Here we have a kind of seaplane, or "amphibian", which is a class of garden wildlife which includes frogs, toads and newts, but in total, worldwide, contains over eight thousand different species which you can see at wikipedia/amphibians. They are also great natural pest controllers, eating mosquitoes, flies, caterpillars, flying ants, and a variety of beetles, some larger than themselves.
Sadly they are on the decline, due to global warming, so if you do have one in your garden you are lucky.
I am delighted to be able to use this set as a Card of the Day because it is very complex, and really needs a home page, which this will be. It also has a sibling of sorts, which adds to the confusion, so we can discuss that here too.
Let us start with our set, which first appears is in our John Player reference book, RB.17, issued in 1950, where it is described as :
6. 50 AEROPLANES or AEROPLANES (CIVIL). Small cards. Fronts in colour. Backs in grey with descriptive text, adhesive. Special album issued. Numbered series
A. Home issue, August 1935 - titled "Aeroplanes (Civil)" and inscribed "Selected by the Editor of "The Aeroplane".
B. Irish issue, July 1935 - titled "Aeroplanes". Descriptive text differs from Home issue on cards 6, 8, 10, 19, 25, 31 and 33.
Three varieties are known in the home issue for card 42 -
Front Back
(a) Heinkel H.E. (b) Heinkel H.E.
(a) Heinkel H.E. (b) Heinkel H.E.70A
(a) Heinkel H.E.70A (b) Heinkel H.E.70A
This is all it says. However in RB.21, our British American Tobacco booklet, issued two years after, though it is listed underJohn Player, it is revealed that they were not the only issuer - the full line up being :
I. Small cards
- A. Player Home issue – titled “Aeroplanes (Civil)”
- B. Player Irish issue – titled “Aeroplanes”
- C. Anonymous issue, with letterpress on back. Titled “Aeroplanes of Today”
- D. U.T.C. issue - titled “Aeroplanes of Today”
- 1. Back inscribed “For an album send 6d. to Box 78, Cape Town” - part of a newsletter, scroll down to Tuesday, 16th May 2023
- 2. Back inscribed “For an album send 6d. to Box 1006, Cape Town”II. Medium cards, size 67 x 61 m/m
- E. Albert issue. Titled “Aeroplanes (Civils).” Picture same size as in I but wide margin above inscribed “Cigarettes Albert”. Back in brown, with descriptive text in French.
Note that one of these versions are already used, and linked in. They lead to pages which explain those particular varieties in more detail.
If we look at these in our original World Tobacco Issues Index we find that the descriptions are :
- (A & B) John Player - in section 2.C, "cards with adhesive backs. Special albums issued" as : AEROPLANES or AEROPLANES (CIVIL). Sm. Nd. (50). See RB.21/217-6 ... P72-151
A. Home Issue, titled "Aeroplanes (Civil)
B. Irish issue, titled "Aeroplanes"- (C) Anonymous - at the back of the book, under "Anonymous issues (1) with letterpress on back" - section 2.C (b) for "Overseas issues through British American Tobacco", as : "AEROPLANES OF TODAY. Sm. Nd. (50). See RB.21/217-6C ... ZB6-1
- (D) The United Tobacco Companies (South) Ltd. South Africa - under section 2.A, for "issues 1918-1943, cards in English only", as : AEROPLANES OF TODAY. Sm. 68 x 36. Nd. (50). Back inscribed (a) "Box 78" (b) "Box 1006", without firm`s name. Special album issued. See RB.21/217-6.D ... U14-11
- (E) Cigarettes Albert - actually a brand, used by British American Tobacco, and therefore catalogued under them in section 2 for "Issues quoting brand names", sub section 2.A for "Cigarettes Albert", which were was not just issued in Belgium, but in the Belgian Congo too. This set is described as : "AEROPLANES (CIVILS). Md. 67 x 61. Nd. (50). See RB.21/217-6.E ... B116-51
As far as dates of issue, the British American Tobacco “Albert” set only says 1935. John Player issued it that year too, but, curiously, in Ireland first, in July 1935, a month earlier than the home issue. The United Tobacco, and the anonymous issues were the following year, 1936.
By the way the text tells us that the cards were “Selected by the Editor of “The Aeroplane”. This was C. G. Grey and he remained editor until November 1939. His actual name was Charles Grey Grey and he was also the co-founder of the magazine, in partnership with Mr. Victor Sassoon, who was later to be knighted. The first edition was in 1911 and he stayed as editor until November 1939. He also edited Jane`s "All The World`s Aircraft" from 1916 until 1940. However he then became rather unpopular with the general public due to his open admiration for Germany, though it was really only in the way that they had gone from not being allowed to fly anything but gliders, to becoming one of the world`s leading air nations - but this could well be why only Mr. Sassoon was knighted.
Now the other set is also called "Aeroplanes" in some of its printings, but as you can see from this picture they are easy to spot on sight, with a very striking gold border.
The first mention of this version is in our reference book RB.16 – The Cigarette Card Issues of W.D. & H.O. Wills Parts I, II, and III (revised) and Part IV, which was published in 1950, as :
122. 50 AEROPLANES. Fronts lithographed in colour, gilt borders. Backs in grey-green, with descriptive text. General Overseas issues, about 1925 ;-
A. Wills` name at base of back.
B. Anonymous backs.
Similar series issued by Bear and Player (titled “Aeroplane Series”.)
There was no reference book to Thomas Bear. However, the original John Player reference book, RB.17, issued in 1950, the same year as the Wills book part IV, and describes this version as :
5. AEROPLANE SERIES. Small cards. Fronts in colour, gilt border. Backs in grey, with descriptive text. Numbered series of 50. Overseas issue, about 1926. Similar series issued by Bear, Wills and Anonymous (all called "Aeroplanes")
In our original World Tobacco Issues Index, published in 1956, the versions are recorded as
- A) Wills - under section 5.B "English Language issues, 1923-30, issued chiefly in New Zealand, Malaya, Malta, and elsewhere", as : AEROPLANES. Sm. Nd. (50). See W/122.A ... W62-435
- B) Anonymous - sent to the back of the book, under section 2 English Language Issues (1) with letterpress on the back, and sub sections 2C (issues 1919-1940) and b. (overseas issues through B.A.T.. Small size 67-68 x 35-36 m/m unless stated. It is first up in that section, described as : AEROPLANES. Sm. Nd. (50). See W/122.B ... ZB6-0. At which point I must say that I have not seen any other “0” suffixes, all the rest start at -1. So does this mean that our set was a late arrival, and quickly slid into place above “Aeroplanes of Today” without needing to reset a large quantity of type? Anyone know? And, even more curiously, by the time of our updated World Tobacco Issues Index, it fits in as 010 as normal for a starting set.
- (C) Thomas Bear & Sons. Ltd. - an associate of B.A.T., under their section 1. for English Language issues, issued overseas, in the Channel Islands, East Africa, the Far East and New Zealand, and catalogued as : AEROPLANES. Sm. 67 x 35. Nd. (50). See W/122 ... B34-1
- (D) John Player - under section 3, export issues without I.T.C. clause, sub section 3.B, issues 1923-30, chiefly in New Zealand, Malaya and Siam, and catalogued as AEROPLANE SERIES. Sm. Nd. (50). See RB.17/5... P72-183