So we end our week`s tribute to the Turkey with this set, aptly translated to "Useful Birds" - and there is no denying this is true. Hopefully you will also regard them with more affection and understanding, and not just as dinner.
I also managed not to use cards that treated this noble bird so, and there were a couple of cards that I was offered which were rejected on just those grounds.
This set was issued in France and Belgium under the same title as here, "Oiseaux Utiles" - in Germany as "Nutzgeflugel" - in the Netherlands as "Nuttige Vogels", and in Italy as "Uccelli Utili". As far as values the Belgian version is much more easily available, and therefore the cheapest, at around £5-10 a set, whilst the most expensive is usually said to be the one from the Netherlands, at about £50.
The set was also issued in Spain, but this version is extraordinarily rare.
The other cards in the set are :
- Eider - feathers and down for mattresses and bedding
- Ostrich and Peacock - feathers for human adornment
- Pheasants - to eat
- Pigeons - carrying messages
- Seagulls - guano to fertilise fields
- Turkey - eggs to eat