Newsletter - 2022-09-03

Saturday, 27th August 2022

Here we have Alan Ball, who started at Blackpool in September 1961 as an apprentice, having been turned down by Bolton and Wolverhampton Wanderers, both of whom said he was too small, though curiously he had been connected with, and played for Wolverhampton Wanderers junior team whilst at school. Bolton Wanderers was his second choice. He then managed to get a slot at Blackpool, through a friend of his father`s. 

He is chiefly remembered now for being in the 1966 World Cup, and perhaps for being the youngest member of the squad, aged just 21. After that , he left Blackpool in 1966 and was signed by Everton, in whose strip he appears here. 

After his playing career was over he went into coaching, and managed several teams. He died, of a heart attack, in 2007. 

The curious coincidence with this card was that I planned to give you Ginger Cat Appreciation Week, and as Alan Ball had ginger hair, he was card one in the theme. However after I had put him in the media gallery and started looking for ginger cat cards I realised one card of a ginger cat was only possible if I counted an obscure reference to one on the reverse of a card. So I hunted, quickly, for another theme. Blackpool seemed to be a bit more reasonable to source cards from, but imagine my surprise when Alan Ball turned out to be connected with Blackpool too.... 

Our original British Trade Index part II tells us that this set is from the "Footballers Grouping" which appears in full with the Card of the Day for October 19 2024, simply because that was the first football set ever to be issued by A & B.C. Gum, in 1958-1959. All the other sets are tackled like today`s, in as much as they simply repeat their section of the listing, and not how it interacts with the other sets.

 So today`s card is listed as  :

FOOTBALLERS GROUPING (A). Md. or Lg. 8 backs illustrated at Fig. ABF-10. Nd. ... ABF-10

9. Portrait in rectangle with rounded corners, white border team name in pennant at base. Back in yellow. 81 x 55. (101) 
   1. Nos. 1/54. No. 1 is unnumbered team picture of West Bromwich Albion, back "Football Check List". Anonymous team pennants, see set ZJ12-8.1, were issued with this section. 
   2. Nos.55/101. No. 55 is unnumbered team picture of Manchester City, back "Football Check List". Anonymous Metalised Team Emblems, see Set ZJ12-8.2 were issued with this section

Before we race ahead, there is a curious anomaly with the base set, and that is that you can find the cards with or without a football logo in the banner which holds the player`s name, and in just one instance, shown at the Trading Card Database/Joe Baker  you can find that one card with and without the logo. Unless anyone out there knows of another card which has both? You can also find a checklist of the set at the Trading Card Database/1968 - as well as a really curious item, the original negatives. 

Now as far as the first part of this set, numbered 1/54, that appears as our Card of the Day for the 2nd of September, 2023 - however, as the anonymous extras are specific to one part of the set only they are tackled in detail on each page, so here we only have the metalised team emblems. That entry reads : 

We know that the packets for this set cost 3d. and the emblems are advertised on the front thereof. However it does not say how many cards you got. 

Sunday, 28th August 2022

The issue date of this 75 card version does not seem to appear anywhere, so does anyone out there have any ideas? Secondly this set is stated to be cards 1-50 of the standard version plus 25 extra cards.As far as a list I had a breakthrough, as there is a list online, with card pictures - check the av8r blog / Wills Aviation. 

The connection with Blackpool concerns a ride in the pleasure gardens called Sir Hiram Maxim`s Captive Flying Machine  - which is thought to be the oldest in Europe. It was immensely successful, but he was never satisfied with it.

If you look at postcards of the 1904 Earls Court Exhibition you will spot one there, either in the distance or fully featured; one of the best of them is a really close up view captioned "Fly by Night".

The survival of the one at Blackpool proves this entirely wrong. 

Monday, 29th August 2022

The clue here was that Lord Derby was the first to physically light the illuminations at Blackpool, in 1934. What I don`t know is why he was chosen. Do any of you? 

WelI, confession time, I intended to make the rest of the week all his fellow lighters uppers, but have drawn a blank on getting cards.

The famous racehorse Red Rum was one, when, in 1977, he walked over the switch. He does appear on a set of "Grand National Winners 1976-1995", twenty large cards by G.D.S. Cards issued in 1997, but it is not a set I have, or know anyone with. And he also appears, as an artists impression, on the back of a set of playing cards advertising Old Holborn Tobacco.

Another exciting illuminatrix was a Canberra bomber, though it actually just flashed its lights as it flew over and the illuminations were started up by someone on the ground. The exciting thing about this was that it was "assisted by Douglas Bader" in  some way I have not discovered - yet. Unless he was the switch flicker on the ground ?  

At this time, 1909-1929, Gallaher was cornering the market in long sets, most usually of a hundred cards, even the Great War VC Heroes, though split into smaller sections of twenty five, makes up two sets of a hundred. Our set is one of the oddities, for it is only seventy five cards, and it has a very unusual solid orangey yellow border. But in the very same month another set, of twenty five cards, with the same border, was issued. That was called "Champion Animals and Birds". So was the intention to call these two parts of a hundred card set called "Champions"?

The evidence is compelling, for both were printed by Norbury, Natzio & Co. Ltd of Manchester, the only Gallaher sets they printed. And our original Gallaher reference book (RB.4), issued in 1944, adds more - for it says that "cards are known with wrong descriptions", namely descriptions from "Champion Animals and Birds" on the backs of cards from "British Champions of 1923", and descriptions from "British Champions of 1923" on the backs of cards from "Champion Animals and Birds". And the only way this could happen is if the cards were produced at the same time. 

Tuesday, 30th August 2022

This is another railway related set that a lot of railway collectors do not know about, for the L.M.S. was the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, which at one time was the largest of the main rail providers in the United Kingdom, and was operational between 1923 and 1948.

The closest LMS station to the tramway was Stoney Hill, and that was opened  in 1865. It only lasted until 1872 though. Then on the 14th of September 1931, Squires Gate was opened, and, in the late 1930s, that also seems to have operated camping facilities in decommissioned railway carriages. These lasted until the outbreak of the Second World War, but they also returned in the late 1950s and went on until they were not required in the 1970s, possibly due to the growth in overseas and package holidays.

Now this card was actually issued by Murray, Sons and Company Ltd., of Belfast, in Northern Ireland. They started in 1810, but took quite a while to decide to become a Limited Company. This may have been caused by the fact that they kind of teamed up with Gallaher Limited, who had moved to Belfast from Liverpool in 1867.  Murrays specialised in pipe tobacco, mainly because they never seemed to get on with making cigarettes to the quality that other companies did. However their pipe tobacco was constantly praised, and won awards.

This card is branded for Mild and Mellow Honeydew, which was a straight Virginia, in other words not a blend of any other tobacco. Some of their other brands, especially the oldest ones, were, and these were called American Tobacco, like their two earliest dated brands, the "Murrays 1810 Belfast" and the "Murrays 1862 Whitehall". When the tobacco was simply a dual blend, one other with Virginia, it was either Perique - which is a very rare type of tobacco from Louisiana, known by the original Native Americans - or Latakia - which came from Syria at that time but due to political and military unrest now comes from Cyprus. You will actually see Latakia mentioned on the back of the Grapnel Mixture of Taddy & Co “Prominent Footballers” (1908-9 issue). 

In 1953 Murrays was bought out by Carreras, but their ownership was brief, and they merged with Rothmans in 1958. For a short while the two names were used together, as Carreras Rothmans Limited, but then, in the early 1970s, the proof came that the merger had not been so friendly, and Carreras disappeared in favour of simply Rothmans International. And Rothmans International is now part of British American Tobacco. 

These cards are very slightly wider than standard at 36 x 70 m/m

Now Ha.593 is a handbook reference and it is scanned here, for it lists all the cards in the set these, for some reason, being un-numbered -

Wednesday, 31st August 2022

The first lights at Blackpool took place in September 1879 but it was not as we know it today with strings of coloured bulbs - it could not have been, for the light bulb had yet to be patented. Instead it was simply eight large lamps, similar to searchlights, on the promenade.

The first actual light bulbs were hung up in May 1912, also on the Promenade, and they were set in motion by Princess Louise, who is showing here, the first member of the Royal Family to visit the resort, and after whom Princess Parade is named.

Now we asked you who was her husband, and what was his link to cartophily - and the answer is that he was The Marquis of Lorne, the one featured on one of the earliest cigarette cards yet discovered. 

The event, and the lights, made the headlines, so much so that even before the glow had diminished it was decided that the lights would return in 1913. Again this was a great success and the extra moneys being spent by the visitors was also popular with the local business and hotels. However in 1914 the First World War saw the illuminations off the calendar, and they would not return for some considerable time.

This set was issued in America, over a few years, and reprinted several times, so there are differences in the lettering style, the size, and the colour and quality of the board, plus the shade of blue used for the reverse image. There are also varieties included, and these are a good way to date the cards for two of the titles were changed after the 22nd of January 1901 owing to the death of Queen Victoria and the succession of her son to the throne - "HRH The Prince of Wales" card becoming "His Majesty Edward VII" and "Princess of Wales" card becoming "Her Majesty Queen Alexandra". The third card affected is "The Right Sir G.H. Reid, P.C. Q.C.", who becomes "The Right Hon G.H. Reid, P.C. Q.C." - he seems to have been an Australian politician, so if anyone would like to add his details please email them in. 

Jefferson Burdick calls the set "Celebrities" but says it is "mostly Royalty"., in a rather unexcited manner, perhaps why he valued the cards at just 20 cents each. By the way it is to him that we owe the final TW94 code, which is derived from our RB.18/94, reference book 18 being the Tobacco War booklet.

Thursday, 1st September 2022

This set, which does remind me very much of those little pictures you get in the sticks of rock, marks an important date in Blackpool`s story, though when it was issued in 1923 the illuminations were still a distant pre First World War memory.

The first thing I noticed was the number of people crowded on to the beach. And so I looked it up. What I discovered was that is good reason for this, because 1923 was the year of the first ever Blackpool Carnival. It is quoted that over eight days it was possible to find every manner of entertainment, dog shows, dancing, parades, and floats; and that over two million people were there, many of whom could not even find accommodation and had to sleep on the beach. Perhaps some of these are some of those ? 

If you look at the back of this card it is a very odd one, no text, and this huge advertisement for Gallaher`s Rich Dark Honey Dew Tobacco, in 1, 2 and 4 oz tins. This was a very popular brand, and it was often advertised with a beautiful and mysterious brunette smouldering against a deep browny black background. I have not been able to find this advertisement yet, but the colour and the way it is drawn suggests it was perhaps a newspaper advert. Can anyone confirm this? 

Here is the listing for our set from our original Gallaher reference book, issued in 1944 : 

1923. 100 INTERESTING VIEWS (titled series). Size 2 1/2" x 1 1/2". Numbered 1-100. REAL PHOTOGRAPHS. Fronts, toned black and white, glossy finish. "Gallaher`s Cigarettes" in wide margins, subjects titled. Backs, printed in black, "100 Designs", no descriptions, inscribed "A real smoke Gallaher`s Rich Dark Honey Dew Tobacco, " etc. Produced by Phillip G. Hunt & Co., London. 

Now Philip G Hunt & Co. are quite well known, as they also printed picture postcards. They moved about a bit, though; in 1912 they were at Paternoster Row in the heart of London, then in the 1920s cards can be found citing Balham High Road in South West London.

And I will stop here because there is something very interesting about this set which will be revealed tomorrow....

Friday, 2nd September 2022

Now yesterday we promised you a bit of a surprise with our next card, and here it is!

But first, this set was issued in 1925, which was the year that saw the return of the illuminations. They were also much larger, running along the Promenade for several miles.

However there was still no celebrity switching them on - not until 1934. 

If you look at the pair in the newsletter it is actually easier, as you can just flick the page up and down, and when you do you will see that today`s card is identical to yesterday`s except for the fact that it has been coloured.

Now before you think that this was done by hand, here is the listing for both sets from our original Gallaher reference book, issued in 1944  : 

1923. 100 INTERESTING VIEWS (titled series). Size 2 1/2" x 1 1/2". Numbered 1-100. REAL PHOTOGRAPHS. Fronts, toned black and white, glossy finish. "Gallaher`s Cigarettes" in wide margins, subjects titled. Backs, printed in black, "100 Designs", no descriptions, inscribed "A real smoke Gallaher`s Rich Dark Honey Dew Tobacco, " etc. Produced by Phillip G. Hunt & Co., London. 

1925. 100 INTERESTING VIEWS (titled series). Size 2 1/2" x 1 1/2". Numbered 1-100. REAL PHOTOGRAPHS. Fronts, toned black and white, dull finish, and hand-coloured (by stencils) in various colours. Subjects titled. Backs, printed in black, "100 Designs", no descriptions, inscribed "A real smoke Gallaher`s Rich Dark Honey Dew Tobacco, " etc. Produced by Associated Photographic Printers, London. 

I cannot find Associated Photographic Printers, but this card is also number 84 and some people firmly believe that the remainders were sent off to them to be hand coloured, in an attempt to make them more modern. However this cannot be correct because if you look at the description above you will see that the black and white cards were glossy, and the hand-coloured cards were specially produced in a matt format. You see, to this day, colourists and painters of photographs prefer a matt surface. which not only avoids the glare when you look at the image in the light, but also means that the colour does not slide about before it has dried.

In our original World Tobacco Issues Index this fact is also mentioned, for the set is listed as : 

INTERESTING VIEWS. Sm. Photos. Nd. (100). 
A. Uncoloured, glossy
B. Hand-coloured, matt.

This wording is slightly different in our updated version though, as it replaces "uncoloured" with B & W