This may be a First World War set, but it is included because at the end of the Second World War, flags flew in multitudes, and, at the moment, for the eightieth anniversary of V.E. Day, lots of houses are displaying flags, and other decorations. I love to see them as I pass on the bus, but I do wonder why that one house is so keen, did they, perhaps, have a relative who fought, young, and is maybe still alive? Or did their ancestor(s) go to war and not return, and they are determined that as long as a relative survives they will never be forgotten?
If your house is decorated, do, please, reveal why....
This card turns out to reveal a really intriguing story. It was sent to me as a scan, named as "Carreras", and when I started at the beginning, as I always do, I found it recorded in the 1950 London Cigarette Card Company catalogue for British Cigarette Card Issues between 1888 and 1919, under Carreras, as :
- 1. Col. 6 Flags of the Allies (shaped) H.49.
odds sets
1 Grouped Flags
A. "All Arms" Cigarettes ............ - 20/-
B. "Black Cat" Cigarettes .......... - 40/-
5 Allies Flags ................................... 10/- to 30/- -
H.49 takes us to the original pair of handbooks, published, uniform with that volume, in 1950, where it is listed as :
- H.49 FLAGS OF THE ALLIES - Shaped (adopted title). Shaped for buttonhole. Fronts per. Fig.49 in colour. Issued by Carreras. Unnumbered.
Grouped Flag - Union Jack and four Allies flags as illustrated in Fig. 49-A. Two backs :
A. "All Arms" Cigarettes
B. "Black Cat" Cigarettes
Allies` Flags - One illustrated in Fig, 49-B. All with "Black Cat" Cigarettes back. Series of 5 :
1. Belgium (black, yellow and red)
2. France (Red, white and blue - vertical)
3. Japan (red and white sun)
4. Russia (red, white and blue - horizontal)
5. Union Jack
Now in 1956, a second pair of books were issued, the catalogue and handbook for British Cigarette Card Issues 1920-1940, though they also updated the earlier pair. So in the catalogue, we read :
Carreras Ltd.
Pre-1919 issues.
See additional information under Ha.49 and amend Set.1 to the following
- 1. Col. 6 * Flags of the Allies (shaped) ... Ha.49
1. Grouped Flags :-
A. "All Arms" Cigarettes
B. "Black Cat" Cigarettes
2. Allies Flags (5) :-
A. "Black Cat" Cigarettes
B. "Life Ray" Cigarettes
Whilst in the handbook, this is updated to read :
- Ha.49. FLAGS OF THE ALLIES - Shaped. It should be noted that Carreras` name does not appear on the cards. Two printings are known of the "Allied Flags" -
A. "Black Cat" Cigarettes
B. "Life Ray" Cigarettes
Their next appearance is in our World Tobacco Issues Index, under Carreras section 1.B, for "Miscellaneous Issues", as
- FLAGS OF THE ALLIES (A) Small, shaped. Unnd. Without captions ... C18-8
1. Series with button-hole attachment. See H.49 and Ha. 49. Series of 6 - Grouped flags on Union Jack and five Allies Flags. Brand issues, inscribed
(a) "All Arms"
(b) "Black Cat"
(c) "Life Ray" Cigarettes
2. Series with pin as flagstaff. Inscribed with Black Cat trade mark and initials "J.C.C."
One seen (French flag)
And by the time of our updated version, this has been reduced, to
- FLAGS OF THE ALLIES (A) Small, shaped. Unnd. Without captions. See H.49 ... C151-090
A. Series with button-hole attachment
B. Series with pin as flagstaff. Inscribed with Black Cat trade mark and initials "J.C.C."
However, then I discovered something totally amazing, and that is that the card we show above was not actually issued by Carreras at all.
It turns out that they only issued one version, the one with the "Black Cat" Cigarettes trademark, on the back, which is showing here as a quick comparison.
The front of our card, above, may be exactly the same as the Carreras one, but it turns out, after a lot of research, to have been issued by another firm entirely. They were called Ray & Co. Ltd, and they are actually listed in our "Directory of British Issuers" (RB.7, first published in 1946) as :
- RAY & Co. Ltd.
238/240, City Road, London, E.C.
Name carried on by Carreras Limited (see entry under that name)
Cigarette cards issued during war 1914/18 with "Life Ray" and "All Arms" Cigarettes
No issues since.
I therefore replaced my steps, to find that in the 1950 London Cigarette Card Company catalogue for British Cigarette Card Issues between 1888 and 1919, there is a listing for Ray & Co, but only for this set :
- Ray & Co. Ltd, London
odds sets
1. BW 25 War Series - 1-25 - Battleships 25/- to 75/- -
2. Col. 75 War Series - 26-100 - British & Foreign Uniforms 8/6 to 25/- -
3. Col. 25 War Series - 101-125 - British & Dominion Unforms 15/6 to 45/-
Note that there is no Handbook code for this set, at this time. That only comes in the follow up catalogue, for issues 1920-1940, where the entry reads :
- Ray & Co. Ltd., London
Pre-1919 issues
See additional information under Ha.472
Though Ha.472 is only for the "War Series", it does include something very interesting, regarding another issuer, and that is :
- Ha.472. WAR SERIES (titled series). Numbered series of 125, issued in three sections. Nos. 1-25 (Battleships - black and white), Nos. 26-100 (British and Foreign Uniforms - coloured), Nos. 101-125 (British and Dominion uniforms - coloured).
Ray & Co., London - Pre-1919 tobacco issue.
Carreras & Marcianus, Montreal. Overseas tobacco issue Burdick C.250
Now Carreras & Marcianus was a firm of two halves :
"Carreras & Marcianus Cigarettes, Ltd, London" was actually started by Carreras, in 1904, as an "allied company". It was based at St. James` Place, in Aldgate, E.C.3, in premises that Carreras already owned, and its purpose was to trial, and then to produce cigarettes by machine. These were then retailed under the name of `Black Cat` Cigarettes. However we do know of an issue under the Carreras & Marcianus Cigarettes, Ltd, London name, a set of small folders, each of two coloured miniatures.
Then there was "Carreras & Marcianus Cigarettes of Canada, Ltd.", and, guess what, they issued the same "War Series" as Ray & Co.
The important thing about both of these Carreras and Marcianus-es is that they are listed in our original World Tobacco Issues Index as being an "Associate of Carreras". And in that same book, the entry for Ray & Co. Ltd, reads :
RAY & Co. Ltd, London
Associated with Carreras, Ltd. Cards issued about 1915
- WAR SERIES. Sm .67 x 36. See Ha.472 ... R-6-1
1. Nd. 1/ 25. (25) Battleships. Black and white
2. Nd. 26/100. (75) British & Foreign Uniforms. Coloured
3. Nd. 101-125. (25) British & Dominion Uniforms. Coloured.
It is not until the updated version of the World Tobacco Issues index that our set is allied to Ray & Co, with an entry that reads :
RAY & Co. Ltd., London
Associated with Carreras, Ltd. Cards issued about 1915. Includes brand issues inscribed "All Arms" and "Life Ray".
- FLAGS OF THE ALLIES (A) Min,, shaped for buttonhole. Brand issue. Unnd. ... R097-300
1. Grouped Flags, inscribed "All Arms" Cigarettes (1)
2. Individual Flags, inscribed "Life Ray" Cigarettes (5)
- WAR SERIES. Sm .67 x 36. See Ha.472 ... R097-800
1. Nd. 1/ 25. (25) Battleships. Black and white
2. Nd. 26/100. (75) British & Foreign Uniforms. Coloured
3. Nd. 101-125. (25) British & Dominion Uniforms. Coloured.
The section relating to our set does not mention an "H" code for the modern handbook, but there is one, still numbered H.49, which you may remember was cited with the Carreras entry, just not the Ray one - and that reads ;
- H.49. FLAGS OF THE ALLIES - Shaped (adopted title). Shaped for buttonhole. fronts per Fig. 49 in colour. Issuer`s name does not appear on the cards, Unnumbered.
I - Grouped Flag - Union Jack and four Allies` flags as illustrated in Fig.49-A
Carreras - "Black Cat" Cigarettes.
Ray - "All Arms" Cigarettes.
II - Allies` Flags - One illustrated in Fig. 59-B. Series of 5
Carreras - "Black Cat" Cigarettes.
Ray - "Life Ray" Cigarettes.
1. Belgium (black, yellow and red)
2. France (Red, white and blue - vertical)
3. Japan (red and white sun)
4. Russia (red, white and blue - horizontal)
5. Union Jack
To close, the very nature of this item, where the instructions tell you to bend the white, shaped, section down to fit in your buttonhole, would have led to its damage and eventual discarding - and to their rarity today.
And it seems an opportune moment to reveal that there was another "buttonhole" set of "Flags of the Allies", but using a different system where the entire item went straight down the buttonhole and left the top with the flags to stand out. These were issued by W.D. & H.O. Wills - and you can read about those elsewhere on this website, for they were ourCard of the Day for the 7th of May, 2024