Newsletter - 2022-02-05

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Lets start with a spot of musical fun, as today is World Ukulele Day. The ukulele looks a bit like a small guitar, but it is technically a member of the lute family, and it comes from Portugal. You will often find it is credited to be a Hawaiian instrument, and it did become very popular there, but it was not born there, it was brought over by three Portuguese cabinet makers who started to entertain the locals as a way of ingratiating themselves and then were presumably asked to make instruments for those they entertained. However the word “ukulele” is Hawaiian, it means “the jumping flea” and that was the nickname of a rather twitchy gentleman at the court of King Kalakaua, amongst whose many talents was being good at playing that instrument. 
Alas I cannot find a ukulele on any card, but I can find the man most associated with the ukulele today, and that is George Formby, otherwise known as “The Ukulele Man”, although his was not the traditional mini guitar shape but the banjo variety. In fact he had a predecessor, Cliff Edwards, who was known as Ukulele Ike, and often billed as “The Hottest Man in Town”, presumably for the speed of his fingers, as he is decidedly un-hot looking to my eyes, though it is definitely true that beauty, and handsomeness, is very much a personal pleasure which cannot always be explained in a logical manner. 
What George Formby added to the ukulele was spice, and his songs were just loaded with it, so much so that “When I'm Cleaning Windows” and “With My Little Stick Of Blackpool Rock” were banned by the BBC in the late 1930s for being too risque.  
An artist`s impression of George Formby can be found in John Player Film Stars third series 16/50. This tells us he was “The son of the late comedian of music hall fame… was born in Wigan on May 26th, 1904 [and] at the age of seven was apprenticed to a racing stable. He claims one record – in 1914, at the age of ten, he rode at Lingfield, suffering from mumps, and came in last! His weight was then one pound under four stone.” And this still makes him the youngest ever professional jockey. It’s not very in focus but you can see this feat immortalised on the Daily Mirror 
You can also find him on A & M Wix “Max Cigarettes” branded “Cinema Cavalcade” 175/250 
And look out for a modern set by Prism Leisure, issued in 1993, which starts with his music hall father, George Formby, and tells us that was not his real name, that the then “James Booth” changed his name after seeing the name Formby on the side of a railway carriage. It is a really well crafted set, so good that it is often sold as single cards on internet auctions. But you can see all of the cards at the George Formby website and click on each picture to show it in a larger size. And there is another website well worth a visit, which is Walter Greenwood`s

R. & J. Lea [tobacco : UK - Manchester] "Coronation Souvenir" (1937) 4/48 

Today in 1952 Queen Elizabeth II succeeded her father King George VI to the British throne. In this she became not only Queen of the United Kingdom but what used to be known as the Commonwealth; Canada, Australia and New Zealand, plus many smaller areas. However the actual Coronation did not take place for over a year, to allow for mourning; it eventually took place on the 2nd of June 1953. When her father died she had been on a tour with her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. They had left England at the end of January and at the time the news came in they were in Kenya, at Treetops Lodge, a structure built into the tree canopy.  

Her first appearance on cards seems to have been in 1935, in W.D. & H.O. Wills "The Reign of King George V" as card 36/50, which also shows her sister Princess Margaret. The pair also appear on Wills "Our King and Queen" (1937) 4/50 and 50/50. I wonder if she really ever imagined how their lives would turn out.

This year she will become the first British Monarch to ever have been on the throne for seventy years. To mark this, there will be no May Bank Holiday Weekend, instead it will be moved to June, when both Thursday 2 June and Friday 3 June will make a four-day weekend. So mark that in your diary now. 

Anonymous - British American Tobacco  [tobacco : O/S] "Characters from the Works of Charles Dickens" (1919) 8/40

Today is Charles Dickens Day, because it is his birthday. So lets have a look at a few cards which are a lot less visible than the more usually featured Players “Characters from Dickens”. 

Our curious, but attractive, set has the characters on light green backgrounds, this is fairly hard to come by, for it was issued anonymously – but actually it was from the stable of British American Tobacco -  ZB-15 Characters from the works of Charles Dickens : a series of 40.

Some say that the oldest card of him is Taddy`s “Autographs” series 1, issued in 1912, where he is number 9. It has a descriptive back which tells us he was “Born 1812, died 1870. One of the most popular novelists of the world He began life as a clerk and newspaper reporter : later he became editor of the “Daily News” and “Household Words”. His works include “Pickwick Papers”, “Oliver Twist” “David Copperfield” and many others”.

He also appeared in John Player “Authors and Poets” and that was issued in 1900, as card 17 of 20. It has a quote to the reverse, as do all the cards, this one is “Ah, if I had only brought a cigar with me, I think I could have established my identity.” I have not been able to find which book this comes from – anyone out there know? 

And R & J Hill Ltd issued “Historic Places from Dickens Classics” a series of 50, which is all places associated with the writer, some are homes and places to do with him personally, whilst others are places that formed ideas for locations for his novels, all but card one which is a portrait of the great man himself.  You can see all of those at The Charles Dickens Page  And you can click on each card to see it larger. 

Today is National Kite Flying Day. Kites are great, and all you need is a hill, and a strong wind, plus plenty of enthusiasm. It is miraculous how the simple pieces of cloth and wood soar into the breeze. It is also a good introduction into the history of flight, but more about that later. The first kites came from China, and one was brought back to Europe, as a souvenir, by Marco Polo. The Chinese used them in celebration but they were soon used for scientific experiments. In 1752, Benjamin Franklin sent one up in a thunderstorm; this is shown on Brooke Bond “Inventors and Inventions” 15/50, where it tells us that the intention was to produce a spark and show the electrical nature of the storm. It also tells us that whilst his experiment worked, others were electrocuted in the attempt. Later on, when the World went to War, kites were often used for targets for gunnery training, and you can see that on W.D. & H.O. Wills “Life in the Royal Navy” 18/50. 
These are simple kites, but a nod must be given to another style of kite, the box kite, which has a rigid “box” shape construction. These were invented in 1893 by Lawrence Hargrave, an Englishman who had moved to Australia. A multiple of his kite, several strapped together, rose to a height of sixteen feet, and was soon attracting the attention of none less than Samuel Cody. It also attracted other attention, and few of us cannot see the link between the box kite and early aircraft, a fact which is reinforced by the nickname for these early machines, “kites” 
 

In 1540 the first race meet in England is supposed to have taken place. This was at Roodee Fields, in Chester. There is some support for this, as Chester Racecourse is still known as the Roodee, or Roody. and it is recognised by the Guinness World Records as the oldest racecourse still in operation, though there is a bit of doubt as to whether this date is correct – 1511 is thought to be when the first race was run. Another point in its favour is that the races were run on simply an open field, and Chester is the shortest racecourse on the calendar at just over a mile, which would point to it just being a field. In fact it was very much an open field until a grandstand was constructed in 1817, before then, as now, spectators would gather on the Chester City walls and simply watch for free. There is very little recorded about the early races, but in medieval times the prize was a set of bells for the horse`s bridle. 

 National Umbrella Day. So “Do You Know” the origin of the umbrella? W.D. & H.O. Wills tells us that it is an Italian word, umbra being Latin for shade. However it was not Italian in origin for they appear in Assyrian tomb carvings, where they are used as a symbol of royalty. It says that “in Eastern lands Umbrellas still retain some of this symbolic significance.” The card also tells us that they were first used in England in the 17 Century, but the first person who carried one regularly, and popularised them, was a traveller called Jonas Hanway. Now we assume that he is shown on the front of the card, for he has the same hairstyle. However it does not mention the fact that he founded the Marine Society which trained poor and neglected boys to serve in the Royal Navy, provided them with changes of clothing whilst at sea, and according to a tablet in Westminster Abbey he was also a benefactor to infants, and to women and girls who were, or would otherwise have ended up, making their living on the streets. The one thing I have not been able to find out is how he came to carry the umbrella. But one day I will. 
The alternative to the umbrella is the parasol, which appears on some oriental cards and on the most charming set by Allen and Ginter, entitled “Parasol Drill”. This was issued in 1888, and the fifty cards show pretty girls with parasols – but they also refer to terms used for drilling in the military, so “In Review” shows a beauty gazing through a telescope. You can see these at http://www.codex99.com/design/parasol-drill.html

For National White Shirt Day we are returning to football here and celebrating Leeds United who played in an all white strip from 1961 to 1964, this was totally white! Not sure how the grass stains ever lifted, but the laundry staff are to be applauded. From 1964 to 1971 the strip was basically the same but they had a blue or yellow logo added to their chest, with the exception of one match, this being in August 1967 against Dynamo Zagreb, where they wore blue and orange banded socks. From 1972 until 1976 they also added blue flashes to their socks. It remains basically white to this day
A white shirt is supposed to show class, this comes simply because it was easier for a rich person to either buy a new shirt more often or to have the staff to keep it clean, someone who worked hard for a living in the grime of the everyday would find this harder, so they would often wear a lighter bluer shirt that showed less wear. In fact this is the origin of “white collar” and “blue collar” workers. A white shirt is also supposed to denote coolness, though I remain unconvinced, for clothing is just a cover, it is what is underneath that truly counts.