Picture started out a bit light, but as promised I have now zhush-ed it up a bit.
Here we have Milton`s Cottage, the former home of John Milton, at Chalfont St Giles, not so far off the Metropolitan Railway Line. It was built in the sixteenth century and is pretty typical of the construction of that time, being a timber frame, infilled with short, horizontal wooden blocks in order to make the frame stronger and also to allow plasterboard to be fixed in places where the frame was not there.
In fact, timber framed homes took over from stone as far back as the Neolithic period, though at that time they were but rough shelters cobbled together from branches and infilled with animal skins. It was the Chinese who developed the skills of butting planks of wood together and fixing them with elaborate joints to ensure they would not sway in winds.
In Medieval times it was still the way that everybody built their homes, especially in areas near forests - in areas with fewer trees you get more homes being built with plaster infill, and this idea spread out to the forested areas too because it was cheaper and quicker. And homes, including the one on our card today, were still built this way right into the mid seventeeth century, though visitors to that house today will not see the plasterboard that appears on this card, to them the building will be made of brick, and there is a good reason for that, which we will explore tomorrow
This picture also shows the cottage as being two storeys, which was a later addition to the original cottage, in the eighteenth century, a long time after Milton had left it. Shockingly, it was almost sold to America, on which it was due to be taken apart here and reassembled over there - but it was saved by public subscription in 1887, since when it has become a museum of Milton`s works plus some of his belongings and personal effects.
Now this set is often overlooked, and mistaken for the version which was issued by John Player. More than that, our set was not even issued in the United Kingdom, something that is hinted at by the top right hand corner of our card, which reads "WILLS`S WORLD-RENOWNED CIGARETTES". In fact it was issued way down in Australia, and, curiously, first, before the John Player home issue version, which was issued in 1929. In fact Player also changed the reverses, adding the decorative frame, and altering the bottom cartouche, whilst on the front they deleted all wording sans the caption of the shrine depicted.
The Wills version we show here appears in our original Wills reference book, part four, as :
- 271. 25. THE NATION`S SHRINES. Large cards, size 71 x 55 m/m. Fronts printed by letterpress in colour. Backs in grey, with descriptive text, inscribed "W.D.& H.O. WILLS`S WORLD-RENOWNED CIGARETTES". Issued in Australia, between 1925-1930. Similar series issued by Player.
It was, however, never listed amongst the list of dates that appeared in the Wills` "Works Magazine", which means it was printed over in Australia, and the date of that printing was not recorded - which explains the rather sketchy date of issue provided in our original Wills reference book, part four.
Its next appearance comes in our original World Tobacco Issues Index, recorded as :
- THE NATION`S SHRINES. Md. 70 x 55 m/m. Nd. (25) See W/271 ... W62-275
There is, as you will have noticed, no reference to the Player`s version, and likewise there is no mention of the Wills version with the Player`s listing. And this is still the case in our updated World Tobacco Issues Index, the only difference being a new card code, of W675-415
To close, I have to wonder at the title, which is, I feel, taking a bit of a liberty with the true meaning of "shrine", which is a holy place, through association with a saint, god, or divinity, or because a relic of that person is either contained within the building, or interred within its grounds. And many of these do not.
The cards included are :
- Anne Hathaway`s Cottage, Shottery
- Blarney Castle, Ireland
- Bootham Bar, York Minster
- Cashel, Ireland
- Clonmacnoise, Ireland
- Fountains Abbey
- Furness Abbey
- Glastonbury Abbey
- Haddon Hall
- Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh
- John Knox`s House, Edinburgh
- Kenilworth Castle
- Manorbier Castle, Wales
- Milton`s Cottage, Chalfont, St. Giles (note the errant comma between the Chalfont and the St.)
- The Cloisters, Newstead Abbey
- St. David`s Cathedral, Wales
- St. Paul`s Cathedral
- Shakespeare`s Birthplace, Stratford-on-Avon
- Stoke Poges Church
- Stonehenge
- Tintern Abbey
- The Tower of London
- Warwick Castle
- Henry VIII`s Chapel, Westminster Abbey
- Winchester Cathedral