Well here we are, your regular Friday newsletter, just with a slight delay - of twenty four hours - and only accomplished by changing some of the cards rather than hunting through another box. If we have featured any of these before fear not, for I will change them, or their predecessors, as I work through the index. It will all work out, things do.
At the start of this week my dog was not very well, it was nearing his birthday and he is now the grand old age of twelve, so any sickness is a cause for worry. However, and luckily, he is now over that, and again bossing me about with his many demands. Unfortunately a couple of days ago mum started being sick and various other things, she has cancer and it is her wish not to die in hospital so I am nursey, though I do often say she survives in spite of this, not because of it. Some days show every signs of being that last day, and some days are better, but I have to fit things in around her needs, and between the clearing up and washing that results. Sorry that your newsletter was one of those things to be shelved, but it is here now, and I hope you all enjoy it.
Remember if you know any additional information, or collect a subject we feature, or can provide a sharper picture than I have added, please do get in touch with us at webmaster@card-world.co.uk
Allen & Ginter [tobacco : OS : USA] "General Government and State Capitol Buildings of the United States" (1889) Bk/50 - A400-140 : A36-14 : USA/14
Today in 1817, Mississippi became the twentieth State of the United States of America. And here we have one of the longest set titles ever! By the way, this card, so full of promise and information, was out of date within the year - look on the back and you will see it says "Dakota", but that was split into North Dakota and South Dakota on the 2nd of November 1889, then Montana was created on November the 8th, and Washington on November the 11th.
We know that this set was lithographed, by The Gast Lithograph & Engraving Company of New York. They did other sets for Allen & Ginter, most notably "Prize and Game Chickens" (1891), but also for other companies, including the quite amazing D. Buchner set of "New York City Scenes" - and their works also illustrated reading books.
Perhaps they even made the special albums for Allen and Ginter, which were not to stick the cards in, but had the set pre-printed on decorative backgrounds ? Can anyone confirm this ? The "album" for this set was thirteen pages and measured 238 x 151 m/m.
There is a festive link to this card, though you may not know it, for one of the earliest settlements there was called Christmas; it was in Bolivar County, Mississippi, and it was once on the bend of the river. However the river was diverted in 1863. The settlement still exists, as what is known as an unincorporated area, in other words one which trickles along nicely without government interference and sorts things out by itself.
Carreras Ltd [tobacco : UK] "Fortune Telling" large size (July 1926) 13/36 - C151-130 : C18-13
Today is International Children`s Day, or rather is one of the many International Children`s Days throughout the year This one is a co-production between UNICEF and the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and it is designed to give children a voice into the future, as well as to give them a chance to speak out today.
We used another of these cards in our newsletter for National Letter Writing Day last week but this week our card is the other version of this set, with the head inset rather than the playing card. We have also altered last week`s card as we acquired darker images!
Before the hula hoop, this was how you played with a hoop. It was also called hoop-rolling or hoop-trundling. The idea was that you kept it revolving with the aid of the stick. It taught co-ordination and balance, and tested your skills at direction. It seems to have a very lengthy career, back to ancient times, and it was also some kind of battle skill because there are illustrations of young men still continuing to roll it. It is possible that the Greeks also followed the Roman use of rolling the hoop whilst the other boys fired arrows through the open hole - and presumably past the roller`s legs. These were not commercially made, they were simply the iron rims of cart or chariot wheels, once the wooden interior had broken. You can read a very lengthy article on how it developed and how it was used at Wikipedia/HoopRolling
The festive link here is that any kind of hoop, even a plastic hula-hoop, can be pressed into service to make a Christmas wreath. If you don`t believe me there are fifty ideas on one pinterest site alone and lots more across the web. Also that card games can make for great fun at any party or gathering!
Figurine Panini [commercial / trade : OS : Italy] "F1 Grand Prix" (1980) 98/144 -
Today is the birthday of racing driver Emerson Fittipaldi. He was born in 1946 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. His father was a prominent figure in motor racing too, but as a commentator and journalist, though both his mother and father had raced in the production car field, and his father had arranged for the Brazilian version of the Mille Miglia to be staged in 1956.
As Emerson and his brother grew up they raced many things, including speedboats, but cars came out on top. He moved through the Formulas and hit Formula One in 1970, driving for Lotus. He came tenth in the championship, just thirteen races long, with twelve points - the winner was again for Lotus, that was Jochen Rindt, with forty-five points, but it was a posthumous win for he had been killed during qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix. Lotus took the constructors title too, with fifty-nine points.
Emerson Fittipaldi stayed in Formula One until 1980, then after a few years he moved to the USAC Championship, which would be replaced by the Indy Car World Series. He stayed there until 1996, He also took part in the Daytona 24 hour race and did a spot of rallying in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
There are other racers in the family, Emerson`s brother, Wilson, who also owned a team; Christian, Emerson`s nephew; and Max Papis, by marriage, for he is Emerson`s son in law. There are also grandsons in the sport, one of whom drove this year for Haas.
Lambert & Butler [tobacco : UK] "London Characters" (1934) 13/25 - L073-470 : L8-59.1
Today is National Ice Cream Day, and here we have an Italian Ice Cream Vendor.
I wanted to put another card by an ice cream maker, but we will go with this, and in some ways that is a good decision, for it predates all the glamour and the television and film tie ins, and takes us back to the simpler days, when the ice cream vendor wheeled his little cart up and down the street. Often he had just arrived from Italy, there was little work, and he probably spoke little English, and the welfare state at that time was not as wonderful as it now, but the knowledge of making ice cream was in his blood, and had been for centuries, so that was what he started to do in order to make his money. Yet, already, on this card, we can feel the wind of change is blowing in, and that he was not going to last too long, for the text tells us that "The ice-cream tricycle has hit him badly...". The truth is that he was before his time, for now those mass produced ice creams are being spurned for the home made, more ethical, styles, and he would have found himself, indeed, the flavour of the month.
This set was also issued, in the same year, in New Zealand, where I think it must have seemed rather odd, and many of the words used been unfamiliar. The way you can tell the home from the export issue is at the top of the reverse, our issue mentions an album, whilst the New Zealand one does not.
W.D. & H.O. Wills [tobacco : UK] "Animals and Birds" untitled (1900) Un/50 - W62-33 : W/17 : RB21-200.17
Today it is International Monkey Day, and here is a little chap who is simply called "The Monkey".
Sadly I cannot recognise him either, but I will try to reunite him with his proper name somewhere along the way.
Monkeys roam free, leaping from tree to tree, they do not do well in captivity, and it is very sad to think of them being caged and used for experiments.
Human and Humane may differ by just one letter, but in many other ways they are very far apart. .
This set was issued four times by Wills, though some of the cards change in subject and title. The first version, ours, was given the suffix of A, and has no title. B, for some reason, was issued in 1912, and it is titled "Animals and Birds" whch is where we get our title from. C has no title, but a most attractive Art Nouveau back design, and was issued in 1907. Surely this should have put it as B, for it predates the one in that space? The other version was issued in Australia, it is a cut-outs set, where the animal is dash-cut to shape so it can be pressed forward and the background pushed backwards out of view.
Several other versions exist, but I will return to those asap!
Allen & Ginter [tobacco : OS : USA] "Flags of the States and Territories" (1888) Bk/47 - A400-110 : A36-11 : USA/11.2 : ABC/11
Today is Bill of Rights Day in America. We seem to have hunted for every permutation of card for this event, and every other event of today - Harold Abrams, and Nero, were both born, but I could not find either of them on a card.
Anyway without Virginia there would have been no Bill of Rights, so here we have the flag of Virginia. As to why, let us go back to 1776, when Virginia drew up its very own Declaration of Rights, the first ever such document that gave its people rules and more importantly set limits as to how they could be ruled. However, in the 1780s, the passing of the actual Bill of Rights, so important to the American way of life, was being held up, by Virginia digging in their heels, they refused to approve it at all. But in 1791 theirs was the vital eleventh vote that allowed ratification to take place.
Something you may not realise is that there are two versions of this set; one, usually regarded as the A printing, says "Richmond Straight Cut No.1 are the Best" - B adds another word, to say "Richmond Straight Cut No.1 Cigarettes are the Best" I have no idea why this was done, unless one was issued in tobacco? Anybody know?
Another oddity is that the curving scroll that exits the picture at the bottom of this card can be found in several colour ways, apparently over a hundred! And one of the cards can be found with a different colour flag.
W.D. & H.O. Wills [tobacco : UK] "Kings & Queens of England" - silks (1911) Un/38 - W675-398 : W62-261 : W/251 (W9/E)
I really wanted Noel Coward in here, who was born today in 1899, but the Ardath "Film Stage and Radio Stars" cards are so very light of back that it was taking too long to get it anywhere near dark enough to read.
So instead we have Henry VI. And this card is slightly blurred because it is not a card, it is a silk! We do not feature enough silks on these pages, so I am always delighted when I can. Mind you I have already been told that this is wrong, for it is not on silk, it is printed on satin, and I can now see it says that on the back!
Anyway the reason for him being here is that on this day, in 1431, he was crowned King of France, which made him the only King to ever be King of France and King of England at the same time. The backing of this card, which is often missing, has it slightly wrong though, because it says that he "Ascended the throne 1422. Proclaimed King of France the same year."
He was actually born at Windsor Castle, and succeeded to both the thrones of England and France at the age of nine months. This happened because his father Henry V, and his grandfather Charles VI of France died in the same year - in fact within just months of each another. However he was not crowned King of England until 1429, aged just eight, then, two years later, as King of France. He was, of course, not old enough to really rule them, so a regency was put in place until 1437, when he was sixteen.
This set was issued in Australia (and possibly New Zealand as some reference books say "Australasia" not Australia), some time between 1910 and 1917, though 1911 is the most usually cited. It is actually based on the Wills "Kings and Queens" sets of 1898-1902, with one exception, for the satin set includes a portrait of King George V, and he was not featured in the earlier version.
This week's Cards of the Day...
have been celebrating Christmas Jumpers. We were not certain we would find any actual Christmas Jumpers, but it turned out ok.
Now Christmas Jumper Week takes place from Tuesday December 6th to SaturdayDecember 10th, with Christmas Jumper Day being on Thursday December 8th. The idea behind it is that we wear a Christmas Jumper on that day and donate £2 to Save The Children. You can donate online (and do note that every £2 you give in this way the government will double it). You can also dress up your dogs, if they agree to this!
🌷⚘🌷⚘🌷⚘🌷⚘🌷⚘🌷⚘🌷⚘🌷⚘🌷⚘🌷⚘🌷⚘🌷⚘🌷⚘🌷⚘🌷⚘🌷⚘🌷⚘🌷⚘🌷
Saturday, 3rd December 2022
Here we have, of course, the famous goalkeeper`s jumper. This is always a different colour to the rest of the team so that he can be seen more easily by the teams and by the officials. It also has long sleeves, which are padded now, but do not seem to have been so then. They help to protect his arms when he catches or deflects the ball, and the friction of the material also helps to deflect the ball away from the goal, rather than allowing it to slide down his skin. And at this time of year the goalkeeper might not do a lot of running about, but the long sleeves and padding make him the warmest one on the field, bear this in mind when you are playing with your pals and picking your position!
This set has an adhesive back, and special albums were issued. Most excitingly, rather than showing prominent footballers, these cards show you how to play the game.
The RB.21 reference is very interesting, because it tells us that John Player were not the only company to issue this card.
The A version, of course, is this one.
The B. version was issued in China through British American Tobacco; it has Chinese lettering explaining the game, and even more excitingly they redrew the characters, giving them Oriental features. These were issued in the same year, 1934, but there are only 48 cards. Our card is still number 7. Anyone know what the two missing Chinese cards are?
The C, version is split into two sets
C1 cards have backs in Spanish. The title is also changed, to "La Technica del Foot-ball". However it was not issued in Spain. but in Buenos Aires, Argentina, by Compania Naciona de Tabacos and Compania Nobleza de Tabacos. It appears to be only the first twenty-five of the John Player cards.
C2 is anonymous, but is also thought to have been issued by Cia Naciona de Tabacos. Once more the back is in Spanish, and the title "La Technica del Foot-ball". Their first sighting was of cards only numbered 26-50, so though they were listed under the anonymous section of the World Tobacco Issues Index they were presumed to be the second half of the same set. However we have since found all the cards appear in an anonymous version. Perhaps all the cards are found in the Cia Naciona de Tabacos set as well, but we just have not found them.
Sunday, 4th December 2022
This card was a jumper of another sort, the Kangaroo. Australia have the strange custom of spending Christmas at the beach, because it is their summer, so you get Father Christmas on a surfboard rather than being drawn along the sky behind the reindeer.
This set was issued in two versions, both being un-numbered, with the difference being the back design. Our set (A) has the back in green and it is headed "Advertisement Gifts" - the other one (B) has the back in yellow, and is specifically printed for "Peter Pan" brand.
At this point a note - for the fronts are identical in style to Snider & Abrahams "Animals" - and the artwork was done by the same person, "Prae"? (I have not yet found out anything about them). The cards are also untitled, also of sixty cards, and for "Peter Pan" brand. However the backs are different, our set has framelines around the text blocks, whilst this set only has the two lines across the body.
Sniders and Abrahams were based in Melbourne, South Australia. At this time they were at 268-270 Lonsdale Street. Their cards vary in size to our standard size, and these measure 68 x 40 m/m. If you look on many of their cards you will find either "O & A" or "O & Co" and this is the printer, Osboldstone & Company Pty Ltd, printers and publishers of Temple Court Place, Little Collins Street, Melbourne. They did not only print cards, and you can find their name on various booklets, maps, postcards, and posters, the latter especially in respect of military and recruiting subjects.
I had a quick look at the companies listed on the back, and was quite intrigued by one, so will try to track down the rest...
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A. Blashki Ltd of Equitable Buildings in Sydney
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E.S. Lazarus and Co. Pty Ltd of Standard Place in Perth were founded around 1910-1911. This was Emanuel Samuel Lazarus, who was born in England in 1869, and started out as an importer, but somehow took over a jewellery business in Murray Street. With this knowledge, I am wondering if he supplied the watches listed on this card? He is quite important in Perth, and was heavily involved with the Synagogue there.
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W. Cornell & Co. of Rundle Street in Adelaide.
In 1923, a company called G.G. Goode Ltd was incorporated purely to take over Sniders & Abrahams. A year later they issued a set of seventeen un-numbered cards, called "Prominent Cricketer Series". These cards measure 63 x 42 m/m and are brown and white. The ones I have seen show a cricketer with a black circle or square behind them. I am not sure if all cards are like this but will try to find out. On the back they say "SMOKE CLUB HOUSE & MILO CIGARETTES And obtain a complete set of the Prominent Cricketer Series. One card enclosed in every packet. Obtainable at all tobacconists". The set contained portraits of the MCC 1924-25 Touring Team, so can be dated quite precisely. However I am not sure why this information did not appear in or as, the title - to my way of thinking this suggests the Touring Team formed but a part of a larger set of cricketers and there are more cards, especially as there is no number on the cards. Anyway in 1926 G.G. Goode also took over J.J. Schuh. And in 1931 G.G. Goode was taken over by Carreras.
Monday, 5th December 2022
I wonder how many cartophilists know that this company was not just one man called Franklyn Davey, but two people, Franklyn and Davey? The clue is in the comma in their name. However at one time in their story it was Franklyn, Morgan & Davey, and they were listed as "tobacco manufacturers". According to our "Directory of British Issuers" reference book, it was established in 1790, but it goes back further, right to 1779/80 when a John Davies, tobacconist, acquired a factory and house in Bristol. The following year John Davies seems to have gone, or he calls the business something else, for it is recorded as Franklyn & McVarthy (sometimes McCarthy). It did not become Franklyn Davey until 1859 so I am not sure what the date in our book actually refers to.
If there is anyone out there who has researched the company, do please get in touch and tell us more.
Their brands seem to have had rather interesting names, and included "Honey Dew", "Loadstone" [Cigarettes], "Nimble Dick" [Cigarettes], "Plover Pigtail", "Superfine Shagg" [Tobacco]
Our card is the final clue card, and the clue should have led you once more to jumper, for here we have a horse jumping a hedge. Hunting is very divisive, and whilst I hate the chasing and killing of poor Mr. Reynard the fox, it seems a bit sad to have lost a Christmas tradition, and not to see the scarlet coats and assembled horses outside the local inn. Also if you were well away from the closing chapter, it was a very good ride, all the better for not knowing where you were going. There was an attempt to lay artificial trails and have the same thrill of the chase without any foxes involved, but it was realised that the person who had laid the artificial trail could be liable for any injuries sustained to the riders, in a way a fox could never be.
Tuesday, 6th December 2022
Now Scooby Doo has been around for ages; his first television appearance was in “Scooby-Doo, Where are You!" in 1969. His full name is Scoobert Doo, and he is a Great Dane. His human companions include Velma Dinkley, [probably his best friend, shown here in non-animated form. She always wears an oversized, turtle necked sweater like this one, which hides her shape, and she wears glasses. Scooby is not owned by Velma, but by one of the male characters Norville "Shaggy" Rogers, somewhat of a hippy, who has the additional skill of being able to turn into a werewolf. Sadly Velma and Shaggy never got together, though her sister was rather keen on him.
Inkworks are based in America, and specialise in trading cards of films and television series. They seem to have started out with "Pinocchio" in 1996. However in 2009 they announced that they had “ceased regular operations.” Can anyone tell us more?
Wednesday, 7th December 2022
Now here we have the world famous cricket jumper, which seems to be the subject of many questions - for it is made of very thick, and therefore heavy, wool, but cricket is a game for the summer season, when you kind of hope for sunshine and heat. The reason usually given is that wool absorbs sweat better, but the truth is a bit more complex, because the wool, being a natural material, is breathable, so it takes the moisture in from your body, up to thirty times its own weight, and lets it pass through into the air.
If you look up our man Alfred Harry Bakewell, you will be redirected to Fred Bakewell, which is what he preferred to be called. He was born in Walsall on the second of November 1908, and died, in Westbourne, Bournemouth, on the twenty-third of January 1983. He played for Northamptonshire , and for England, but in the year that this card was issued he was involved in a very serious car accident when returning from a match with his team-mate Reginald Northway who was driving and was killed in the crash. Fred Bakewell suffered extensive damage to his arm, and was never able to play again though he had many lengthy and painful treatments and surgeries.
There are plenty of online biographies, but I recommend the one at CricketCountry which also tells of a second automobile accident that he was involved in.
You will also find Fred Bakewell on John Player "Cricketers 1934" (1934) 3/50. The TradingCardDatabase/Bakewell shows you that, and the reprinted versions of both these cards by Victoria Gallery and by the Card Collectors Society. Handy info, if you get offered cheap sets or odds. They also add another card, by Amalgamated Press, namely "Test Match Favourites" (1934). However I have not been able to find any cards of Reginald Northway. Can you?
Thursday, 8th December 2022
I know a bit about these cards, but invite anyone to fill in the gaps. Though some of these images had been used in the 1980s by View-Master, and on books, it appears that they were the first ever Sesame Street trading cards. They were sold in packets of ten cards; these packets were blue and showed Big Bird, Bert and Ernie in cartoon form with the lamppost that held the Sesame Street sign. The same trio appeared on the shop display box that held thirty-six packs, and along the sides of that box were the other characters, again in cartoon form.
I have not been able to find any other sets of cards issued by Idolmaker. The packet tells us that they were Idolmaker Inc of 50 St. Paul St. West. Suite 100, Montreal Canada H2Y 1Y8. They give the copyright to Childrens Television Workshop, Sesame Street Muppet Characters, and Jim Henson Productions, Inc, and say that they are all trademarks of the Children`s Television Workshop. It also says that the revenues would be used to help support CTW educational programmes.
This appears to be the only Sesame Street set of cards issued, though a single card, number 103, featuring the show and showing most of the cast in a group, appears in Topps "American Pie" (2011). However, the spin off series, The Muppets, which uses many of the same characters, can be found on several sets, starting with a Swedish issue of the 1970s.
Bert and Ernie are famous for their jumpers, hence their appearance here. Though I like Kermit and his frequent sparring with Miss Piggy, Bert and Ernie are the perfect friends. It is often said that they wear matching jumpers to show how well-matched they are, but the truth is that the jumpers are not identical - however they are co-ordinated, which points to them having lives and interests away from each other, but blending a good mix of each into their friendship.
Friday, 9th December 2022
This may not be a "Christmas" jumper, but it is very festive, and how about those matching socks, tucked in too!
It comes from the first series of "Australian Footballers", usually referred to as the "A" series, there being ten in all, which are shown below this text. However this is the only set that shows the players as full length. It has two main versions -
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firstly we have our set, with blue framelines to the pictures, which always has the printer`s credit, "O & A" (for Osbaldstone) at the bottom of the reverse. Twenty four cards are known to exist from this printing, and a list appears below.
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secondly there is a set which was listed as fifty cards, this can be found as what are known as a) with the same printer`s credit - and b) without it, just blank at the bottom. The list of this appears below too. However our Australian & New Zealand Index, part one, of 1983, changes this, for it says that the card of G. MILLER cannot now be traced (is it out there, anywhere?). Also it says that the cards of V. HAWICK and G. MORGAN have identical pictures. That makes this version into just 48 cards and an error card.
The real curiosity about this card is the name, for it shows W. Ghent, and this is an error, which is not thought to have been corrected. The player`s name was William Robert Gent and he was born on the 19th of June 1879. Despite his name, he had a bit of a rep for playing rough, and in 1904, about the same time as this card was issued, he was given a twenty game suspension for hitting several players on the opposing team - then in 1907 he was suspended for life for striking just one man. There must be more to this! However after less than two months there was an appeal and the ban was lifted. The appeal hinged on a very tenuous thing indeed, that being that "the incident" had been reported to the secretary of the opposing side, rather than to the umpire. At one time this was allowed, but the rules had recently changed.
William Gent died on the 7th of July 1957
There is a glass plate for this very card in the Australian Sports Museum.
I`m going to hold it there - there are a few details needed for the card codes, but I can do them tomorrow with my library rather than trying to find them online.
Hope you enjoyed your read, and see you all next week!
Over, and out.