Here we have our third November issue, and again a set with lots of variations that we can now begin to explore.
The first thing I have to say is that today this card would need to be altered, and the man renamed to an Inuit, in order not to offend. The main reason for this is that the name on this card was not of their choosing, it was one imposed on them, by people who took over their lands. Then there is the simple fact that Alaska is home to many people, you cannot lump them all together under one name.
There seems to be few actual representations of the Inuit growing beards and moustaches. This is partially because the Inuit, and Native Americans, remove their facial hair, to stop it freezing. Curiously, though, it is also known that they suffer less from baldness as they age than the rest of the western world, which makes you think that the hair must be fairly strong, and take diligent work to remove so well. In addition, the Inuit diet is mostly comprised of sea life, which is rich in fat and protein , which is good for growing hair - though this has a sad side effect of lowering their bone mass and making them more prone to osteoporosis.
Our original reference book RB.16 – The Cigarette Card Issues of W.D. & H.O. Wills Parts I, II, and III (revised) and Part IV, published in 1950, lists this set as :
- 288. 25 PICTURESQUE PEOPLE OF THE EMPIRE. Fronts printed by letterpress in colour. Backs in grey, with descriptive text. Issued in New Zealand, between 1925-1930. Similar series issued by Ogden, Player, and United Tobacco Companies, (South) Ltd., South Africa.
By comparing the various versions, we know that the Wills version was produced by a different printing method (namely letterpress) to the Ogden`s set (which was lithographed). This may lead you to think that the Wills version was produced overseas, but it was not, for the printing date appears in the list in the Wills Works magazine, and that only listed sets printed in Great Britain and shipped abroad for issue, November 1928.
In our next reference book, which was RB.17, covering the issues of the British American Tobacco Company, published in 1952, the set is listed as :
- 200-288 PICTURESQUE PEOPLE OF THE EMPIRE. The recordings in W/288, RB.15/131 and RB.17/147 are summarised below.
A. Wills` Overseas issue
B. Player Overseas issue, with `Drumhead` cigarettes.
C. U.T.C. issue
D. Ogden Home issue.
In the front index of this book they confirm that the Wills issue was circulated in New Zealand, but they only give a year of issue, namely 1928.
It next appears in our original World Tobacco Issues Index, under section 5, for "Other Export issues" and sub-section 5.B, for "English Language Issues, 1923-30. Issued chiefly in New Zealand, some series in Malaya, Malta, and elsewhere". And it is recorded as :
- PICTURESQUE PEOPLE OF THE EMPIRE. Sm. Nd. (25). See RB.21/200-288.A ... W62-463
This text is the same in our updated World Tobacco Issues Index, but under section 6, because Wills had issued more sets in Great Britain after the publication of our original World Tobacco Issues Index, and these took space five, shunting the overseas issues along until after. The only difference in the listing though is a new card code, of W675-665.