Well here we are again, another Friday night slides gently into Saturday morning, and June progresses towards July. But wait. There is a lot of June to go yet, including all of the events we dealt with in this week`s cards of the day, and more we have even yet to speak of.
The best thing about this month is that it is fairly guaranteed that it will be dry (apart from Wimbledon Fortnight, for some reason) and that most of us will have a chance to either go away on holiday or schedule some time in a garden or park, or even just open the window and breathe the air.
This week I ought to have had a bit more time but in the constructing of the index I found that I had a double entry, for Wills "Air Raid Precautions", so that has now been replaced, with the Hignett version. At the same time I realised that "Air Raid Precautions" was just too important a set to write it up in piecemeal between all the sets, hither and yon, so we now have a dedicated page "A for Air Raid Precautions" into which all the many versions of that set can be discussed as well as the background of its production.
Though the Hignett version has not yet gone in the index because I have to look up the card code, which I will do at the same time of looking at our first Diary Card of the week which coincidentally is also a Hignett..
Cue for our diary dates, which this week involve a wedding, a bell, a sailor, three Kings, and a Duke.
Hignett Bros & Co. [tobacco : UK] "The Prince of Wales` Tour" - untitled (1924) 3/25 - H536-20 : H44-37
Lets start with one of the Kings, or not, for today was the wedding of The Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson - the man who gave of his Kingdom for love. He was quite a catch, shall we say, too.
Our card shows him in his prime, on a world tour, aboard H.M.S. Renown, in 1920. This time he was heading for Australia and New Zealand to fulfil a promise, to return in Peacetime, that his father, King George V, had made. But instead of going himself, he sent his son, at that time the Prince of Wales. And he was a huge draw, with crowds appearing at every one of the towns and cities he stopped off at. In some cases it was said that more people lined the streets than lived in the town. And a vast proportion were women.
Edward did have female friends, but was showing no signs of picking a bride. That was until 1932. He had met this lady before, at a party, and her second husband, Mr. Ernest Simpson. He was English, and had been in the Coldstream Guards, but she had been born in Baltimore, America, and this was her second marriage.
It ought to be, in life, that love conquers all, but it is seldom so in the Royal Family. And when Edward became King on the death of his father, he had to choose between being with the woman he loved and the Crown of England. He chose the former, and his brother became King George VI.
Edward, now the Duke of Windsor, married his love on June 3, 1937 at a chateau in France. The date would have been his father`s seventy-second birthday, and his mother was deeply offended. None of his family were present.
The Church of England refused to conduct the ceremony, but the Vicar of St. Pauls in Darlington stepped forward and offered, and that was accepted. However it was an act which would see him losing his Church, and his homeland, and in spending his death in an unmarked grave.
Our card, a souvenir of happier times, is described in our World Tobacco Issues Indexes as simply : "THE PRINCE OF WALES` EMPIRE TOUR (A). Sm. Sepia. Nd. (25)
To me the title is slightly wrong, because this was not the only tour he undertook; there were sixteen in all, starting in 1919 and ending in 1935, a number of which were on H.M.S. Renown. Perhaps, given time, I will be able to tie the pictures down to a single tour, or more than one. And that might provide us with a firm date.
And there is something else to look up, because for some reason the top of this card plainly states "First Series" and yet there was no other. Can anyone out there explain this for us all?
Major Drapkin & Co. [tobacco : UK] “Puzzle Pictures” standard size (July 1926) 14/25 – D800-750 : D64-34
Now today it is Sjómannadagurinn - or Seaman`s Day, in Iceland. That gives us a chance to all pause and think that whatever we are complaining about right now, at least we are not on board a ship in the freezing Arctic waters.
This event happens every year on the first Sunday in June, and every year almost every ship in Iceland stays fast at anchor whilst their crew celebrate and give thanks for seeing another year. I have not been able yet to find out why this date was chosen, but it cannot be for a person if it is not the same date every year.
I have not used this set before, but cannot find the cutlass. I expect you can?
Our World Tobacco Issues Indexes both list this set as : "PUZZLE PICTURES. Size (a) small (b) large. Nd. (25)" Only the card codes are different.
The cards are art-drawn, and contain a cross section of adventurous pursuits, bandit, mountaineer, highwayman, gladiator. There are also two rather adventurous characters from literature, Shakespeare`s Romeo at card 7, and Daniel Defoe`s Robinson Crusoe at card 21. However the set starts, rather intriguingly, with the Chelsea Pensioner, but then when you think about it, they were an adventurer too, once, fighting for their country, otherwise this man would not be at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, with his medals so proudly pinned upon his chest. Even the text tells us that to be there they must have become disabled, or have served for twenty one years or more.
Now before you ponder, yes, the Chelsea Pensioners can be women.
The first of them was Christian Cavanagh, or Christian Davies, and she was admitted in 1717, both for her long service in the Army, and for wounds received in battle. She had been born in Ireland, and had joined the Army under the disguise of a man, some say purely to look for her husband, who had gone to war and left her and her children. This was not discovered until 1706 when she was seriously wounded at the Battle of Ramillies. And as a neat link to our set, Daniel Defoe, the author of Robinson Crusoe, met her during her residency at the Royal Hospital, and wrote a book about her. She died in 1739, and was buried there.
However then there was a very long gap of masculine exclusivity, for the next female resident did not come along until March 2009, and then there were two. One was a nurse, and the other was in the Army, guarding the straits of Dover from flying bombs
W.D. & H.O. Wills [tobacco : UK] “Australian Scenic Series” 100/100 – W675-404 : W62-266
Today it is Western Australia Day, formerly Foundation Day, for it commemorates the day, in 1829, that the first settlers colonized the land of that state. At that time it was called The Swan River Colony, after the water that flowed through it, but it came to be known as Perth, and to be the Capital City of the whole state of Western Australia. "Swan River Colony" remained in informal use for many years.
A few years later, in 1832, the date was changed, and the event is now celebrated on the first Monday in June. In a somewhat enlightened for the times decision, the Lieutenant Governor decided that the name should also be changed, from Foundation Day, to a name which celebrated the area and all its inhabitants, though he did say "masters and servants" in his speech. However it was not legally renamed Western Australia Day until much later, in 2012.
Now I have hunted, but this set does not appear to be listed in the original set of Wills reference booklets, so there is, as yet, no long and detailed description.
However it is in our original World Tobacco Issues Index under Wills` section 3C. that being for “Issues 1922-29. Backs inscribed “W.D. & H.O. Wills`s World Renowned Cigarettes” unless stated."
The obviously shortened description of our set is : "AUSTRALIAN SCENIC SERIES. Md. 69 x 53. Black and white photos. Nd. (100)"
It does not say that the backs are almost impossible to scan, but they are! So if anyone else can do better, even with another card from this series, so long as it is from Western Australia, please do, and send us the scan.
Many thanks in advance.
By the time of our updated World Tobacco Issues Index this set is filed under Wills` section 4C, because the modern, post 1960 issues have had to be slotted in. The section description and details of our set are the same as above, but it has a new card code
Alexander Boguslavsky Ltd. [tobacco : UK] “Winners on the Turf” (1925) 9/25 – B519-600.A.b : B84-5.A.b
Papyrus was born in 1920, and he only raced from the Spring of 1922 until the Autumn of 1924, just nine races. However one of these was The Derby, which he won, one hundred years ago today, in 1923. And though you would never know it from this card, his jockey at the Derby was the American Steve Donoghue - this text makes it sound like he was only on top of Papyrus for the challenge match against the Kentucky Derby Winner
That event is often quoted as being the first time that a horse from our country had ever travelled to America, which he did by ship. However it was certainly not the first time horses had been shipped, and indeed Papyrus` father, Tracery, was sent from America to England as one of the racehorses in work and training that had been adversely affected by the Hart-Agnew Law of 1908, which saw all racing in New York State suspended for the foreseeable future over betting irregularities. In fact the courses were closed until 1913, and almost fifteen hundred horses were shipped across the globe during the law`s enforcement.
The match was to be on the 20th of October for a purse of a hundred thousand dollars for the winner and two thousand for the runner up. It would only be horse against horse, no other racers on the track to fight against. It sounded shall I say, a cert, but the day was cold, and rainy, and the course was thick mud and, though not freely admitted, Papyrus was also nursing an injury, having been struck on the leg by another competitor in the recent St. Leger. Now according to Godfrey Phillips "Derby Winners & Jockeys" 3/25 this was a bit more than a strike, for the text tells us he was "second to Tranquil in the St. Leger after being damaged in a scrimmage." And there was a further complication, which was not mentioned, and maybe not even known at the time, for his father had been retired from racing due to thoroughpin, a swelling of the tendon in one or both legs, and that is often hereditary.
In 1924, after having failed to win his last four races, Papyrus was retired, and was put to stud. He died, peacefully, in his box, in 1941.
He may be seen, in his prime, on :
-
Gallaher "Champion Animals and Birds of 1923" (1923) 20/25
-
Godfrey Phillips "Derby Winners & Jockeys" (1923) 3/25
-
John Player "Derby and Grand National Winners" (1933) 16/50
Both our World Tobacco Issues Indexes lists this set as :
WINNERS ON THE TURF. Nd. (25).
A) Small, 68 x 36. Captions on front in (a) serif (b) sans serif letters
B) Large 77 x 61.
However the London Cigarette Card Company catalogue for 1950 splits the set into A. the sans serif, B. the serif, and C. the large size.
W.D. &H.O. Wills - Capstan brand [tobacco : O/S] “Interesting Buildings” (1905) 6/50 –
Now the card codes for this will have to be added later as it is last minute replacement.
This card celebrates the birth, today, in 1761, of John Rennie the architect and designer of bridges, canals, and docks, and Engineer to the Admiralty. But before I mislead you further, yes there were two John Rennie`s, a father and a son. And though the son took over the post of Engineer to the Admiralty, we are concerned here with his father.
Our John Rennie is either known as "Senior" or as "The Elder", but he was born in East Linton, in East Lothian, Scotland, the son of a farmer, but his early years were spent being allowed watch how things worked, and to make experiments. Perhaps by chance, or karma, also on the farm was Andrew Meikle, who is one of the contenders to having invented the threshing machine, the wonder of the agricultural age. So whilst he attended normal school, his aptitude saw him moving on to the University of Edinburgh rather than stay and just work the farm, as his older brother had to. And to establish a business as a millwright, with a difference, for his wheels did not need the frequent replacing that others did. This was because he had started to work with cast iron, and his pinions were made of that material rather than wood. Though cast iron will break if dropped, it is strong and tough in normal use.
By the mid 1780s he was of sufficient importance to call in on James Watt, who offered him a job. One of his first tasks was to construct a steam engine for a flour mill, which, rather than the usual wood, would have many metal parts. d framing. The job with Watt lasted for about ten years, and then they seem to have parted amicably, after which John Rennie moved down to London and set up in business on his own again.
He started, somehow, with canals, working out elaborate schemes of docks and coping with diverting and taming water flow. In 1802 this saw him working on the Royal Canal of Ireland, and advising on the committee for piping water through Dublin. In fact in 1804 he was given the Freedom of Dublin.
That is almost certainly why how he became involved with building Dunleary (now Dun Laoghair) Harbours, and to construct the entire dockyards of the Custom House in Dublin, which took four years to build, and were completed just two months before his death.
This card does not show much of the docks, but I hope is a fitting tribute.
And it provides us with yet another version of this "Interesting Buildings" set, to accompany those by :
Cohen Weenan - https://csgb.co.uk/publications/newsletter/2022-12-17
W. Williams& Co - https://csgb.co.uk/publications/newsletter/2023-02-04.
Peter Jackson [tobacco : UK] “The Pageant of Kingship” 26/150 – J10-750 : J4-22
Now you may be wondering why this is here when Edward the Confessor was crowned King on the 3rd of April 1043. But the answer is that he actually became King on on 8 June 1042, on the death of Harthacnut, the son of King Canute.
Now there is a very curious thing to me, with my delight in tracing word origins as Harthacnut actually means "Hard Knot", in other words a hard man. So id he was a feared warrior and gained this name in battle, was it not that King Canute, or Knut, was named, after his own death, from that of his son? There is also a theory that this is where our "wrongly heard" phrase of "Hard Nut" comes from. You may impress your grandchildren with that.
Edward the Confessor was born some time in 1003, and he died in 1066. And on his death the House of Wessex also died.
This is one of those odd sets where it is made up of differently sized cards. There are also two printings listed in our original World Tobacco Issues Index as follows :
THE PAGEANT OF KINGSHIP. Sm. 67 x 39 (90) and Lg. 76 x 56 (60). Nd.
A) Inscribed “Issued by Peter Jackson”
B) Inscribed “Issued by Peter Jackson (Overseas) Ltd.
This information is repeated in the updated version but there has been a discovery, and item B now reads “on board or thin paper.” However I found this thickness difference in the London Cigarette Card Company catalogue for 1955, so maybe I missed it in the original Tobacco Issues World Index? At that time the paper version was being sold at 3d a card and the thicker board version at 1/6d each.
There is also a curious item that accompanies this set. This is a circular card, with a gold border, and on the front it shows a book with a white cover and the words "The Pageant of Kingship". Flanking this are two paragraphs, "You can obtain this book free" and "for full details see overleaf". On the other side it describes the book and then at the bottom it says "This beautiful souvenir of the Coronation can be obtained FREE i exchange for five of these slips from John LIttle & Co. Ltd. Singapore". But I have been told that there are other addresses? Is that so and if so, please let us know what they are.
Lambert & Butler [tobacco : UK] “Famous British
Airmen and Airwomen” (1935) 16/25 – L073-335 : L8-46 : L/42 (RB.9/42)
Today in 1928 Air Commodore Charles Kingsford-Smith and his three comrades successfully ended the first ever Trans-Pacific flight in a craft called "The Southern Cross".
They had left California on the 31st of May, on a route designed to take advantage of stopping over. The first leg was to Hawaii, and it took twenty-seven and a half hours. Strangely, they had to relocate in order to leave, because the runway they had landed on was not long enough for the take off.
The next section was to be the hardest and the longest, Hawaii to Fiji. It was the most treacherous too, for a great deal of it flew over uninhabited areas and seas where no sailors were ever seen. They were aloft for almost thirty five hours, and they also had to weather a huge storm which they had predicted, but not gauged the intensity of.
After that they flew from Fiji to Australia, crossing the coastline in just twenty hours from departure, and then flying on to Brisbane. Strangely he had been born in Brisbane in 1897, but had relocated almost immediately to Sydney.
He had joined up in the First World War, where his mechanical skills saw him serving as motorcycle despatch, and other similar jobs, at Gallipoli. Somehow he survived that, and transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, winning the Military Cross, but losing two toes in a flying accident. In 1918 he became part of the Royal Air Force.
After the First World War, he kept flying, and moved to England and America before relocating again to Australia and becoming a civilian pilot with West Australian Airways.
But his first love was pushing the boundaries, of making lengthy and dangerous flights.
In 1935, the year this set was issued, he flew too far, and he and his co pilot were lost. The flight was an attempt to break the record for flying from England to Australia. His aeroplane was seen above, on fire, near India, but all that was ever found was a wheel, with part of the strut attached. This was positively identified as being from their aeroplane. Of the men, never a trace.
Our original Lambert and Butler Reference Book (RB.9) lists this set as :
42. 25 FAMOUS BRITISH AIRMEN & AIRWOMEN. Fronts printed by letterpress (line blocks), black and white sketches. Backs in black, with descriptions. 1935.
Our World Tobacco Issues Indexes list this with slightly less gusto as simply : "FAMOUS BRITISH AIRMEN & AIRWOMEN. Sm. Black and white. Nd. (25)
This week's Cards of the Day...
have been celebrating the sixth month, of June, which starts on Thursday, and is the middle of all the months. It also holds the Summer Solstice (or the Winter one, if you are in the Antipodes).
Strangely, and I have yet to find out why, there are two summer-times - the astronomical one beginning immediately on the first of the month and the meterological one beginning twenty days later.
Saturday, 27th May 2023
This card related to June because the Norwich City Football team was founded on the 17th of June 1902 at a meeting held at the Criterion Cafe in Norwich. Its original name was the Norwich Church of England Young Men's Society Football Club, but that was soon shortened to "Norwich City". At that time they were part of the Norfolk and Suffolk League, and in their first season they finished third. They joined the Southern League a couple of years later. But their original name lives on, in all its lengthy glory, as part of the Anglian Combination Football League, which was founded in 1964, and now has over a hundred local teams taking part.
Our football correspondent, Bowbara, tells us this card shows the Norwich City strip that was worn between 1903 and 1907, which was before they changed to the yellow strip that led to them becoming known as "The Canaries". These bright little birds were part of local history, for one of the many influxes of workers to the area from the Low Countries saw them accompanied by their feathered friends who kept them company, and kept them amused, whilst they worked. You can also see a canary, on a football, on the club crest. Humorously, when they moved to their new ground it then became known as "The Canary`s Nest", or just "The Nest". And he also, amazingly, tells me that the player shown on this card can be identified, as Davie Ross.
But at the time our card was issued this was all in the future - and our team had another nickname, which was "The Citizens". That name disappeared, but lives again with the Community Sports Foundation, who run many local fundraising events to help people in need, all thanks to a network of truly wonderful volunteers - who are called The Canary Citizens.
Our original Wills reference book part four tells us that this set is :
220. 50 FOOTBALL CLUB COLOURS (adopted title). Size 63 x 36 m/m. Unnumbered. Fronts per fig.85 lithographed in colour. Backs in red, horizontal; illustration of closed “Scissors” packet on left, panel inscribed “Special Army Quality” on right, “Scissors” issue, between 1905-10.
It then has a list of the teams, in alphabetical order. But I can do better, or rather our friends at the Football Cartophilic Exchange can! Check out their Scissors/FCC page which shows all the cards.
I do wonder why the captions on the front are so light - or is it that the ink faded after all this time and that at the time they shone out bright and clear? I say that because some remain more readable, but also because if you look about you will see that the cards do vary, and just because you have a light caption on your card, it does not mean you will not find a darker one on your travels.
Most of the names are still going strong, but I do wonder at the fates of Gainsborough Trinity, Glossop, and Leicester Fosse.
The entry in our original World Tobacco Issues Index takes a bit of finding as it is under section 4, “Export issues quoting certain brands”, and then as part of sub-section 4G, for “Scissors Cigarettes”, which, the header tells us, were issued in India, and in areas where British Garrisons were stationed, between 1904 and 1927. The description is simply : "FOOTBALL CLUB COLOURS (A). Sm. 63 x 36. Unnd. (50). See W/220"
And though this description is repeated in our updated World Tobacco Issues Index, the set has moved on to sub-section 5G.
Sunday, 28th May 2023
This clue referred to the "grasshopper", who is hopping about from May but seems to come alive in June, and entertain us with their rhythmic sounds. Of course, the why is for romance, for the lads woo the lasses by rubbing their legs up and down along their own wings, and this creates the effect of a lover`s serenade. Or so it sounds, but in actuality the rub produces but a single note, which is repeated quickly afterwards to make the chain of notes and produce the song.
I love to lie in the grass miles from anywhere and listen to them, it is such a summer noise. They do visit gardens too, and may do so more in the future if we all adopt "No Mow May" and vow to leave our lawnmowers locked in the shed so that the wildlife may prosper.
Anyway once their song has had the desired effect the females lay their eggs in the soil, where they remain until winter has passed above them, then they hatch out and move the the closest plant they can find. They are very fond of clover but will eat anything, even peeling paintwork. On a plant it is said that you can see little holes to start with and then once they are nourished enough they move out to the edge of the leaves, making round patterns, but by that time you only have to lie on the floor beneath the leaf and look up and you will see a tiny perfect grasshopper there, chewing away. And as to why you lie on the floor, well if you turn the leaf by hand you may damage them or even kill them.
Our original reference book RB.4, to the issues of Gallaher Ltd, published in 1944, tells us there are two versions of the set, of which ours is the second. These are not given a reference code, just described as :
1928. 25. AESOP`S FABLES (titled series). Size 2 5/8” x 1 7/16”. Numbered 1-25 (this set is captioned on the backs “series of 50”). Fronts printed in three colours from half-tone screen blocks, blue marginal lines and white border. Subjects untitled. Backs printed in brown, with descriptions and “Issued by Gallaher Ltd.” Printed by Tillotsons Ltd. Bolton.
1928. 25. AESOP`S FABLES (titled series). Similar to the above, but captioned “series of 25”. The brown ink used on the backs, in general, is not quite so dark as the so-called “fifty set”. Printed by Tillotsons Ltd. Bolton.
This is a bit confusing but yes, the version marked “series of 50” was indeed only a set of 25 cards. It must have been recalled and reprinted, and as both sets were issued within the same year it looks like the error was only noticed after they were issued, and the set was almost immediately replaced. Though there is not a lot of difference value wise, which suggests that the error set was not removed and pulped, for if so it would have been more expensive.
Oddly our original World Tobacco Issues Index does not mention the two sets and simply says : "AESOP`S FABLES. Sm. 67 x 36. Nd. (25). See Ha.518."
However our updated version carries both sets, as :
AESOP`S FABLES. Sm. 67 x 36. Nd. (25). See H.518.
A. Inscribed “Series of 25” B. Inscribed “Series of 50”. Nos. 1/25 only issued
Now this set was also issued by E. & W. Anstie of Devizes, which you can see and read about in our newsletter for the 6th of May 2023. Just drop down to Monday the 8th of May. That also tells us about a third issuer, W. H. & J. Woods, Ltd, of Preston, who issued the set in sepia. That will turn up on this website somewhere along the way. If you look at that Anstie card, the reverse is almost identical to ours, also being coloured fronts, and having the same framework and infill to the box at the top of the reverse – however their box is white, not coloured in, and rather basic in appearance. And also it turns out that the Anstie cards are smaller in size.
Monday, 29th May 2023
And so to our final clue, the "honeysuckle". And that is one of the birth flowers for June. This plant either comes as a bush or as a vine, though the bushes do get a bit straggly and it can be harder to see the flowers amidst the tangles. There is also a theory that encouraging the vines to climb make for stronger flowers, and also, in warmer climates, a better quality of nectar, which is why they are so sought after by humming birds.
There are almost two hundred varieties of honeysuckle, so you are sure to find one which will suit your needs, though the Japanese variety is considered to be too invasive for gardens - and to stop you buying it by mistake, this, like the Camellia we featured recently, is called Japonica.
Now this set is one of the ones which was issued with both "Grandee" and "Doncella" cigars. The "Doncella" brand started issuing cards before the "Grandee", producing the "Golden Age" sets in the mid 1970s, starting with "Golden Age of Motoring" in 1975, and closing what was quite a gap in production, of about forty years, this stoppage being due to the outbreak of the Second World War.
The first "Grandee" set is often said to be the 1977 untitled set which is either known as "Limericks" or as "Limerick Competition". It had a folder, not an album, which opened out to 172 x 50 m/m, and there were just seven cards to collect. It ran until the end of January 1978. I have seen them, but cannot find one in the time I have.
However this was actually not their first set, as in 1976 they had issued a set of six folders called "World Of Gardening", which opened out by flipping from 90 x 50 m/m to 180 x 50 m/m. The front of these look like a card, for they are a large picture with white borders, whilst inside was the entry form and instructions on the left hand side and a list of prizes on the right - ten super greenhouses, fifty sets of stainless steel gardening tools, and a thousand rose bushes, intriguingly called "The Grandee Rose" and bred by Harry Wheatcroft. Now I cannot find this rose anywhere, but freely admit my list of flower sources is very slim. However if anyone out there can track it down it would be fun. And I have to say I quite like this set, so if anyone has one that they would like to scan all four sides of I am pretty sure I will be able to feature it as either a card of the day or in the diary dates. By the way, there was no album, maybe because the point of the set was just to enter the contest and be discarded. And the competition closed in November 1976.
Both these sets are very different to our featured card.
The first set similar to ours in size, format, and appearance was not issued until 1979, and it was called the "Grandee Top Dogs Collection".
All these sets were issued way too late for our original World Tobacco Issues Index, so ours is only described in our updated version, where it is catalogued under a heading of : "Grandee" Series. Md. 89 x 52. Later series similar to "Doncella" issues. Special albums issued."
However the description of the set is less expansive, just "BRITAIN`S WILD FLOWERS. Nd. (30)"
I did say that I may be able to find the original "New Issues Report" on either this set, or failing that the "Doncella" version, which was also issued in 1986, just in time for the newsletter, so watch this space.
And here we are, slightly later than I planned.
Tuesday, 30th May 2023
Our card, with those super little mice, relates to the harvest, not only because these are harvest mice but because June was a critical time for the setting of the future harvest. So here we are going to have a chat about weather lore for June, about which there are several sayings. This is probably because it is the peak of the growing season and so watching the crops was more important than ever, and when you watch things really closely you do seem to notice those little coincidences.
Some of the best known sayings revolve around what would have been pretty obvious to farm folk. The main ones are that if you have a sunny June you will get an early harvest, simply because it gives the crop extra heat to ripen it. Some also say that if other wild or cultivated plants blossom early, the harvest will also be early. Again this is common sense, for it means that the soil is warm and this encourages growth in all fields of nature.
Another saying revolves around the wind, and it goes that some harvests will be plentiful if there is wind. This is all to do with pollination, the wind taking the pollen about and doing the work as well as and instead of the bees and beetles.
In contrast if it is cold and wet in June the saying goes that the harvest will be late, for that extra burst of warmth will be lacking. Though some farmers firmly believe that a little spot of rain does not really matter, for if the crop is sufficiently advanced, and protected, the rain will add warmth and moisture. Mind you one saying tells that there is a vital date, namely June the 8th, on which if it rains, it will also rain when it is time to harvest. And there is a time scale for this, forty days later, so you had better be prepared or harvest early. Now after quite a bit of research, this date still seemed to have no Religious significance, though sometimes it is Corpus Christi. But I have been told that it was the Feast of St, Medard, who is the Patron Saint of good weather and of the prevention of bad weather, especially for farmers and growers. And he is also often prayed to amidst storms and other times of violent weather.
Our card first appears in the original John Player Reference Book (RB.17) published in 1950. The description there is :
9. 50 ANIMALS OF THE COUNTRYSIDE. Small cards. Fronts in colour. Backs in grey, with descriptive text. Issued August, 1939, with special album.
A) Home issue, adhesive, with I.T.C. and Album clauses
B) Channel Islands issue, adhesive, without I.T.C. or Album clause
C) Irish Issue, non adhesive. With Exchange Scheme clause, large green numerals overprinted, and I.T.C. Clause.
Before I rocket on, the album cover actually shows our little mice. I will see if I can track down an image to insert here, but I am fairly certain that any internet auction will have at least one
By the time of our original World Tobacco Issues Index, just six years later, all had changed, and the three sets had been parted from each other. The Irish version comes up first, because of the non-adhesive back, under section 2B. Then we get our set, under 2C, simply described as "ANIMALS OF THE COUNTRYSIDE. Sm. Nd. (50) See RB.17/9A". Lastly, some way further along, we find the Channel Islands set, under 3C, where it is also revealed that it was issued in Malta. And this version is even further away in the updated version, as section 4C, because there has been a new section added to take sets issued after 1965.
Wednesday, 31st May 2023
This set was issued in 1928, and that was too early to have been listed as a new issue in any of the usual card collectors magazines, for even the London Cigarette Card Company`s "Cigarette Card News" did not begin until 1933. So it is almost certain that it is first described in our original Ogdens Reference Book (RB.15), as :
21. AUSTRALIAN TEST CRICKETERS 1928 -29. Unnumbered, Fronts printed by letterpress in sepia. Backs in grey, with descriptive text. Home issue, 1928. A series of 36.
The cards are listed below that, and I will scan it some time and add it.
This description was shortened for our World Indexes, and both are almost identical, namely : " AUSTRALIAN TEST CRICKETERS 1928 -29. Sm. Sepia. Unnd. (36)." However after this the original adds "See RB.15/21", whilst the updated version has "RB.115/21".
Now I do not have RB.115, so if anyone would like to check the description and see if it varies I would be most grateful for the info.
Thursday, 1st June 2023
So here is another huge sporting event that takes place in June, Wimbledon. I had a bit of a time finding this match though, which is stated to be Mrs Helen Wills-Moody and Miss Cross (U.S.A.) against Miss Harvey & Mrs McIlquham
I have found that in the 1929 Ladies Doubles that Miss Ermyntrude Hilda Harvey & Mrs C.G. McIlquham beat Miss Bouman & Mlle. Couquerque in the quarter finals, and progressed to the semis where they were beaten by Mrs Michell & Mrs Watson. However Helen Wills only became Helen Wills-Moody after her marriage in December 1929, and in 1930 she partnered Elizabeth Ryan, not Miss Cross. And she did not compete in 1931.
However I was going the wrong way, for this is turns out to be the third round from 1929 , in which Miss E.H. Harvey & Mrs C.G. McIlquham actually beat Miss Cross and the pre-married, still Miss Wills. So was this card an old photo, renamed to make it current? Hmm.
Anyway, yes, here is the missing link, the companion to the set of fifty "Homeland Events" (issued earlier, in August 1927), which we have already featured on our website, that being an Export issue, sent off to New Zealand, Malaya and Malta.
Our card`s first appearance in a reference book was in our Wills part work number four, issued in 1950 – where it is linked with the set of 50, and the duo are described as :
HOMELAND EVENTS. Fronts Photoprints in black and white. Backs in black, with descriptive text. Two different series.
232. 54 Series of 54. Size 63 x 35 m/m. Wills` name and I.T.C. Clause at base of back. Home issue, 1932.
233. 50. Series of 50. Size 66 x 36 m/m. Issued between 1925-30. Similar series issued by Lambert & Butler.
A) Wills` name at base of back, no I.T.C. Clause. Issued in New Zealand
B) Anonymous backs. General Overseas Issue
I had a look at the Lambert and Butler reference book and it has their version listed under L/53, as : "53. 50 HOMELAND EVENTS. Size 2 12/32” (I think that is what it says?) x 1 3/8” or 66 x 35 m/m. Fronts : uncoloured photo prints. Backs in black with descriptions. Export issue." If anyone has this card from this set do let us know if there are any changes to the text. Many thanks.
Our World Tobacco Issues Indexes both list this fifty-four card version as simply : HOMELAND EVENTS. Sm. 63 x 35. Black and white photos. Nd. (54)
Friday, 2nd June 2023
This was a bit of a teaser, but it is one of the sets that do not turn up that much. And I have to say I like these sectional sets.
Of course why it is here is because this year will be the first Trooping of the Colours before a King for many years. The last was in 1952, for George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. So most of us have only had a Trooping of the Colours for a Queen.
And June also sees another similar event, for it will be The King`s Birthday.
Ardath did have a reference book devoted to their works, (RB.6 - issued in 1943) but the sets were not numbered. However the description is quite amazing :
MAY 1939. 48 TROOPING THE COLOUR (sectional picture) (titled series) Size 1 7/14" x 1 11/16" Numbered 1-48. Fronts printed in four colours from half tone blocks, untitled, no margin, grained. Backs printed in bronze blue, with descriptions, adhesive. Issued with State Express 10`s and 20`s. Folder 1d., issued. Also issued in New Zealand in June 1939, and abroad
Now there is one error above, for if you look at our card you will plainly see that there is a margin. However I imagine that the first few cards that were seen, and recorded, may have been from the middle of the framework and they would not have had any margins.
Our World Tobacco Issues Indexes both have a way shorter description, only : "TROOPING THE COLOUR. Sm. Sectional series. Nd. (48) Special folder issued.
Well dear readers, I have finished. Just a bit of minor tinkering and then it will be released to you all.
If I do get any added information it will be broadcast on the banner at the top of the main page, where the "What`s New" has been restored.
And over the weekend it is full speed ahead with the index.... but it is already available for you to see the progress so far - just check out https://csgb.co.uk/gallery