This card represents the most incredible event of the young Johannes Kepler`s life, for in 1577, at the age of six, his mother dragged him away from his schoolwork and up to the top of a hill, where he watched a comet streak, quite visibly, across the darkened sky. His mother must have also had some learning, for she told him all about the comet and hence was introduced to astronomy.
He was also shown a Lunar eclipse at the age of nine, and he spoke of this often thereafter, especially how the moon changed colour.
The main reason for using this card, though, is that the mighty comet that Johannes Kepler saw in 1607 was the same one seen by Edmond Halley in 1705. In fact, Edmond Halley used Johannes Kepler`s records to find and identify it. It turned out that it was the exact same comet which had also been seen from Earth in 1531 and 1682, almost every seventy-five years. And Edmond Halley also declared that it would return in 1758, which it did, but he had died before he was able to see if for himself and realise that he was correct. There is something else too - for Johannes Kepler's third law of planetary motion can be used to calculate the axis of Halley's Comet.
I do not know why we call it Halley`s Comet, though, and not Kepler`s.
As far as this set, it first appears in our British Trade Index part two, as :
A.H.C., London, N.15
Ace High Confectionery. Cards issued 1955-56. See ANONYMOUS set ZB9-55WONDERS OF THE UNIVERSE. Sm. 69 x 38. Nd. (25). See D442 ... ACC-1
The "D" code always means that the set was duplicated, or issued by another company, and they are listed at the back of the book. In this case the other companies were Edwards & Sons of London S.E.19. who issued them in 1954 with "Lucky Dip" sweet cigarettes, in two versions, with and without the series title - and Foto Bubble Gum, which was actually a brand, owned by Beano Ltd of Woodfield Road, London, W.9; they issued this set in 1957, but in a different size, of 70 x 38 m/m
By the way, the anonymous set is "Tropical Birds. Sm. 67 x 36. Nd. (25). See D.414-1. Issued by A.H.C." - and the D.414 tells us that it was issued by lots of other companies, this one being a set of twenty five, taken to be the first series, and also issued by Sweetule in with "Junior Service" sweet cigarettes in 1955 - whilst the second series was issued by Amalgamated Tobacco (a proper cigarette card, issued in 1959), Browne Bros. of Southend on Sea (with tea, in 1966), H.E. Empson & Son of Birmingham (with tea, in 1966), Musgrave Brothers Ltd of Cork (with tea, in 1964), Northern Co-Operative Society Ltd of Aberdeen (with tea, in 1966), Sketchley Cleaners (in 1959) and Wilcocks and Wilcocks Ltd of Exeter (with tea, in 1965).
Now in our updated British Trade Index these two sets by A.H.C. are put back together, and so the listing there reads :
A.H.C., London, N.15
Ace High Confectionery. Cards issued 1955-56.TROPICAL BIRDS. Sm. 67 x 36. Nd. (25). Letterpress back. Anonymous. See HX-13 ... AAH-040
WONDERS OF THE UNIVERSE. Sm. 69 x 38. Nd. (25). See HX-14 ... AAH-080