A Cartophilic Cornucopia

Yes, come on in to this palace of pleasure, and don`t be shy.
For whilst this is primarily the residence of all the little expansions that are tied into other posts, so as not to interrupt the flow of your reading, it is also a really fun place to hang out and browse all on its ownsome, with all manner of little snippets to amaze and excite you.
By the way, there is no order to this section, the blogs simply rise to the top as they are updated, so that you can tell of changes new, and follow the progress as we make it.

4th July 2025

A Cartophilic Year

This is a newish project, which lists cards by year, and month, of issue, and it was suggested to us by several readers who thought such would be very useful for research and social media.

30th April 2025

A for Air Raid Precautions

This was growing too huge for a "Card of the Day", so we now have this new blog post, "A for Air Raid Precautions".

6th April 2025

RB.1 - FAULKNER

In which we take a look at our first ever reference book, and the company whose issues appear in it.

4th April 2025

RB.14 - Wills Part III

RB.14 – The Cigarette Card Issues of W.D. & H.O. Wills Parts I and II (revised) and Part III

4th April 2025

RB.11 - The Cigarette Card Issues of W.D. & H.O. Wills Part I (revised) and Part II

RB.11 – The Cigarette Card Issues of W.D. & H.O. Wills Part I (revised) and Part II

4th April 2025

RB.3 - W.D. & H.O. Wills

RB.3 - The Cigarette Card Issues of W.D. & H.O. Wills

12th March 2025

Gurd, Eric

Eric Gurd was a collector, historian, researcher, author, editor of “Cartophilic World” magazine, and our first research editor.

4th November 2024

F for Fawkes and Fireworks

With the flashes and percussions surrounding me, I sit to update another rolling research blog. And this one is dedicated to Guy Fawkes, for it is in his honour that I am so surrounded.

31st October 2024

H for Hallowe`en

An annually updated bewitching brew, which takes you deep down into the darkest recesses of our collections.

1st October 2024

B for Borough Arms

This intriguing set of cards continues to fascinate collectors, but there are several things they may not realise which would enhance their appreciation of it all the more. The first fac

5th August 2023

Other Reference Books

Have you ever wondered why our World Tobacco Index is numbered RB.22 (or Reference Book 22) ?

8th July 2023

Cruse, Alfred James

So lets start with a bit of luck, because I have found a "Pen Portrait" or miniature biography, of Alfred James Cruse, in the Cartophilic Society`s first magazine, "The Bulletin", Volume 1, Number

9th June 2023

RB.13 Godfrey Phillips

RB.13 – The Cigarette Card Issues of Godfrey Phillips

1st June 2023

A for ANZAC

As our card tells us, the ANZAC acronym actually stands for the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps.

29th May 2023

C For The Cigarette Card Review

One of the more unusual card magazines was this one, and it remains quite hard to come by today.

28th March 2023

RB.2 - R. & J. Hill

RB.2 – The Cigarette Card Issues of R. & J. Hill, Ltd

28th March 2023

RB.4 Gallaher

RB.4 – The Cigarette Card Issues of Gallaher, Ltd.

28th March 2023

RB.5 Abdulla, Adkin, Anstie

RB.5 – The Cigarette Card Issues of Abdulla & Co., Adkin & Sons, & E. & W. Anstie

28th March 2023

RB.6 Ardath

RB.6 – The Cigarette Card Issues of Ardath Tobacco Co.

28th March 2023

RB.7 - Directory of British Cigarette Card Issues

RB.7 – Directory of British Cigarette Card Issuers (Past and Present)

28th March 2023

RB.8 - Glossary of Cartophilic Terms

RB.8 – Cartophilic Terms

28th March 2023

RB9 - Lambert & Butler

RB.9 – The Cigarette Card Issues of Lambert & Butler

28th March 2023

RB.10 - W.A. & A.C. Churchman

RB.10 – The Cigarette Card Issues of W.A. & A.C. Churchman

28th March 2023

RB.12 - James Taddy

RB.12 – Taddy

28th March 2023

RB.15 Ogden

RB.15 – The Cigarette Card Issues of Ogden`s Ltd Part I All issues excluding “Guinea Gold” series

28th March 2023

RB.16 Wills IV

RB.16 – The Cigarette Card Issues of W.D. & H.O. Wills Parts I, II, and III (revised) and Part IV

28th March 2023

RB.17 John Player

RB.17 – The Cigarette Card Issues of John Player

28th March 2023

RB.18 Tobacco War

RB.18 – The Tobacco War Booklet

28th March 2023

RB.19 Wills V

RB.19 – The Cigarette Card Issues of W.D. & H.O. Wills Parts I to IV (revised) and Part V

28th March 2023

RB.20 Australian Misc

RB.20 – The Australasian Miscellaneous Booklet

28th March 2023

RB.21 British-American Tobacco

RB.21 – The British-American Tobacco Company Booklet

Charles Lane Bagnall and his daughter Dorothy

1st February 2023

Bagnall, Charles Lane & Dorothy

Colonel Charles Lane Bagnall D.S.O. M.C. T.D. F.P.R.S.I. is considered the Father of Cartophily.

A black and white photograph of A.E. Cherry, the founder of the Cameric Club.

31st January 2023

Cherry, Arthur Eric – the founder of the Cameric Club

An article from 1946 pays its respects to Arthur Eric Cherry, a significant figure in card collecting who lost his life in WW2.

30th January 2023

Evans, Idrsyn Oliver

So let us chat, first of all, about I. O. Evans. or to give him his full name Idrisyn Oliver Evans.

29th January 2023

Osborne, Charles Glidden

Charles Glidden Osborne would become the co-founder and first President of the Cartophilic Society. His proudest moment came when the Society was incorporated on 31 Dec 1942.

29th January 2023

Rundle, Aylmer Maurice

Aylmer Maurice Rundle was born on January 16th 1902 in Burma, and brought up in Jersey, part of the Channel Islands, but his father, Cubitt Sindall Rundle, had been born in Calcutta, India some tim

28th January 2023

Wharton-Tigar, Edward

Our third President was Edward Clement Wharton-Tigar M.B.E. F.C.I.S. And we start this tiny tribute to him with a card which you may think of as strange :

10.105 - Cartophilic World May June 1953 - cover

5th November 2022

C for Coronation

How many of us remember the last one in 1953 ?

21st July 2022

P for Peruvian Cartophilic Society

Some of our readers might be amazed by what I am going to tell you but in the 1950s there was a Cartophilic Society in Peru.

HOU-190 [trade : UK] Van Houten “Chinese Scenes” (A) (1908) Un/7

4th July 2022

V for Van Houten

Many thanks to Patrick Marks for scanning these cards from his collection,

16th May 2022

W for Women`s Football

Now I have been corrected from my assumption that the first recorded woman`s football match was in 1894,

23rd March 2022

D for Drapkin

And now a correction, because we have had an email from Ian Irvine saying that the Smith's card was not the earliest cartophilic portrait of Miss Mary Pickford, for she appears in Major Drapkin's "

3rd January 2022

W for Wong Liu-Tsong

Today saw the birthday of the first truly internationally famous Chinese-American film star, Wong Liu-Tsong. You may not immediately recognise her name, for she used another, namely Anna May Wong.

14th November 2021

Cartophilists at War

Our latest section, telling the story of cartophily, and cartophilists, during the Second World War.

4th September 2021

T for "TADDY"

This is an article which won The Cartophilic Cup, and we are delighted to be able to reproduce it here.

8th April 2021

A tribute to Mary Pickford

Mary Pickford was a legendary figure in early cinema and featured on many card issues. This article explores her life and cartophilic connections.

A cigarette card from the Thomson & Porteous 'V.C. Heroes' set of 1916.

1st September 2020

Victoria Cross archive

A once in a lifetime opportunity came up late in August at a Bonhams Military Auction: the chance to buy the archive of a man called H. A. Forbes... and Mr. Forbes made Victoria Crosses.

Card showing Evelyn Lintott of Leeds City, who was killed in 2016.

11th November 2019

Football’s fallen heroes of WW1

A cartophilic tribute to some of the footballers that lost their lives in WW1.

Donald Simpson Bell VC, from a set issued by J Lees in 1912.

8th November 2019

A passion for military and football cards

We all collect our cards, but how much do we look into the card subject itself?

A Taddy 'Clown' card in damaged condition

1st September 2018

A surprise purchase in Hong Kong

An unexpected surprise awaited B. Joyce in a collectors' shop in Kowloon’s Mon Kok district of Hong Kong!

A Cartophilic Cornucopia

Yes, come on in to this palace of pleasure, and don`t be shy.

For whilst this is primarily the residence of all the little expansions that are tied into other posts, so as not to interrupt the flow of your reading, it is also a really fun place to hang out and browse all on its ownsome, with all manner of little snippets to amaze and excite you.

By the way, there is no order to this section, the blogs simply rise to the top as they are updated, so that you can tell of changes new, and follow the progress as we make it.

A Cartophilic Year

A for Air Raid Precautions

RB.1 - FAULKNER

RB.14 - Wills Part III

RB.11 - The Cigarette Card Issues of W.D. & H.O. Wills Part I (revised) and Part II

RB.3 - W.D. & H.O. Wills

Gurd, Eric

F for Fawkes and Fireworks

H for Hallowe`en

B for Borough Arms

Other Reference Books

Cruse, Alfred James

RB.13 Godfrey Phillips

A for ANZAC

C For The Cigarette Card Review

RB.2 - R. & J. Hill

RB.4 Gallaher

RB.5 Abdulla, Adkin, Anstie

RB.6 Ardath

RB.7 - Directory of British Cigarette Card Issues

RB.8 - Glossary of Cartophilic Terms

RB9 - Lambert & Butler

RB.10 - W.A. & A.C. Churchman

RB.12 - James Taddy

RB.15 Ogden

RB.16 Wills IV

RB.17 John Player

RB.18 Tobacco War

RB.19 Wills V

RB.20 Australian Misc

RB.21 British-American Tobacco

Bagnall, Charles Lane & Dorothy

Cherry, Arthur Eric – the founder of the Cameric Club

Evans, Idrsyn Oliver

Osborne, Charles Glidden

Rundle, Aylmer Maurice

Wharton-Tigar, Edward

C for Coronation

P for Peruvian Cartophilic Society

V for Van Houten

W for Women`s Football

D for Drapkin

W for Wong Liu-Tsong

Cartophilists at War

T for "TADDY"

A tribute to Mary Pickford

Victoria Cross archive

Football’s fallen heroes of WW1

A passion for military and football cards

A surprise purchase in Hong Kong