Now someone sent me this because when we featured British American Tobacco`s "Beauties - Fruit Girls" (1903) I closed the listing by saying :
The heading in the World Tobacco Issues Indexes does tell us a bit more about the set, and actually it applies to all of the British American Tobacco "Section 1.A - Net Design Back in Green" cards. It says "Cards [were] issued in all overseas areas, between 1902 - 05. All small size, 67 x 38 m/m and unnumbered. Ref. USA/T.440 to USA/T.443."
Most of the cards in this section were beauties, their heads alone, cut off at the neck, and peeking rather eerily from the middle of something incongruous and exceedingly strange - like our bunch of bananas - though some, like the "Marine and Universe Girls", "Star Girls", and "Smoke Girls" are truly beautiful. The bulk of the other cards in the section are of "Chinese Girls", which are technically still beauties. That means the odd ones out are "Buildings" (a set also issued by Imperial Tobacco Co. of Canada, and Murai) - and "Chinese Trades - Set 1" (also issued by Murai). There was a "Set II" for this, but not issued by B.A.T, only by W.D. & H.O. Wills, through their "Autocar" brand (the only set that brand ever issued), and, once more by Murai, making theirs into a pair, eighty cards in total.
So here we have the "Autocar" brand, and that "Chinese Trades - Set II".
This set first appears in our original Wills reference book, part V, as :
369. CHINESE TRADES II (adopted title). Unnumbered. Fronts lithographed in colour, pink border. Backs in olive, with illustration of closed "Autocar" packet, overprinted with Chinese characters. "Autocar" issue, between 1900-05. A series of 40.
19 subjects seen illustrated in Fig.108
this space will fit that in once I have scanned it - and found out if it will fit inside the green front line, in which case the space will also disappear. The listing continues with :
B.A.T. issued a number of series in a similar format to the above, but different subjects. "Chinese Trades I" is recorded in booklet No,18 ("Tobacco War") under Item 108, and several others ("Chinese Trades III" onwards) will appear in the B.A.T. booklet
Our original World Tobacco Issues Index, issued a few years later, lists these under section 4 - "Export Issues Quoting Certain Brands. Cards without I.T.C. Clause, issued through B.A.T.". The text for our set is :
4.A. "AUTOCAR CIGARETTES". Issued in China, about 1900-05
CHINESE TRADES (A). Sm. 66 x 38. Unnd. (40) See W/369 and X21/499-II.A. ... W62-291
The X-reference is to the handbook for the original World Tobacco issues Index, and that text covers all versions of the Chinese Trades sets known to that date. It reads :
X21/499 CHINESE TRADES. The complete recordings of sets I and II (previously RB18/108 and W/369) are given below :-
I. Set I. Size 67 x 38 m/m. Series of 40, illustrated at Fig,X21/499-I
A. B.A.T., with green net design back
B. Murai, back with illustration of peacockII, Set II. Size 66 x 38 m/m. Series of 40, illustrated at Fig.X21/499-II.
A. Wills "Autocar". Back with illustration of "Autocar" packet
B. Murai. Back with illustration of "Paecock" packet
By the time of our updated World Tobacco Issues Index, issued in the year 2000, whilst it still lists these under "Export Issues Quoting Certain Brands. Cards without I.T.C. Clause, issued through B.A.T.", the section has been renumbered to 5, due to the arrival of the later cigar issues. The text for our set is :
5.A. "AUTOCAR CIGARETTES". Issued in China, about 1900-05.
CHINESE TRADES II (A). Sm. 66 x 38. Unnd. (40) With or without "Made in China" rubber stamped on back. See W/369. ... W675-427
Now I am not sure whether the "rubber stamped on back" in this listing is the same as the "overprinted with Chinese characters" in the original listing - so if there is anyone out there who does know, please tell us.