October already, or it will be when you start to read this. The summer of beautiful copper coloured leaves, and long walks in the country, or, as I type, heavy rain and wind. But not as bad as elsewhere - for our thoughts are with all Florida collectors, or anyone affected by the recent inclemencies.
This week we have a little of everything, and a few questions, still. If you can help us out, please do. And many thanks to "A. Reader" who supplied all the missing names from last week`s W.D & H.O. Wills Presentation Issues. They are now proudly uploaded.
And thanks to you all, for tuning in. Remember if you have any unusual cards for Hallowe`en, Thanksgiving, Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, and Christmas, please scan them and send them in to webmaster@card-world.co.uk - and, looking even further forwards, your New Year cards and card related calendars too...
R. J. Lea [tobacco : UK] "Radio Stars" (1935) 31/54 - L250-900 : L26-36
Today in 1890 Stanley Augustus Holloway was born in London. He had a varied career on stage, screen, and radio, and our more mature readers may remember some of his monologues, including probably his most famous, The Lion and Albert.
And if you are too young head to YouTube, for it is waiting for you...
This set was available in either matt or glossy format. There seems some discrepancy between which is recorded as (a) or (b) so it is better that you write "matt" or "glossy" when ordering or swapping.
I can tell you that there is a size difference, the matt cards are 66 x 35 m/m and the glossy are 65 x 35 m/m. You might need a micrometer for that! The glossy ones were also slightly more expensive in 1950, being 1/- a card or 65/- a set - as opposed to the matt at 9d a card or 50/- a set
Look underneath the title and you will see something else - "Albums supplied free"
He can be found on other cards too - check out the trading card database / Stanley Holloway - but note ours is not listed. So are there any others?
Singleton & Cole Ltd [tobacco : UK] "The Bonzo Series" (1928) 16/25 - S489-720 : S78-13 : RB.21/217/25D
Today is the start of National Dog Walking Week, so hello to everyone who will be taking part with an added spring in their step, or paws. I am not sure why we need an official week, because if you have a dog they need walking every day, and some dogs more than once. However, there is the thought that this is a good time to consider becoming a dog walker for your local rescue centre, or even adopting a dog in the New Year, its a bit close to Christmas, and the onset of Winter weather, you really need a few months of dry weather to start your dog ownership off on a good footing, rather than facing the tough stuff of having to go out in the rain, or three foot of snow to take them to the bathroom in the garden or the street, every time they ask, which in my case is every ten minutes. On which note, its best not to give them a dog treat when they come in or they will end up going out running round the table and coming in for the treat without a thought of earning it!
Now before you think, as I did, oh the wrong back is shown, it says 16 on the front and 10 on the back, fear not - all the Singleton & Cole cards have this large number 10 in the middle frame!
These cards were also issued in 1923 by John Player (as "Bonzo" Dogs - overseas, not sure where yet) - in 1924 as a trade version by Spratts, the dog food company (as "The Bonzo Series by G. W. Studdy) - and in 1928, the same year as our cards, by C to C Rhodesian Virginia Cigarettes, but that was actually a brand of United Tobacco Company of South Africa (as "Studdy" Dogs).
There are also two plain back sets, at the moment I have no issuers for these, I imagined British American Tobacco, but have not found them in the reference books. One is similar to ours, and the other has no top line to the front but underneath (I think this means at the bottom) it says "by G. E. Studdy"
Cavanders Ltd [tobacco : UK] "Animal Studies" (1936) 20/36 - C230-440 : C48-21 : RB.113/7 : RB.13/7 : Ha.538
Come with me into the distant past, to 1952, when as of today you could go down to the grocer without your ration book and buy tea. Rationing of tea came in in 1940, and at first each adult was allowed just two ounces of tea per week. That worked out at about three cups a day if you were a bit on the careful side.
Now there seems to be lots of indecision about when the end of tea coupons actually took place and you can find it cited as being on the 2nd, 3rd or 5th. However I had a gap today so have gone in the middle.
And that explains why there were no tea cards until the mid 1950s. In fact Brooke Bond issued their first set, "British Birds", in 1954, closely followed by "Wild Flowers, Series 1" in 1955 and "Out into Space" the following year.
Our set is a rather curious one because Ha.538 tells us that this card is part of a larger set issued by Millhoff, or actually six sets, each of twenty seven cards, which were issued between 1931 and 1933. From those sets were selected our thirty six cards, which were issued in 1936. So far so good. But then it is recorded that fifty of the Millhoff cards were issued in Australia by Godfrey Phillips, hence the RB numbers, RB.13 being our original checklist and RB.113 the newer, larger, updated volume. Unfortunately all records state that the Phillips set was issued in 1930, and that is just slightly before the Millhoff. Unless the Millhoff was recorded wrongly? Over, as I always say, to you....
W. D. & H. O. Wills [tobacco : UK] "Do You Know" fourth series (July 1933) 42/50 - W675-165.4 : W62-127.4 : RB.21/200/191A
One for the sailors amongst us, the true seamen who would never dream of cutting the bottom off of the bottle, sliding their fully rigged creation in, and closing the glass with glue and a bit of rope. For today it is Ship in a Bottle Day, and I actually have a card of one, and I know that I use "Do You Know" a lot, but I will try and switch some over as I go backwards in time indexing the cards of the day and the newsletters.
Now I might not like water, but I have to say I do admire these nautical novelties, even though they are such terrible sellers that I usually tell the auction porter that the one that is staring at me from firmly inside the box of assorted items which is now "my lot" was actually with the lot next door when I viewed them earlier. Also I am way too clumsy to get any kind of bottle off a shelf let alone through a door and into a car. So in effect though it might be a lie, it is a lie which will harm nobody, might make someone more dextrous an extra couple of quid, and will almost certainly prolong the life of the ship and the bottle for a lot longer. And if you ended up with one you didn`t know was yours until you collected it, please be understanding.
To close may I direct you to a fascinating website, with some super specimens - that is called Folk Art In Bottles and it is well worth visiting.
American Tobacco Company Group Issues, `Helmar` brand [tobacco : OS : USA] "Philately" or "Actress Stamps" (?) Un/56 - A565-845 : USA/T332
Today in 1878 Louise Josephine Kerlin, or sometimes Kerline, was born - but if you know of her at all, it is as on this card, Louise Dresser. As it says there, she frequently played Will Rogers` wife, but she started her career in 1922 with a film romance called Enter Madame, which starred Clara Kimball Young.
I have not tracked down any other cards of her myself, but there are two listed for her on the trading card database / Louise Dresser - the American Tobacco "Actress Series" (1909-10) Un/84 - T/27 American Tobacco, and a more modern one. So if you know any please send us the details and I can enter them here.
I do know that a checklist of all the actresses in this set appears at the movie card database/Helmar
This plain backed "stamp" measures 35 x 28 m/m and the rest of them in the same set, whilst being similar, are not, for there are fifteen different front styles, including ours, the so called "Keystone", which is the bit that looks like the Heinz label.
If you found one online you might not even know it was tobacco related, for there are no names or clues. It is just on the thin see through packet, now so often parted from its mate, that says "Helmar".
Jefferson Burdick tells us in his catalogue that these packets actually included four or five "stamps", but a bit of research seems to suggest that there were a couple of these "Remarkable half tone engravings" and a few used postage stamps. If you go to Worthopedia/ Helmar you will see an envelope for the baseball ones which definitely backs this up, and gives us why they are listed as "Philately".
At one time the actresses and the baseball ones were all thought to be part of the same set, but it is now known that the two types were two sets. Intriguingly, there are a hundred and eighty known stamps of the baseball players, but only fifty six actresses. Are there more beauties still to come? And are there more masters of the diamond, for two hundred is a much rounder figure.....
Armitage Bros [trade : UK : pet food] "Animals of the Countryside" (1964) 4/25 - ARM-030 : ARB-1
Speaking of unusual, today is National Badger Day, and I am really delighted to find this set by Armitage Bros, for they were one of the issuers of "Country Life", which we featured last week, and I can link back to that, for the back of this card (apart from the central text) is very similar.
Now this is another "alike" set, which is easier and cheaper to buy as a complete set, for that is how it is customarily retailed. It was also issued by the following makers, so watch this space for all the additional gen!
By the way, for some reason the sizes differ. Read on.
Candy Novelty Co Ltd (CAN-030 : CAR-1) issued their version in 1964 as well, but with an adhesive back. No idea why. Do you? The cards measure 68 x 37 m/m. Candy were based at Moorside Mill, Bury in Lancashire and are listed as manufacturing confectioners. They also say "A Series of 50" on their version of this card. To be investigated - if anyone has a set of 50, we can do some collaborating to list the extra cards here. It is thought this is the scarcest version, because they only sold their sweets locally.
Halpins (HAL-130 : HAO-2) issued these as a 25 card set in 1957, or 1958, depending on whose catalogue you check, but they were also a different title, of "Nature Studies". They were issued with Willow Tea, whose slogan was "Its Rich in the Cup" . These cards measure 68 x 36 m/m.
Sweetule Products Ltd (SWE-030 : SWA-1) confectioners, also issued them as a 25 card set from their "Radcliffe, Manchester" address in 1959, and you can find backs in green or blue, so obviously they were reprinted. The cards measure 68 x 37 m/m.
Swettenhams (SWE-490 : SWE-7) issued their 25 card set with several brands of Tea in 1958 or 1959 - the brands, listed on the card, are "Green Top Special Tea", Tea Tray Tea Quick Brew", "Small Leaf Red Label" and "Blue Special Blend Tea". They were based in Chesterton, but had "branches", and they are stated to be "Co-Operative Institutions", not sure what that means. But will look it up. A special album was issued too. The cards measure 67 x 37 m/m.
Finally, this set was also issued with tobacco -
Amalgamated Tobacco Co (A495-170) in 1958
J. A. Pattreiouex Ltd [tobacco : UK] "Dirt Track Riders" (1926) 3/50 - P246-535 : P18-50
A bit of a tangent now, but today is World Smile Day, and here we have "Smiling Jim Kempster" or more correctly Ernest Arthur David Kempster, who was born on the 9th of October 1900.
Now dont get confused with this set because after these, in 1929/30 Pattreiouex issued another set called "Dirt Track Riders", but they were photographic cards. But "Smiling" Jim Kempster does appear in that set on card 37/54, which tells us that he was the "Wimbledon idol", and that he was "Born in Leighton Buzzard, Kempster started his motor cycling career as tester at a large factory, did much racing at Brooklands, also competing in several speed and reliability trials. A great rider with an even more brilliant future."
As for "Smiling" Jim Kempster, he also appears on Ogdens "Famous Dirt Track Riders", as card 13/50, this being a standard sized coloured set, which has his signature in an oval on the front. Strangely that card starts by saying "Although he only started riding a few months ago, "Smiling Jim Kempster is regarded as one of the greatest of English Riders...." The curiosity is that our set was issued in 1926, and this Ogdens set in 1928, so he cannot have just started, or the date of the Ogdens needs more investigation. Anyway the Ogdens card says some interesting facts, that he was the "Captain of the Wimbledon Speedways Club, and trainer of many coming riders" , that he won "a match race with Sprouts Elder, the great American star", and that he won "the Gold Helmet scratch race when opposed to the two Australian champions Frank Arthur and Vic Huxley", which is a bit more gen to that we mentioned above.
Sadly "Smiling" Jim Kempster was yet another case of a promising future wasted, for he was killed, whilst on service with the Air Transport Auxiliary, on 29 June 1945, and is buried in Germany. The problem with the Air Transport Auxiliary is that the pilots were delivering aeroplanes by flying them from one place to another, and they are harder to track down than incidents during actual conflict, but I do have quite a few sources that I use in my other life!
This week's Cards of the Day...
... are sending positive vibes to all our readers and their friends who are taking part in Stoptober, which starts on October 1st. And if you are taking part do let us know.
The idea of Stoptober is to call on all smokers to at least try to quit, in the knowledge that there is support online, and that hopefully some of their friends and peers will also be taking part. This is the eleventh year of the event, and why a month was chosen is because statistically if you can stop smoking for twenty-eight days straight you are more likely to quit for good.
So this week we brought you...
Saturday, 24th September 2022
So lets start with what we have found out about Lot-o-Fun. Actually it was "Lot-O`-Fun" and it was a weekly children`s newspaper/comic that started in 1906. But the UK Comics website will tell you more.
The thing that leaps out at me from that, and possibly some of you, was that "Lot-O`-Fun" magazine was actually sold by James Henderson, and became part of Amalgamated Press in 1920, before this set was issued. So was this the only set issued by Lot-O`-Fun, as it appears of you look in our British Trade Indexes, or is it really one of the many sets issued by Amalgamated Press?
It is also, curiously, titled "Sports Champions" but all the subjects are footballers. The cards measure 70 x 46 m/m.
Now I have already been told several times that this card has something rather vital missing, and that is because they were issued in pairs. Thanks to all the eagle eyed readers who pointed this out, it all adds to the fun, and I would probably have never spotted it, though there is a bit of a clue at the bottom of the card, where it says "TWO more Sports Champions in this week`s "Comic-Life". And this was another magazine that had originally been published by James Henderson & Sons, though by this time it was also under the ownership of Amalgamated Press.
James Henderson was a Glaswegian who started out by printing other newspapers and magazines, and is best known today for getting a bit of a coup, and being the first to serialise Robert Louis Stevenson`s "Treasure Island". He ought also to be remembered for issuing the first ever British comic, "Funny Folks" in 1874.
Sunday, 25th September 2022
A few questions here for you to ponder.
Lets start with the issuer, for this does not appear on the cards, only a brand. However it is not sent off to the anonymous department at the back of the book and given a "Z" number, and the reason why is that it has already been linked to R. & J. Hill in our Reference Book to that firm, (RB.2), which was issued in 1942. The entry for our set says "Magical Puzzles (titled series) size two and eleven sixteenths by one and a half inches approximately (except it uses the numbers and fractions). Numbered 1-50. Fronts printed in three colours from halftone blocks with marginal line and white margins. Backs printed black only with descriptions and inscribed "Issued with Gold Flake Honeydew ..." No maker`s name appears (see Henry Archer & Co.) This set is similar to "Puzzle Series" chronicled later."
We show a card from the Puzzle Series elsewhere, and you have a look at that by clicking Puzzle Series.
If we go to Henry Archer & Co. we are told that it was founded in 1858 and amalgamated with R & J. Hill in 1905. And that later on some of the Henry Archer brands were used to issue anonymous sets by Hill.
In my 1950 London Cigarette Card Catalogue it says "Magical Puzzles - see Puzzle Series". And under Puzzle Series it says
Item 68. 50 Puzzle Series
A. Titled "Puzzle Series" (1937) odds 1d. each, sets 6/- each
B. Titled "Magical Puzzles" (1938) odds 6d. each, sets 30/- each
In our original World Tobacco Issues Index the two sets are listed together under H46-93 and their description is
"Puzzle Series or Magical Puzzles. Sm. 68 x 38 m/m. Nd. (50) see H.636.
A) titled "Puzzle Series" inscribed "Issued by R. & J. Hill".
B) titled "Magical Puzzles". Brand issue inscribed "Issued with Gold Flake Honeydew Cigarettes"
Now I still cannot find it in the handbook under H.636, the London Cigarette Company Handbook for 1950 finishes before that code, and our modern handbook seems to have that number occupied by another set entirely.
If anyone finds it please do let us know where
Monday, 26th September 2022
This card is the stop, or halt, part of Stoptober.
Now this is a very curious card, which was also issued by the Imperial Tobacco Company of Canada.
The Ogdens version only has one printing, this one. However the Imperial Tobacco Company of Canada issued several variants - and the fascinating thing about that is that some versions show the soldier with no shoulder straps. Burdick`s catalogue, from where we get the C.18 code, adds that in some versions the soldier has a sleeve marking. This would be very interesting to find out more about, as may be possible to identify the regiment. So does anyone have any of these cards ?
I did have a quick look and the cap badge seems to be The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) - it certainly has the raised tail and outstretched front arm, but I will keep checking in case it is a Canadian badge.
The King`s Own Royal Regiment has had several similar titles, but a very long career as it was first raised in 1680. It spent the entire First World War on the Western Front, in France, as part of the British Expeditionary Force. The Lancaster part seems to come from the fact that it had been HQed there since the 1850s, at Bowerham Barracks.
Tuesday, 27th September 2022
Here is a question for you. Which was the first country to entirely ban the sale of tobacco and to make it illegal to smoke in all public areas? Well, amazingly, it was Bhutan, and it was way back in 2004. More recently they also made it illegal to smuggle tobacco into the country from outside it. And they are also a carbon-negative country!
The capital city is still the same as on this card, Thimphu or Thimbu, and it is the largest city. It is situated in the Himalaya mountains. However it was only made the capital in 1961, before that it moved about, following the King on his travels. I have not been able to find why the card says Butan, not Bhutan, but I suspect it may be the Spanish version of the name? Any Spanish readers out there?
In itself this card is a curious one, it comes from Gran Canaria, and several sets were issued including film stars. The cards are a bit misleading because they say "Obsequio do Cigarrillos Cumbre" - however "Obsequio do" just means given with or issued with, it is not part of the issuers name. Strangely none of this phrase is the issuers` name, for "Cigarillos" are small cigars and "Cumbre" is the brand. The cards were actually issued by Santiago Gutierrez Martin, who is a well known name to all brandophilists - or collectors of cigar bands.
I have not been able to find any other cards of Bhutan either - do you know any????
Wednesday, 28th September 2022
The anti smoking thought for today is how come Mickey Mouse was used to encourage children to smoke? Very curious, for though Walt Disney did smoke, he did his best not to let anyone know about it and if he was smoking a signal would go up so that the corridors cleared of staff before he walked through. So I cant imagine that he would have embraced this connection.
Anyway the cards have no title, but they are clearly all Walt Disney Characters. There are two sets, of differing sizes, that have the "Mickey`s Sweet Cigarettes" panel at the top. The first, usually given as the suffix of 1, is a series of 35 medium sized cards and I didnt write down the measurements yet. This set was also issued in Ireland by Liam Devlin. Our set is the second, given the suffix of 2, and that is marked "2nd Series of 50", they are standard sized cards and the back is in red or pink. I think it is more likely to be the ink running out in the printing machine, or even different weather conditions, than it to two sets, for red and pink are just two stages of the same colour.
Now for the audience participation bit, there is a third set, this is described as "designs on rock packages" so presumably seaside rock? These had four pictures per package, but only one is known, which must mean that the four pictures appear on one card? Now this one shows four of the pictures from the first series of 35 medium cards, these being 1. Gus - 7. Goofy - 11. Fifer Pig - 19. Pinocchio. So does anyone have this four picture card, or even any others which have not been listed? If so, let us know....
Thursday, 29th September 2022
This card shows Claude Rains, who smoked in most of his films but was a non smoker. in fact he was probably the most famous non-smoker in Hollywood. And he had a trick, developed over many years, so you really have to look closely to see that though he smokes cigarettes openly on the screen he never takes the smoke into his lungs, all he does is take the cigarette in his mouth, hold it gently for a moment and then blow out slowly through his lips.
Now I bet you will be scouring the listings for the next film he is in just so you can watch, or watch with someone you are hoping to impress, and share the secret....
This set was printed in full colour by offset litho, by E. S. & A. Robinson of Bristol. They had been founded in 1844, and the initials stand for Elisha Smith [Robinson] and his brother Alfred. But these initials date from years before, as Alfred joined the company in 1848, almost a hundred years before this card was issued.
According to the trading card database / Claude Rains he appears on eighteen cards. But do you know of any others?
Friday, 30th September 2022
![Colgans Chips [trade] "Stars of the Diamond](/sites/default/files/styles/content_aligned/public/2022-09/wagner.jpg?itok=8e6FDAnw)
Today we have a real prize, thanks to one of our readers. For how could we have a week about non smoking without mentioning Johannes Peter "Honus" (or Hans) Wagner, who played more than twenty seasons almost entirely for the one Major League Baseball team, as shown here, The Pittsburgh Pirates.
There are other biographies of him, many, of them but we feel that in respect of the sport he so loved, that we can only send you to the National Baseball Hall of Fame
Now Honus Wagner is most known for the fabled T/206 - which was withdrawn from the set after he protested that his appearance on a tobacco card would encourage people to smoke - but he did appear on other cards too, like this unusual circular, and trade, one.
This is for chewing gum, and the reason for the shape of this card is that it was inserted into a tin of the gum; that is often why the edges are peeled or creased, and the fronts sometimes creased - because some less than nimble fingers would try to roughly prise the card out without thinking they might slip with whatever unsuitable tool they were using.
John Colgan was actually a chemist, not a confectioner, from Kentucky, but he was reputedly intrigued when he saw children chipping bits of tree sap off, putting it in their mouths, and chewing it. When he asked them why they did it, they said that it was enjoyable, and it passed the time. He thought that it sounded a reasonable idea, and best of all that if he chipped some off he could sell it, so he did, retailing it not as tree sap (for obvious reasons) but as "chewing chips" or as "chewing gum" and it was very popular, so much so that he was able to sell it in two varieties, Mint, which came in a green tin, and Violet, in a purple-red one. The product was originally sold in just his locality, but fame spread, and he actually exhibited as The Colgan Gum Company at the 1893 Chicago World`s Fair. This created much attention, including from a man called William Wrigley.
Now either Wrigley said I say Old Chap can we go into business and share the profits, or he bought some tins and figured out the secret for himself. Either way Wrigleys became the top chewing gum in America, and is still the largest maker worldwide, though it is now owned by Mars, Inc. Now it is said that Colgan slowly faded away, but he issued our card in 1911-1912, and another set, known as the "Red Border Series" in 1912.
You can read a lot more at PSA/Colgans - where there is also a list of the cards known so far, over three hundred. Plus check out SportsCollectorsDaily/Colgans to see more cards and some amazing packaging
Well another week, and another month gone. So fast too!
I hope you managed to cross a few cards off your wants lists, or add another set to start looking for, as without something new we, and it, can only go stagnant.
It is the thrill of the chase that we need, especially in the cold days that are about to fall upon us all.
And if you missed last week`s newsletter, here is the link that will take you right back
https://csgb.co.uk/publications/newsletter/2022-09-24