Well today is Christmas Eve, a time when we should be all excited for the big day tomorrow, whatever age we are and whether or not we still believe in Father Christmas. It is a time when people seem friendlier, and anything is possible, and sometimes you can be brave and send a cheery note to someone that you would never approach if you were not over fortified by a touch of the Christmas emotions. If only every day was Christmas Eve. In fact I like that better, because it is usually when I open my presents - there is seldom time on the big day, and it is more special. Also, there is more than a touch of my not wanting to share my delights with anyone else ....
But I will share a taste of this week`s diary delights with you - a curious cocktail, a delicious dessert, treasured thanks, football frenzy, wowsome wheels, Grand Old Gladstone, and naughty needles...
William Gossage & Sons [trade : soap : UK] "British Birds & Their Eggs" 4/48 (1924)
The card advertises William Gossage`s "Magical" Soap, which was a rival to Lever Brothers` "Sunlight" brand. Gossage was actually in business earlier, being founded in 1850, whilst Lever Brothers came along in 1884. However Gossage`s soap was made of tough stuff, silicate of soda, which was cheap to produce. Lever Brother’s Sunlight Soap was softer, but it also had a secret weapon as it was heavily advertised and the wrappers were eye catching. Gossage decided to keep his soap the same, but find a gimmick, hence "Magical Soap", with a wizard, and lots of eye catching moons and stars. You can see an original packet, with a wizard at the telescope, at the Little Museum of Foreign Brand Advertising, in China - and some other interesting Gossagiana. Now there is another important thing about that page, because Gossage was a very early exporter to China and the Far East, starting in 1911. So it is very exciting that the early packages are still so valued there.
This is one of the many sets devoted to birds and their eggs, which I always think encouraged the sad hobby of collecting birds eggs. This card is very attractive though, with its little egg nestled in a banner so that it might stand out all the better. Now there was a special album issued for this set, with pre cut corner slots, though there is no pre-printed text, the pages are just thick green papery card. But the album does show four of their products on the back, including Magical Soap.
As to what the card is here for, and I know, it is only just Christmas Eve, let us have a chat about egg nog. As to why, well today is National Egg Nog Day, at least in America, where they also call it egg milk punch, for a very good reason, for the "punch" version is alcoholic. As to why we have an oyster catcher, it shows an egg, and also there is an online reference to someone who converted the egg nog into a cocktail and added fried oysters, gently laid across the top. Well done if you decide to try this one at home!
Diving into the story of the drink, it appears that it is not American at all, but is a drink local to East Anglia - which made me think that it was a little souvenir brought home by all the Americans based there in the Second World War, until I found out that it was known of in America since the eighteenth century. They also call it egg nogg with two g`s, which suggests that its true root is in "noggin", the early English word for a mug.
Now the recipe is very simple and has few ingredients, so why not look it up online and make some? The ingredients are just eggs, cream, sugar, and spices like cinnamon or nutmeg, and you don`t even really need to add any alcohol, though the one you are served at parties generally seems to have rather a lot glugged into it. And for the vegans amongst us there are several ways around the eggs and the cream. Have a search and see what you can find. One of the things I found, keeping it cartophilic, was a tobacco called Egg Nog, made by Hearth and Home, and available online at SmokingPipes
Woolson Spice Co. [trade : grocery : OS : USA] Advertising Card 1/1
These cards are very sought after in America, and the Christmas ones are the most collected of all. The Woolson Spice Company of Toledo Ohio produced many of them, but on a seasonal basis, so there was only a limited time to buy the item and collect the cards. You can see just a few at OhioMemory/Woolson
Woolson sold a large range of dry goods and bakery essentials, including the spices which made their name. and some of the cards also advertise cookery books and utensils. But their best seller was Lion Coffee, which was advertised with the slogan "A picture card in every package". And you can read about the story of the firm at the LionCoffee website
Why this card is here is because if you have been enjoying taking part in the annual Stir Up Sunday, then today, Christmas Pudding Day, allows you to sample your efforts and see if the elbow grease has been worthwhile.
The first reference to a similar dish dates from the middle ages; it tells of it being made in advance, and stirred towards the west by every member of the family in order to honour the three Wise Men who came from the East to the West. There were also to be thirteen ingredients in order to honour Christ and his twelve disciples. It contained dried fruit, and was made of suet, bread, eggs, flour and spices. But there was no accurate recipes, nor a name, until 1845, when Eliza Acton gave instructions for how to make “The Author’s Christmas Pudding" in her book "Modern Cookery". You will notice that this includes raisins, and these were what were formerly known as plums, providing the dessert`s alternative name of "plum pudding".
John Player [tobacco : UK] "Everyday Phrases by Tom Browne" (1901) Un/25
Now you may know this as Boxing Day, and have heard the stories of how the grand landowners would distribute their unwanted presents and untouched food amongst their workers. Nowadays it is when we have time, for the first time to look at our presents, and, if you are clever, and have made sure the tag stays with the present, to write thank you notes. Perhaps this is why today has become "National Thank You Note Day".
Now a note is short and cheery, and does not drag on over three or four closely packed pages, something that I will do my best to remember....
I am going to be honest, I like the back of this card much better than the front, with the cute little dog, and Thomas Arthur "Tom" Browne himself. And you can read all about him at Wikipedia/TomBrowne However it is getting late, and my searching must come to a close. For some reason it is really hard to find a thank you - and not just on a cigarette card, for sadly I find them very few and far between in the real world as well, and those that I do come across become very treasured indeed. And it costs nothing to say it either. So lets make 2023 the year when we sprinkle a few about, and watch the recipient purr with pleasure....
W.D. & H.O. Wills [tobacco : UK] "Old London" (1929) 4/25
Today is a curious one, an extra holiday, known as a Substitute Day. This occurs when a holiday appears at the weekend, so this Christmas we have two, Christmas Day being on a Saturday and Boxing Day a Sunday. And New Year’s Day also falls on a Saturday. Therefore we will have Monday the 26th and Tuesday the 27th 2022 in lieu of Christmas, and Monday, January the 2nd 2023 in lieu of New Year's Day.
Substitute has several meanings, but most commonly in sport it is the name for a player who comes on after the game has already begun in order to take the place of another. And this all started at Eton College. They were not given a name at first, and it was not quite so organised as it is today, all that happened was when the match was unexpectedly short a player they would hunt around and see if any of the students were not doing anything and wanted to join in.
However, though they can be credited for the idea, they were not the first to use the actual name of "a substitute". That honour falls to Charterhouse, as shown here. And it was in 1863 that their team was recorded in the sporting "Bell`s Life" newspaper as finding it "necessary to provide three substitutes” for their match.
Now this was not football as we know it today, it was very much everyone against the ball, or the person unfortunate enough to be trying to roll it down towards the opposite goal. It was known as "Cloisters", for that was where it was played, indoors, along a long stone corridor without soft grass to land on or space to escape. There were also no fixed rules as to the number of men on a team.
Then in 1872 Charterhouse relocated from the school in London, as shown on this card, to a far more spacious site in Godalming with acres of grounds. Naturally, the game moved outdoors, and the game of "Cloisters" was allowed to fade away.
Geo. Bassett & Co.Ltd (Barratt Division) [trade : confectionery : UK] "World Record Breakers" (1983) 8/50
This was the hardest day of all to find cards for, but we are recording National Chocolate Candy Day with this, a set which was actually issued with candy sticks - though it does not say this on the cards.
You may not know this but the boxes that the cards and the candy sticks came in are also collectable and there were four different outer boxes to collect, showing some of the record breakers depicted. These were a crocodile, an octopus, an aeroplane and a moon rocket. The rocket seems to be the hardest to get.
The packet also tells us that the special album was only available until the 31st of December 1983 - and that to get that you needed to send in a second class stamp (which at that time cost twelve and a half pence!) and ten back panels, one of which you needed to write your name and address on.
Now I have to say that I have a bit of a hankering to convert my current vehicle into a monster truck; and its already on the way towards it, having a fair bit of clearance between tyre and arch and rather bouncy suspension. The tyres shown here would do me grand - until I tried to get in those car parks with the bar topped gates! However these are no longer the largest, for Bridgestone nipped ahead in 2018, and produced a tyre of four metres in height - half a metre taller.
Carreras [tobacco : UK] "Famous Men" (1927) 25/25
Today in 1809 William Ewart Gladstone was born. He was a politician for over sixty years, and was four times our Prime Minister. His middle name was a nod to his Scottish roots.
Oddly he was a politician for under four Parties - he started with the HIgh Tory Party, who changed their name to The Conservative Party in 1834. His Prime Minister was Robert Peel, who decided to start his own rebel party in 1846, to which Gladstone also jumped ship and became a "Peelite". This then found it hard going and after just a few years decided to merge with the Liberal Party, where he served the four terms, and these were non-consecutive terms as well, as Prime Minister.
Now you might be wondering what he has to do with Christmas, and I will tell you, but I will also show you, courtesy of the Mary Evans Picture Library / Gladstone - and though this is a modern reproduction it is taken from an original Christmas Card. The reason why it is called a movable card is that the head nods back and forth.
This card, and the verse, relates to Home Rule for Ireland, which simply meant that Ireland would govern itself. This was planned and debated in 1886, 1893, 1896, and 1912 but it never passed because whilst the Irish Nationalists were in favour, the Unionists were as equally opposed. In fact the 1886 Bill did not even get enough votes to move on to the House of Lords, and the second just about scraped through that but was defeated. Both of these were supported by our man, William Ewart Gladstone, but some felt he did not go strongly enough, and simply nodded to it, hence the card.
What we must remember is that when this second bill was under debate Gladstone was eighty three years old, and had come to office only a year earlier. He left the post the next year, aged eighty-four, which gave him another honour, of being our oldest Prime Minister. He died three years later.
W.D. & H.O. Wills [tobacco : UK] "Trees" (1937) 38/40
Today is a rather odd event, for it is Falling Needles Family Fest Day. Basically this is when the all the needles that are beneath your tree rather than on it get swept up and disposed of, though some people have taken to the idea of disposing of the whole tree on this day.
I wonder how long the day will endure now that a lot of us have artificial trees, or rent a tree from a commercial company to whom you return it after the event? It does seem a waste to grow a tree for so long and then let it die over less than a month, even though we are told that these trees grow fast.
Much of the problem used to be that the traditional choice of tree was a Spruce, and these are really not suitable as their needles have the highest rate of dropping off when subjected to the indoor temperatures and dryness caused by central heating.
However one variety, the blue spruce, is actually the tree to get if you want a Christmas tree to live indoors, for in tests it has consistently proven to be best at keeping its needles. So I have to wonder if there was some confusion in days gone by, or even an attempt to pass off the cheaper spruce-s as the best, and this led to all the loss of all those sad little needles that paid us back for killing them by sticking in our feet.
This week's Cards of the Day...
have been investigating another way of looking at "Noel". Now some people think this is simply French for Christmas, and they do put "Joyeux Noel" on their cards, which means Joyous, or Happy Christmas, but actually it is from the Latin, "Nasci", which means a birth. A variety of this passed into the French language as it became part of the Roman Empire, and when the French came over to us in 1066 it was one of the many words that we were gifted. You will also see it spelt as Nowel or Nowell in many Christmas Carols.
However it is also a name, male or female, and either a Christian, given name, or a middle name. So this week we have gone for clues to people with that name
There is one strange thing though, because in many cases it has an umlaut over the O which is a German additive, not a French one.
Saturday, 17th December 2022
Noel Dwyer was born in Dublin in October 1934. He played schoolboy football, which is where he was spotted, but he actually began with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1957. Our card shows him at Swansea Town though, his team between the 1960/61 and the 1964/65 seasons, during which he moved to Plymouth Argyle, where he stayed until 1965/66, relocating for the final time to Charlton Athletic for a single season. He was also part of the Republic of Ireland National Squad from 1959 until 1964.
The only other card of him, according to the Trading Card Database/NoelDwyer was produced by David Rowland in 1999, part of their "Famous Footballers" Series 3 - that image shows him at West Ham United in August 1959. How great to have the actual date on the card!
Sadly he died in December 1992, aged just fifty-eight.
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 :
FOOTBALLER GROUPING (A). Md. or Lg. 8 backs illustrated at Fig. ABF-10. Nd. ... ABF-10
4. Portrait in rectangle, thick white framelines, border in two colours. Back in red, style of Back 4 except Nos. 58, 103 and 149, which are team pictures with back headed "Footballer - Check List" in horizontal format. 81 x 57. (149) ...
There is a checklist of the set courtesy of the Trading Card Database/Footballers64-65.
On another page of that site they also show the packet, which proves this set to be trade, issued with bubble gum, and that you got two "photos" and gum for 2d.
Sunday, 18th December 2022
I think this is worth the wait, which is my way of saying I was slow, and it will be expanded.
Today we have a puffin, for Noel Lewis Carrington, who had been born in 1895 to a railway engineer who had at one time worked in India as an engineer. Noel was one of five children, and the house was filled with art, and more importantly with encouragement to paint and draw whatever anyone liked. This promotes learning and the children were all talented artists, who moved in art circles, indeed that was how Noel met his wife, also an artist, and how his sister met the love of her life, Lytton Strachey.
Art was briefly put aside for war, where Noel was shot, during the Battle of The Somme. He was also awarded the OBE in 1919. When he returned to civilian life he worked for the Oxford University Press, spending time in India establishing and maintaining branches there. After this he went to Country Life magazine, which furthered his delight in village life and local architecture. He also co-founded Royle Publications, the greetings card and calendar company.
In 1932 his sister killed herself, just two months after Lytton Strachey`s death from cancer. They had met in 1916 and connected instantly, They moved in together shortly after. The house was bought in the name of one of her and Noel`s friends, who moved in too, marrying her in 1921, though she freely admitted it was not love, just to ensure the trio would, and could stay together. Lytton paid for the wedding, and went with them for their honeymoon. The marriage did not last, and though she had other relationships, Lytton was her entire world. And after he died she could only follow.
Noel was shocked by this, and banished art from his life. Then in 1938 he met a man called Allan Lane, who had founded Penguin Books, but now had an idea to create non fiction books specifically for children that would educate them about nature and design. Clouds of another war were gathering, and you might think that a bad time to start printing books for children, but Allan Lane wanted to press ahead, seeing books as being education for those without a place to learn, comfort as their world changed, and a reminder of beauty that they might help to restore it once the war had ended. They were not to be Penguins, but Puffins, hence our card; Puffin Picture Books to be exact, and they were to cost just sixpence each. Despite what I have just said, the first three books were based on warfare - indeed the first ever front cover, for "War on Land" (PP1),showed two tanks. The next two were War on Sea (PP2) and War on Air (PP3). And all three were issued in 1940.
Noel and his wife had three children and lived in Hampstead until the end of the Second World War. Then they moved out to the Berkshire country and started a farm. He continued to write on art and design, and the Puffin Picture Books were still appearing at intervals, the last being no.120, in 1965. He died in April 1989,
Monday, 19th December 2022
Here we have the flag of the White Star Line, who operated the Titanic. And one of the heroes of that fateful night when it struck an iceberg and sank beneath the freezing waves was actually a heroine, a titled Lady called the Countess of Rothes, or Lucy Noel Martha Leslie.
She had married the Nineteenth Earl of Rothes in 1900, into one of the oldest titled families in Scotland, but one where women had the right of succession, not just men. This would have pleased her as she was very interested in the Suffragette movement. She also supported the Red Cross, beginning in 1911, and frequently said that nursing was every bit as strenous as other work, yet women coped with it admirably.
She was on the Titanic to join her husband, who was in California looking at land. On that fateful night she took control of a lifeboat, along with its inhabitants, and steered it out of the pull of the sinking ship, no mean feat, to the safety of the Carpathia, one of the rescue ships. During the night she also had to row for much of the way, and she kept up morale by singing hymns and other verses. When she was safely aboard the Carpathia she would not rest until she had checked on the people in her boat and the other people who had been saved, especially those from the steerage section.
In 1915 an RNLI lifeboat was bought by her father, and named after her.
A curious event occurred during the First World War; she served as a hospital nurse, and in 1916, she was suddenly called on to take care of a soldier, wounded in action, who had been brought back to England for treatment. This turned out to be her husband.
She liked nursing, because she was anonymous. She had become quite famous over the Titanic, which displeased her. She did not feel that she deserved praise for helping other people, and she also said the operator of the lifeboat had been the one that should get the credit. She also bought him a watch, along with one for another member of the crew, and had them engraved. In return he gave her the number from off the lifeboat, which she always treasured, so much so that after her death, the number plate was willed to remain within the family, and it is still there.
The most wonderful thing of all is that they wrote to each other right until she died in 1956, which pleases me so much. Not only that, but when her friend died, his watch was put up for auction by his family, and her family bought it, outbidding all others....
H.67 tells us that this set was also issued by other manufacturers - W.A. & A.C. Churchman (in February 1912), and W. T. Davies of Chester (in 1913, we do not know the month there). In our original Churchman Reference Book it states that the set was actually printed by Mardon Son and Hall. It does not say so in the Ogdens booklet, but most probably our card was as well, though six years had elapsed between the two issues.
There is a "spot the difference" with the Davies issue, which we will show you on Saturday morning in our newsletter. There is also an error noted on card 33 of the Churchman issue, but I do not know if it persists on the others, so please advise. The error is that the flag is on two masts, and that is something that only a seaman would know, so I have a sneaking suspicion that we can credit Aylmer Maurice Rundle for this discovery!
Tuesday, 20th December 2022
Here we have Noel Johnson, or as the card tells us, "The Baby", as he was not so tall as his fellow riders, however what he lacked in height he made up for in spirit.
He had been born in Brisbane, on Christmas Day in 1902, hence his being called Noel. He first came to prominence in the late 1920s, and was one of the original ten riders brought across to this country on an exhibition tour.
Sadly he died in action, just two years after these cards were issued. He was injured in one of the heats at Plymouth Speedway in Devon, and placed in an unmarked grave, which has only recently been re-dedicated. You can read about that and see the new headstone, at SpeedwayPlus/NoelJohnson
This is a very striking set, and all the cards may be seen online at two sites.
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The Speedway Archive / Ogdens - where if you click on the first card it pops up larger and you can arrow the whole set through in that format.
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The Speedway Museum / Ogdens - where each card is in a small box with brief biographical details. These are actually from the reverses of the cards,
The cards are a mixture of posed portraits, and action shots, which I have to say are most effective !
Wednesday, 21st December 2022
This is quite a scarce set, and perhaps seen as a bit dry to some collectors who only read the name as you scroll down the catalogue listings. It is also sepia, so not so inspiring amongst the jewels of the dealer`s stock. And lastly it is politicians.
However, here we have the story of today`s Noel.
Noel Edward Buxton was born in 1869. After leaving college he went to work for his father, who was at that time the Governor of South Australia. In 1900 he came home and attempted to become the MP for Ipswich, but he was defeated. Five years later, he tried again, this time in Whitby, where he was elected. However this only lasted until 1906. He might have faded away then, but for the fact that there was a general election in 1910, and he found himself the Liberal MP for Norfolk North.
In 1914 he and his younger brother, Charles Roden Buxton were on the way to Bulgaria when they stopped in Bucharest. Whilst there both were shot in what is recorded as an assassination attempt. Our man was shot in the jaw, as it says on our card, but his brother was shot through the lung. The shooter was captured and imprisoned for five years. The Buxtons were well known in the region, Noel being the Chairman of the Balkan War Relief Committee, and supporting various humanitarian efforts there including medical teams. The trip was a further attempt to keep Bulgaria neutral. However both not only recovered, but kept a keen eye on the area, they also wrote several books about it!
In 1919 Noel became a member of the Labour Party, and successfully won the same seat but for a different party. He remained in office until 1930 but, as it says on our card, he was also the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries during the years 1924 and 1929/30.
In 1930 he retired from his parliamentary role on health grounds and became Baron Noel-Buxton, but there is a twist to this title as he changed his surname so that his Christian name might still be visible; that technically made him Baron Noel Edward Noel-Buxton. He was succeeded as the MP for Aylsham by his wife
He died in September 1948.
Thursday, 22nd December 2022
This set was issued after the Carreras take over of G. G. Goode in 1931. The cards measure 67 x 40 m/m. Some collectors swear that it is one set, and others split it into two. The argument for the entire set is that they all look the same, front and back, from artwork by Bob Mirams, and they are also numbered consecutively. However cards 1-73 are all of one sport, football, and especially Aussie Rules Football. whilst cards 74-96 are assorted sports and two borderline sport-related.
These oddities are
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card 93 Philip Hargrave - the reverse text says "A great future is predicted for Philip Hargrave the ten year old Adelaide painist whose playing has delighted thousands of Australian music lovers". And no that is not my typo it actually does say "painist" So was a corrected card issued? In 1936 he announced he was quitting music to study medicine, but there is a fascinating sketch of him in the Australian Government Archives, playing the piano to entertain the troops in New Guinea
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card 96 Sir Charles Kingsford Smith - "One of the World`s greatest Airmen. He made a record flight round Aust, in 1927. First Trans-Pacific and First Trans-Tasman Flight, 1928. Eng-Aust. Solo Record in 1930. Crossed Atlantic, east to west, 1930. Has crossed the Tasman on three occasions and flown from England to Australia five times"
All the cards are listed at AthletiCards/TurfPersonality but there are some differences on the actual cards namely
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73 Austin Robertson track & field/running; Australian rules football -
card says "(World`s Champion Sprinter)" -
74 Ambrose Palmer boxing -
card says "(Australia`s Leading Heavy Weight)" -
75 Godfrey Vockler swimming -
card says "(Aust Champion Swimmer)" -
76 Don Bradman cricket -
card says "(Australia`s Champion Batsman) and the name is shown as `Don` " -
77 `Vic' Richardson cricket -
card says "(Aust Test Cricketer)" -
78 Miss Frances Bult swimming -
card says "(A Leading Aust Woman Swimmer") -
79 W. Duncan jockey -
card says "(Australia`s Leading Horseman)" -
80 R.W. (Fatty) Lamb cycling -
card says "(One of Aust`s Leading Cyclists) and does not bracket Fatty" -
81 Hubert Opperman cycling -
card says "(Australia`s Champion Cyclist)" -
82 J.E. Pike jockey -
card says " `Jimmy` Pike" (Leading N.S.W. Horseman") -
83 Tom Perrin rugby -
card says "(NSW`s International Rugby Player)" -
84 Noel Ryan swimming -
card says "(Swimming Champion N.S.W.)" -
85 Adrian Quist tennis -
card says "(Member Aust Davis Cup Team 1933)" -
86 Mrs. Jack Crawford tennis -
card says "(One of Aust`s Tennis Stars)" -
87 Don Turnbull tennis -
card says "(Member Aust Davis Cup Team 1933)" -
88 Harry Williams golf -
card says "(One of Aust`s Champion Golfers)" -
89 Vivian McGrath tennis -
card says "(Member Aust Davis Cup Team 1933)" -
90 Jack Crawford tennis -
card says "(Capt, Aust Davis Cup Team)" -
91 Jack Holt horse racing -
card says `Jack` Holt (one of Aust`s Successful Trainers) -
92 Walter Lindrum billiards -
card says "(Australian & World Champ Billiards)" -
93 Philip Hargrave piano -
card says "(Aust`s Boy Genius at the Piano)" -
94 Haydn Bunton Australian rules football -
card says "(Victoria`s Champion Footballer) -
95 W. M. Woodfull cricket -
card says "(Aust`s Popular Test Captain)" -
96 Sir Charles Kingsford Smith aviation -
card says "(Australia`s Flying Ace)".
Friday, 23rd December 2022
Our last Noel of the week, and this is Noel Harford, or Noel Sherwin Harford to be correct. He was born in August 1930 and he played, as it says on the card, for Central Districts - from 1953 until 1959. He made his test debut against Pakistan in 1955, and came to England in 1958, which was when our cards were issued. He is most remembered for two centuries, and perhaps for being injured when Fred Trueman hit him in the face with the ball. Whether due to that or not, he did not play another test, but he did change teams to Auckland, in 1959.
You will sometimes see a slightly different name on cards by this issuer, as in our case, where the word "Machine" is added. However most catalogues use the name we quote in our title. Master Vending was based at 82-106 Cricklewood Lane, London, NW2.
This set is sixteen large cards, measuring 95/96 x 65/66 m/m. There is no evidence that the difference in size is by home trimming as they do not vary enough for that. A special album was issued for them, and these cards tell us that they were obtained by writing to the firm and enclosing a shilling postal order. It also says "mentioning the series" so this must have been an album specific to this set, and the other sets possiby had their own albums too.
Anyone out there having any albums that they would like to show us, or more knowledge of the issuer, please write in
Well readers midnight has come and gone and here I sit still typing. There is one omission, as usual, the codes for the diary cards. But they will be added asap. There is not time now, nor eyes to see them with.
May I close by thanking you all for coming along in the wee small hours, sitting and waiting in the darkness for them to appear, and for reading these little glimpses into the story of our hobby, and for putting up with my ramblings, and my eco-friendliness, and my introducing of a few subjects that might have raised some eyebrows with cartophilists of yore. They have been great fun to write, a challenge too, in finding cartophilic links to the most curious of days, and there have been many pleasures in finding a day that is actually on a card. I have also discovered many new heroes, and heroines, and some really great cards, And long may all of that continue.
Only one thing is left unsaid...