surface.
This is a lovely little mole, and a super card. There are also several variations of the set, which I never realised. Our original John Player Reference Book, published in 1950, lists these as :
136. NATURE SERIES. Fronts in colour. Backs in blue, with descriptive text. Home issues.
A. 50 Small cards. Issued March 1909. Some colour varieties seen.
B. 12 Extra Large cards – Birds. Thick board. Issued October 1908.
C. 12 Extra Large cards – Animals. Thinner board. Issued October 1913.
Our World Tobacco Issues Indexes list them, oddly, as :
NATURE SERIES. Nd....P72-41
- A. Small (50)
- B. Extra-large (20) –
(1) Animals Nd. 1/10
(2) Birds. Nd. 1/10
This actually is the right text, there are only ten extra large cards in each set of a very nimble ferret, and that does indeed say it is from a set of ten. So the original John Player book was wrong by saying twelve.
As we have, at last, used a large card as a Card of the Day, on the 13th of March, 2025, the lists of those subjects, and the comparison chart as to where those cards appear in the standard sized set is now removed to there.