This card gave us the county of "Devon" - and the town of our first event is only ten miles away from Exeter, where this card was issued
We know quite a bit about the company which issued this card, and you will find that as part of our Card of the Day for the 13th of May, 2024. However, it has been quite a task to find Mr. Spiers, but all was revealed when I went to the Football Cartophilic Info Exchange, which said that though the set is titled "football" these are all rugby players. Armed with this, I found the Gloucester Rugby Heritage site, which is a much better biography than I could write, and even has details of his rugby-playing father. However I do not yet know if any of them appear on other cards.
The Football Cartophilic Info Exchange also has a checklist of the players in the set, but not the Boer War personalities. On which note, some collectors who are convinced those were a separate set anyway. However in our original World Tobacco Issues Index, they are indeed combined in one single group, separated only by size and appearance and not by subject. This listing reads :
DEVON FOOTBALLERS AND BOER WAR CELEBRITIES (A). Black and white, on thin board. Unnd. See H.259, Ha.259 and X1/H.259. Inscribed at base "Lloyd`s - Exeter Cigarettes". Plain back. ... L54-3
1. Overall size 70 x 41 (very variable). No framelines. 30 known.
2. Overall size 70 x 45, with framelines 64 x 39, picture in centre 47 x 29. One known.
Curiously then, that the first handbook code, of H.259, which refers to the one which was published to be used in conjunction with the 1950 London Cigarette Card Company Catalogue, changes everything. For that reads :
H.259. DEVON FOOTBALLERS AND BOER WAR CELEBRITIES (adopted title). Fronts per Fig.259 in black and white, on very thin paper-like material. Issued by H.C. Lloyd. Unnumbered series, 12 subjects seen.
Devon Footballers :
1. D. D. Dobson
2. T. Dunn
3. H. V. Gordon
4. J. C Matters
5. W. Sims
6. W. SpiersBoer War Celebrities :
7. Commandant-Gen Botha (Transvaal)
8. Col. G. M. Bullock (Devon Regt.)
9. Gen. Joubert (Transvaal)
10. Col. R. G. Kekewich (of Kimberley)
11. Dr. F. W. Reitz (Sec. of Transvaal)
12. The Hon. W. P. Schreiner, C.M.G.
Then, in part two of that handbook, which covers later cards between 1920 and 1940, but also commences with any errors and corrections to the earlier volume, the text reads :
Ha.259. DEVON FOOTBALLERS AND BOER WAR CELEBRITIES (H.C. Lloyd).
It is now known that there are two distinct series, as follows ;-Set 1 - Overall size 70 x 41 m/m, no framelines (as illustrated under H.259). 25 subjects seen. 12 listed under H.259, and the following
Devon Footballers :
13. P. H. Baron
14. Arthur Brock
15. S. F. Cooper
16. F. L Hitt
17. E. W. Roberts
18. G. SowdenBoer War Celebrities :
19. Gen. Sir Redvers Buller
20. Dr. Leyds (Transvaal)
21. Major-Gen Lord Methuen
22. The Right Hon. Cecil J. Rhodes. P.C.M.L.A.
23. Vice-Admiral Seymour, K.C.B.
24. Spec` - Express
25. Gen. Sir George WhiteSet 2 Overall size 70 x 45 m/m, with frameline 64 x 39 m/m, picture in centre 47 x 29 m/m. One subject seen - F. Lloyd Hitt (different picture from No.16 in A but clearly the same player
The other handbook code, X1/H.259, comes from our handbook to the World Tobacco Issues Index, and this follows the format of splitting the two groups up. It also adds more cards. namely :
X1/H.259 DEVON FOOTBALLERS AND BOER WAR CELEBRITIES (H. C. Lloyd). Add the following known in Set 1 (front without framelines) -
Devon Footballers - (26) J. Jones
Boer War Celebrities - (27) General French
(28) Sir F.W. Forestier-Walker
(29) Mr. Rose-Innes (Cape Colony)
(30) Sir Alfred Milner
Now in our updated World Tobacco Issues Index, the two parts seem to be getting further away, for that splits them into A.1 and A.2. The text reads :
DEVON FOOTBALLERS AND BOER WAR CELEBRITIES (A). Black and white, on thin board. Unnd. Inscribed at base "Lloyd`s - Exeter Cigarettes". Plain back.See H.259 ... L645-200
A. Overall size 70 x 41 (very variable). No framelines
1. Devon Footballers, word "Cigarettes"" about 25 mm long. (20 known)
2. Boer War Celebrities, word "Cigarettes" (A) about 25 mm long (10 known) (B) about 28 mm long (20 known)B. Overall size 70 x 45, with framelines 64 x 39, picture in centre 47 x 29. Based on same originals as above, but in different perspective. (6 known, Devon Footballers only)
As far as the handbook for this volume, it puts all the cards so far known together, and so this will be scanned and entered later. This takes the total up to forty-two cards, plus, thrillingly, ends with an anonymous card, perhaps one of others, similar...