Wake up, its Saturday! I am not sure when you read this, whether it is as soon as it hits the front page, in which case I feel guilty for not waiting until a more decent hour - as soon as you wake up - or whilst you sit waiting for or digesting of your breakfast. Whenever it is, thank you for coming. And I hope that every week there is something which entertains you, something to make you go online and read more about, and a new card or set to add to your wants lists. And if you know anything that I do not seem to mention, do not hold back, just tell us, and we will be proud to add it to this edition, and link back so that others can find it.
There has not been much indexing done this week. I have been hunting for a tattoo card. I think I have one now, but have had not time to work on the scans I was sent.
Anyway this week has been fun and I have learned lots. So let me hold you not more from discovering a Cinema Favourite you may not know (yet), a naval man turned pirate, three little maids from University, cow-friendly milk, the father of flight, a town of frequent fighting, and a dancing delight ....
Lets start with ....
Anonymous [tobacco : O/S] "Cinema Favourites" (1929) 31/50 - ZA08-195 : ZA8-9 : RB.21/257
Today in 1899, Kathleen Morrison was born. She changed her first name, and became Colleen Moore, making her first film aged just fifteen. She had long looked through the fence into Essanay Studios, which were right by her home, and she liked the thought of the movies, but the studios were not so sure, simply because her eyes were different colours - one blue and one brown. However after a screen test, both at a distance and close up, and many people giving their opinions as to whether it could be noticed, it was decided that it did not - and she was accepted.
She started out in cowboy films, but found her niche after the First World War, when "Flapper-Mania" came to town. These films were made to appeal to the American equivalent of our "Bright Young Things", and they were light and frothy romances where young people went wild. To a great extent they were a reaction to the sadness and loss of the war. Anyway Colleen Moore was one of the major style icons, and her bobbed hair, short and curled inwards at the ends, was copied by many of the flappers. It can also be seen to great effect on card 34 of Lambert & Butler`s "Popular Film Stars" (1925), and, though not as classical, or as nineteen-twenties a shot, she also appears in the same set later, as card 48.
However her fame did not last long, as a new Jazz Age Baby, Clara Bow, hit town, and took it over - within just a few months.
This is partially why Colleen Moore is a name that few today know, apart from film, and fashion historians. The other reason, through no fault of her own, is simply that most of her films no longer survive. This includes the major parts of the film that brought her the most fame, "Flaming Youth", a dramatization of the rather controversial book by Samuel Hopkins Adams.
However there is also the problem that she caused, because she was unsure of changing from the silents that she much enjoyed to the new style of talking pictures, and in 1930 she stepped away to see what would happen.
During that time she also got divorced from her husband, John McCormick, after seven years. Two years later she married a stockbroker, Albert Scott. That lasted for two years, until 1934, but towards the end of their marriage she decided to return to the movies and make a film called "Power and Glory" with Spencer Tracy. She made three more films, but then decided to retire for good.
Shortly after that, she remarried. She had vowed not to, but met another stockbroker Homer Hargrave, and they were wed in 1936, staying married until he died in 1964. They had no children of their own, but he had brought two of his own into their marriage, which she adopted. And she also had a second career, because she started to invest, with great success, in stocks and shares, and play the market. She was even invited on to the partner`s register at Merrill Lynch. And she would later write a book on how to do what she did. Then late in life she married for a fourth time, in 1982, to a man who had become a close friend, and whom she left behind when she died in 1988.
This set sadly tells us none of this for it has no biography on the reverse. It is described in our 1952 reference book to the issues of British American Tobacco (RB.21), as ;
257. CINEMA FAVOURITES. Small cards, size 64 x 38 m/m. Front in black and white letterpress, glossy with yellowish tinge. Back per Fig. 257 (which shows card no.6, reverse only) in black, cream or white card. Numbered series of 50. Anonymous issue, with letterpress on back.
By the time of our original World Tobacco Issues Index, though that was only four years later, the description has shortened to ; "CINEMA FAVOURITES. Sm. 64 x 38, Black and white. Nd. (50) See RB.21/257" And this remains in the updated version.
The Trading Card Database / Colleen Moore has her on fifty-two cards.
Topps/Allen & Ginter [trade/commercial : cards : O/S : U.S.A] "Hoist the Black Flag" - `mini` size (2015) HBF.10/10
Today this man, Henry Every, was born. Or so we think. For there is some confusion. Je may have been born Henry Every in Newton Ferrors, Devon, in 1659, or he may have been born John Avery in Plymouth in 1653. Whichever, he was not always a pirate. He started out a sailor, in the King`s Navy, on the Warship Charles II. However whilst at war one day there was a mutiny, over the non payment of wages. The men seized the ship, and renamed it as a protest, and Every, being either very popular with, or very feared by, his men, was decreed to be the Captain.
Now they could have returned the ship to England and pleaded for their rightful dues. But instead they sailed off and started to plunder. As trained naval men they were very good at this and could out manoeuvre most vessels that appeared in their spyglass. And as so they became wanted men, with a bounty of a thousand pounds on his head.
Some of his men were indeed captured, but never he, and his men that were refused to betray him. And in 1696 he went off the map for ever, with not a trace ever found. It is believed he did eventually die, some time between 1700 and 1715. But what of his treasure? Did he spend it? Or was he killed for it? Or did he just send it to the bottom of the ocean and live himself a life on a tropical island with someone he loved? I know what I want to believe.....
Now the full checklist of this Topps/Allen & Ginter set, in numerical order, is Blackbeard, Anne Bonny, Charles Vane, Calico Jack Rackham, Captain William Kidd, Benjamin Hornigold. Mary Read, Stede Bonnet, Black Bart, and our card Henry Every. And I hope you noticed that two of these were ladies.
And now for a few of the changes, which you have supplied so far.
First of all, thanks to John Levitt, I can answer as to why these cards say Topps/Allen & Ginter, for in 1888 Alllen & Ginter issued a set of cards called "Pirates of the Spanish Main". Now I have seen that set, being rather keen on pirates, but I did not make the link between the "Jack Avery" it contains as card number 5, and our man. This set was reprinted by Card Promotions Ltd in 1996.
And he also appears on other cards too -
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Gum Inc "Pirate Pictures" (1936 - card 27 - as "The Arch Pirate")
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Lambert & Butler "Pirates and Highwaymen" (1926 - card 2 - as Captain Avery)
Cope [tobacco : UK] "Flags, Arms & Types of Nations" untitled (1904) 18/24 - C798-120 : C132-12 : H.115
Today, in 1913, Tokohu University in Japan admitted its first female student. Actually there were three, two of whom studied chemistry, and one mathematics. One of the chemistry students specialised in natural dyes and pigments, and became the first female BSc in Japan, graduating in 1916 and becoming in turn an assistant professor and full professor. Whilst the other, despite being blinded as a child in one eye, continued her studies in America and became a PhD in 1927, returning to Japan and discovering much that we now take for granted about vitamins, especially the uses and benefits of Riboflavin. I have found nothing about the mathematician, except that they worked on geometrics. But I will keep looking.
This set was available in numbered and un-numbered versions, the latter being rarer, so much so that The London Cigarette Card Catalogue do not even offer odds of these in their 1950 catalogue, let alone sets, though they retailed the numbered version for 12/6 to 30/- a card, and £35 a set. In fact if you look at their accompanying handbook, it states that only "Nos. 9 and 21 seen". This is a bit misleading, because those cards are not numbered, but they are listed in the handbook in alphabetical order and that list is numbered. The titles are "United States of North America" and "Persia" - so if you have others of the Cope version, do let us know.
The Handbook also gives the other issuers, the tobacco ones of which were Duncan (unnumbered - 1-48), and Hill (or Black and White Whisky, anyway, but that is proven to be by Hill). Then there were trade issues, Buchanan`s Jam, (or not, as the set was reported, but never brought forward to be examined), J. Livingstone the Herbalist of Bristol (un-numbered, eight cards seen, the highest being No.48), and Victoria Chocolate of Belgium (numbered, but differently to all other sets). Then there were anonymous plain backed sets, a numbered version, an un-numbered version of which only one card was known, and one with "captions in a foreign language". If anyone has any of these do let us know as it is possible that now we have the internet we could try to track down the language?
In our original World Tobacco Issues Index our version appears as :
FLAGS, ARMS AND TYPES OF NATIONS (A). Sm. 64 x 39. Nd. in red (24). Few un-numbered seen, possibly errors. See H.115.
The updated version of this work changes it slightly, to say :
FLAGS, ARMS AND TYPES OF NATIONS (A). Sm. 64 x 39. Nd. in red (24). There are many numeral variations. Few un-numbered seen, possibly errors. See H.115.
And sadly the updated handbook still only records those two cards. However there are a lot more issuers now, namely Balma of Holland, Eugene Beersmans of Belgium, Era Margarine of Belgium, E. Fuentes of the Canary Islands, S. Henderson & Sons Ltd (biscuits), F. Lieftinck of Holland, High-Life (cigarette papers) of Germany, C.J. Hooljer of Holland, La Societe Commerciale Nederlandaise, and Wagemann & Co of Chile. And they are not all, for at the end of the list it states, "There are numerous other trade issues in Continental Europe, in various sizes".
Peter, Cailler, Kohler, Nestle [trade : chocolate : O/S ; Europe] "Les Arbres Fruitier" (Fruit trees) (19) Series LXXXVII No.11
Now today is World Plant Milk Day. The sad fact is that we drink too much cow milk, when there are plenty of natural alternatives. And many of us suffer the side effects without trying the many plant versions that now exist. So today why not?
I will agree, plant milk does not sound very exciting, and nor does the oft quoted fact that it is a water base, coloured to resemble cow milk. But I guess that is to suit our tastes , and our ideas of what milk should be. Also a lot of them are named to resemble that which it is not.
Another, worse misconception is that there is only one, tasteless, flavour. This is totally wrong though, because there are almost twenty different flavours of plant milk, the most popular of which are almond, coconut, hazelnut, oat, pea and soy. All of these are vegetarian or vegan - and, even better, can be used to make cheese.
As to who were the first to make milk from plants, well that was the Native Americans, who reputedly found it easier for their children to digest than the milk from the buffalo or bison.
So here we have the almond, in flower. And it also appears on Gallaher "Woodland Trees" (1912) as card 93/100 - where the text tells us that it was "A native of Palestine and Barbary".
Almond milk dates back to medieval times, and its particular benefit is that it is low in fat and has no cholesterol at all. It also takes flavours well, and does not need to be sweetened, though it can be, to taste. Best of all it gives of its liquid freely, so you can make it in any kitchen with a simple blender.
Lambert & Butler [tobacco : UK] "A History of Aviation" brown front (December 1933) 5/25 - L073-390 : L8-52.B : L/52 (RB.9/52)
Today it is National Ride the Wind Day, a celebration of un-powered flight, as well as the anniversary of the first Kremer Prize for human-powered flight - awarded on August 23, 1977, to the MacCready Gossamer Condor. I am sure that is on a card somewhere, but until then we have Otto Lilienthal, who invented those possibilities.
In fact his name was Karl Wilhelm Otto Lilienthal, and he was born on the 23rd of May 1848. His work with human powered flight, where he would simply hurl himself off a high point, with large wings strapped to his body, and attempt to fly, led to him being called "The Flying Man". He soon started building aircraft which look remarkably similar to today`s hang gliders, as seen on our card. Then he moved on to gliders and even aircraft, producing what is considered the first ever aeroplane production company in the World, and also an aeroplane engine.
Then, as often comes to those who test the limits, he was killed. He was flying a glider on the 9th of August 1896, when it stopped and would not restart. Now this has to be an engine, for usually the non-powered version does not stall, only run out of wind, until another thermal picks it up and sends it skyward again. Anyway, he fell from a height of fifty feet and broke his neck, dying the next day. .
This set is identical to a set with the same title and also by Lambert & Butler, but having fronts in green. In fact that set was issued earlier, in April 1932. And somewhere in one of my magazines I have lots of info and complaints about this. So watch this space.
I may as well put the details of both versions here, whilst I am here, for they follow immediately on.
In our original Lambert & Butler Reference Guide, published in 1948, they are listed as :
51. 25. A HISTORY OF AVIATION. Fronts printed by letterpress (Duolone) in green. Backs in dark green, with descriptions. April 1932
52. 25. A HISTORY OF AVIATION. Identical to (51.) but fronts in brown. December 1933.
Now for some reason these are listed after "Hints and Tips for Motorists" and before "Homeland Events", in other words disregarding the "A" entirely, and just starting with the "History".
This is also the case in our World Tobacco Issues Indexes, where it is also simply listed as :
A HISTORY OF AVIATION. Sm. Nd. (25)
A. Front in dark green
B. Front in brown
W.D. & H.O. Wills [tobacco : UK] "Borough Arms" second series - group 4 (1904) No.79 - W675-102 : W62-69 : W/19.39
Today, in 1482, Berwick on Tweed was captured by the English. And here we have a card which starts by saying "This historic border town long a bone of contention between English and Scots...."
Another bone of contention seems to be its name, for it is variously known as Berwick-on-Tweed or Berwick-upon-Tweed. Currently it is recorded as being "South of the Anglo-Scottish Border" - but also the most northerly town in England. However as we will see, many times its has been north of that border and the most southerly town in Scotland.
Part of the reason for the squabbling is its location, right on the mouth of the River Tweed. This means that when it is under Scottish jurisdiction, they own both sides of the river, vital for trading and protection thereof. However originally it was neither England nor Scotland. It was founded by the Anglo Saxons, and part of the independent Kingdom of Northumbria. This was taken over by England in the tenth century, and almost as soon as that happened, war began. For centuries it was back and forth, either by capture or by being relinquished in order to gain another advantage more pressing at the time. ]
Anyway the last change was today, in 1482, when Richard of Gloucester recaptured it for England. However there are many who feel more allied to its Scottishness, and in fact two football teams never accepted this, so both the Berwick Rangers and the Berwick R.F.C. play in the Scottish leagues, not the English.
This card is just one of the variations of this fascinating set, which are dealt with more fully in our blog "B for Borough Arms". That tells the differences in all the sets, and one day will include a sample back and front of every one.
This particular card we feature today is from Group 4 - a numbered set of 50, from 51-100, numbered on the backs, and entirely new subjects on the fronts to the first fifty cards. Fronts printed in full colour, no frame lines, with "Wills`s Cigarettes" across fronts of cards. Backs in grey, with descriptive texts but no album offer. Marked "2nd Series"
Gallaher Ltd [tobacco : UK] "Famous Film Scenes" (June 1935) 13/48 - G075-585 : G12-82
Today in 1909 Ruby Keeler was born. She is sometimes, wrongly, thought of being Al Jolson`s wife, who used him to propel her flight to stardom. But that is untrue, and seems to have started by the fact that he always said he met her whilst she was appearing in a chorus line in a New York night club, when she was sixteen, and took her to Hollywood as his wife two years later.
The truth is that she was a very talented dancer from her childhood, joining a chorus line, and lying about her age, when she was just thirteen. By 1923 she was already top of the bill at many clubs - and her meeting with Jolson was several years still ahead. When they met, whilst he was making the Jazz Singer he was smitten and they married, against the advice of some of her friends. He was older, and had been married before, once in 1907 and once in 1922. Both ended in divorce, the last in 1928. The same year he met Ruby Keeler. Some accounts say these events happened in reverse order but he married her in September of that year. In 1935, all attempts at motherhood having failed, they adopted a son. However four years later she left Al Jolson, and married again quite quickly. Intriguingly, she also took their adopted son with her. That marriage lasted until her husband`s death, and during it she had four children of her own. She died in February 1993.
We may have had this set before, but I will sort it out. I can blame nobody but myself, because I stalled out again this week at Harefield Market on Thursday, and I will go again this week, for the final time, then also say farewell to my stand in the collectables centre, which I have had since 2011. Then the ULEZ begins, and I shall not pay.
This set is listed in our Gallaher reference book, RB.4 published in 1944, as :
1935. 48. FAMOUS FILM SCENES (titled series). Size 2 1/2" x 1 7/16". Numbered 1-48. Fronts, printed in full colour by offset-litho, black frame-lines, white margins, and subjects titled. Backs, printed in dark brown with descriptions and "Issued by Gallaher Ltd., Virginia House, London & Belfast." Printed by E.S. & A. Robinson Ltd., Bristol."
Now you will note that this does not say "June" 1935, that data comes from the 1950 London Cigarette Card Catalogue, and maybe I will be able to quickly find their original New Issues Report and scan it before the publication of this newsletter. If not I will try over the weekend.
That may make up for the fact that in our World Tobacco Issues Index all it says is : "FAMOUS FILM SCENES. Sm. ND. (48)"
This week's Cards of the Day...
The theme of this week was both #WorldPhotographyDay - across the globe - and #NationalPhotographyDay - in America. If you like you can go for #WorldPhotographyDay2023 as well (and National)
This event takes place every year on August 19th. As for why - well read on...But it started in 1991 in order to appreciate photography, of all kinds and all subjects, and of all vintages. However that was a bit confusing, so now there is a yearly theme, and this year it is landscape photos. We have ignored that completely, of course, and decided to combine the two and show photographic cigarette and trade cards of things that most people, worldwide, would connect with our national identity.
And they were
Saturday, 12th August 2023
So for our first clue we chose the most usual form of photographic card - black and white. And it is of a footballer, because our football team is probably one of the things that first come to mind about our national identity, whether that be the men`s or the women`s game.
And this man, William Gillespie is a great representation that our lives are not entirely one sided - for he was born in Ireland, played in England, and this card was issued in Scotland. In fact his International debut was in February 1913, playing for Ireland versus England, and scoring two goals.
We have a difference of opinion here because the card says "Adventure and Vanguard Football Photos" and yet most catalogues, and our reference books, simply call it "Football Photos", We are going to have a foot in both camps and list it in the card index under both titles, as well as cross reference the magazine titles to the publisher, D. C. Thompson.
Now, of course, the two missing names were magazines. "Adventure" was published from 1921 to 1961, at which time it was incorporated within The Rover (1922 - 1973), whilst "Vanguard" was actually "The Vanguard", and it seems to have been only distributed within Scotland between 1921 and 1926. However there was also a much earlier boys magazine called "Vanguard", which was equally short lived, only running from 1907 to 1909. Perhaps that is why there was a "The" prefixed to the D. C. Thompson version? I have to say that there seems to be a problem with this, unless I am looking at it wrong - because usually these co-issued sets were split between two magazines at the same time and you had to buy both to get a complete set. However Scottish children would have rather an unfair advantage if "The Vanguard" was indeed only issued in Scotland.
Anyway this set is described in our first British Trade Index (RB.25), published in 1962, as : "FOOTBALL PHOTOS. Sm. 66 x 35. Black glossy half-tones. Nd. (40) (A)(V)." And it is pretty similarly worded in our updated version, except that the (A) and (V appear after the title, and the date follows thereafter.
By the way, there is something very important indeed about William Gillespie, cartophilically, and that is that he has one card with two different pictures in the 1925 Gallaher set of "Famous Footballers". And you can see those at https://www.tcdb.com/GalleryP.cfm/pid/205080/Billy-Gillespie?ColType=0&sYear=0&sTeam=&sCardNum=&sNote=&sSetName=&sBrand=
And there is also something else important about this set of cards, because it contains the "Rookie Card", or the first ever cartophilic appearance, of the great "Dixie" Dean,
Sunday, 13th August 2023
This second clue was also another form of photographic card, and that is a standard black and white photo, but coloured, with translucent, see-through paint. This is known as a hand-coloured photograph, and it was indeed coloured by hand, usually by women and young girls. If you look at the card you can see their strokes, and also that when they painted the green lawn they did not lift for the white lines, so they are a greenish-white rather than standing out brightly.
Anyway the subject of this photo shows another source of national pride, our cricketers - whilst also it stands to represent those long hot English summers when we sit, with our picnic hampers, on the grass, and watch a local cricket match, on the village green. And this is something that our overseas readers will imagine that we do way much more of, than we actually do.
By the way, is there anyone out there who knows the identity of this cricketer ? Was he, or did he become famous ? Is this his unknown rookie card? And if you are a keen collector of cricketing cartophilia, do you have this one yet, or is it unknown, so far, to you, buried away, as it is, in this general photographic set ?
Now we have managed to show another version of the set this week, that being the set of fifty cards with the black backs - which is why B. below is bold and will send you there if you click on it.
Our original World Tobacco Issues Index catalogues this set as :
THE HOMELAND SERIES. Nd. See Ha. 539.
a) Small. All hand-coloured
A. Back in blue. (50)
B. Back in black. Glossy or semi-glossy front. (50).
C. Back in black. Matt front. (54) and varieties
(b) Medium size. All hand-coloured except G.
D. Back inscribed "Hand Coloured Real Photos". (50)
E. As (D), inscribed "Reprinted at the ...." (56)
F. As (D), words "Hand-Coloured" dropped (56)
G. As (F), words "Real Photos" centred under series title (56)
However, whilst our set, and sets B. and C., remain the same in our updated version, there has been a discovery, forcing the (b) section to alter. This now reads :
(b). Medium size. All hand-coloured except (Fa)
D. Back inscribed "Hand Coloured Real Photos". (50) (a). matt (b.) glossy
E. As (D), inscribed "Reprinted at the ...." (56). Matt
F. As (D), words "Hand-Coloured" dropped. Words "Real Photos" centred under series title on some numbers. (56) (a) uncoloured (b) hand coloured.
Curiously, nowhere in either book does it mention that this set was also issued by Millhoff. That is left to Ha.539, which tells us that the Millhoff set was issued as a small size set of 54 and a medium size set of 56. It adds that the printings are similar, but not identical, with thirty-three of the Cavanders subjects being also in the Millhoff set. It also explains the words "and varieties" in the Cavanders "C" printing, listing ten cards that can be found with different titles and/or different subjects, and adding that there are two back texts for card number thirty four, plus "innumerable minor variations as between printings, see C.N.N. No.62 pages 27-29 and No.90, pages 46-47. See also "Review", Vol.2, page 33 and "Notes and News" Vol.1, page 105."
So I will see which of these I can track down by the newsletter.
Monday, 14th August 2023
Our third clue provided the most important connection, for it showed : Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre, said to be the inventor of the photograph. However this card tells the truth, that it was a man called Niepce, actually Joseph Nicephore Niepce, who did that, in the 1820s, (though this card says 1814), and he freely admitted his idea, of taking permanent pictures with the sun, was just an adaptation of lithographic printing. Then in 1829 he teamed up with Daguerre.
As for the date of World Photography Day, August 19th, it is not the birthday of either man, nor the day that any equipment was invented. Instead it is the date that the French Academy of Sciences released the daguerreotype patent to the world and technically allowed anyone to become a photographer
The first thing to chat about is that there are many versions of this set, and four different titles, as well as untitled versions - scans of which will appear here by the time of the newsletter. Curiously R. & J. Hill also issued this set by another title as well, that being "Inventors and Their Inventions", much earlier, in 1907, and also as untitled versions.
However only our set carries this title, two of the versions being named for R. & J. Hill, and this one not. plain 1934. All three were said to have been issued in 1929, and all are sets of thirty-five cards, whereas the Inventors sets are only of twenty.
Those first two, Hill, sets are :
1. a coloured set, standard size, 2 5/8" x 1 5/8", [66 x 37], being printed by Ripley & Co. of London, in three colours, from half-tone blocks, the backs of the cards stating "Issued by The Spinet House, R. & J. Hill, Ltd. & H. Archer & Co."
2. a coloured set, larger size, 3 1/16" x 2 1/4", [77 x 66], also printed by Ripley.
Now our set is rather different in several ways. In our reference book RB.2, published in 1942, it appears in the same section as the large coloured set above, with no date of its own. I used to think that this meant it was issued at the same time, but I suddenly realise it just looks that way because the date is missing. And in these early books, there are no card codes; if there had have been, it would have been clearer to see it was an entirely different set. Anyway, the catalogue of the third series in that book is :
35. SCIENTIFIC INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES (titled series). Size 2 3/4" x 1 1/2" [66 x 37]. Numbered 1-35. These cards are produced by photography from the coloured set quoted above. Fronts, printed black only, from half-tone blocks - black and white - narrow, black marginal line and margins. Cream card. Backs, printed in jet black only, with descriptions and inscribed, "Pipe Smokers are recommended to try The Spotlight Tobaccos, . . ." No makers name appears anywhere. [see Henry Archer & Co.) Printed by W. Oliver.
Now I do have some theories about these cards, but I am not a Hill specialist, so I welcome being corrected by anyone who is.
The first is that though they appear under R. & J. Hill in our reference books, there is a suspicion that they may have been instead issued through Henry Archer & Co., who were amalgamated with Hill in 1905. This is supported by them being mentioned in the quotation above, as well as in the header of our original World Tobacco Issues Index, under Archer, where it states that "Some of the Anonymous issues associated with Hill were probably issued with Archer`s brands". Though "Spotlight" was stated to be a Hill brand.
Secondly, there is this really odd fact that they were produced by taking photographs of the fronts of another set, and by another printer. Why not just ask the original printer for a re-run? In black only, if you were strapped for cash? And my thought is that they could not, either because Ripley had gone out of business (but surely then the artwork would have come back to Hill) - or that the cards are much later than we think, and the Ripley premises had been hit by a similar bomb to that which destroyed the R. & J. Hill factory and all their paperwork and records in 1941 - or maybe, that after the Hill factory was gone, they came across a coloured set and thought they would be able to continue issuing cards, or at least this one set to test the feasibility, by getting someone to use them as artwork. This does not explain why they were converted to black only, rather than colour, unless what they actually found were the black and white original drawings, or artwork, rather than the cards that we have long been presuming the photos were taken off?
Tuesday, 15th August 2023
So today`s card has been chosen because it celebrates several things connected with our National Identity.
Firstly our beautiful green countryside, immortalised forever as the final lines of William Blake`s "Jerusalem" as "England`s Green and Pleasant Land", but which, sadly, is fast disappearing . Now despite William Blake being so integral to the English countryside, he only appears to have been immortalised on one cigarette card, the Topps / Allen & Ginter`s 2014 set called "Where Nature Ends" - he is card 25/.26 . I am not quite sure how Allen & Ginter became involved with Topps, so if anyone can enlighten me, please do.
Secondly, there is a beautiful, and wistful country girl, unspoilt, and natural. and for many, even now, the ideal woman. Country girls, like the one shown here, would have had a hard life, for sure, with little education or career, and yet I must wonder was she as unhappy, or disappointed with her lot, as many young girls are today with far more money and amazing jobs?
Then thirdly, the back of the card mentions England`s National Flower, the rose, and women are sometimes referred to as English Roses - most famously Princess Diana, in the song written as her memorial by Sir Elton John. Though roses have long been associated with romance, it only became the symbol of England in Tudor times, when the white rose which represented Elizabeth of York`s House of York, and the red rose for Henry Tudor (Henry VII)`s House of Lancaster, were united, on their marriage in 1486.
Now if you look closely at this card there is a hidden secret, for there are two men here. If you look behind the man gazing at the country girl there is a horse, and he is drawing a cart with an older male driver on it. You can see his head just above the more visible man`s head, and slightly to the right as viewed.
This is another version of the set with the blue back that we featured two days ago - which is why A. below is bold and will send you there if you click on it. Our original World Tobacco Issues Index catalogues this group of sets as :
THE HOMELAND SERIES. Nd. See Ha. 539.
a) Small. All hand-coloured
A. Back in blue. (50)
B. Back in black. Glossy or semi-glossy front. (50).
C. Back in black. Matt front. (54) and varieties
(b) Medium size. All hand-coloured except G.
D. Back inscribed "Hand Coloured Real Photos". (50)
E. As (D), inscribed "Reprinted at the ...." (56)
F. As (D), words "Hand-Coloured" dropped (56)
G. As (F), words "Real Photos" centred under series title (56)
Wednesday, 16th August 2023
Here we have something that celebrates things which are quite high up the list of things that other countries think of when they think of our National Identity - these being our history, our pageantry, and our Royalty, And Windsor Castle seems to be more loved and recognised overseas than does Buckingham Palace.
To start with our history, yes we do appear to have a longer story than most other countries, and our country is dotted with structures of ancient origin. However, all land masses were created at about the same time. along with all the different groups of first humans. The sad truth is that when one country colonised/invaded another and we were no different, the new arrivals cared not for preserving the past of the original inhabitants, destroying their structures, and casting their stories aside.
As for pageantry, well even if you are not a Royalist, you cannot fail but be stirred by the sight of our massed armies in ceremonial dress, at such events as the Trooping of the Colour, and the Changing of the Guard, They are impressive, and designed to be so, for they were a civil way of demonstrating a military might, just like the Eastern European parades of yore. They might be spectacular, but they also say look here, this is what we have at our disposal, should you invade.
Royalty might be seen as outdated now, and the movement to democracy the way forward. But like the pageantry, there is something to having a strong figurehead. I am unsure whether, or not, it would have been better if they had remained convinced that they were serving under Divine Right. However I also think that once the single Royal became the Royal Family, everything changed simply because one person can manage to keep themselves away from the spotlight, but having too many of them is too hard to protect, or control.
Now this is a curious set indeed, and though it is at the back of the book in both our World Tobacco Issues Indexes, both clearly state that it was by Moustafa, The company themselves are elusive, though I am told by several collectors that their name was a play on words, because "Mustafa" means "The Chosen One" in Turkish.
According to our Directory of British Cigarette Card Issuers, RB.7, published in 1946, Moustafa & Co. was founded about 1886. Then it says that they were formerly at 112, Commercial Street, London, E., after which they "associated" with W. J. Harris & Son, Ltd. and became Moustafa Ltd. of 82 Commercial Road, London, E. - however the entry in the same book for Harris says that their old address was 84 Commercial Road, and their present address (in 1946) is 112 Commercial Street. Will have to research that.
In any event, Harris joined the United Kingdom Tobacco Alliance in 1905, along with Cavanders and Major Drapkin, and then were taken over by Godfrey Phillips in 1909. When that happened, Godfrey Phillips also got what are described as "the assets" of Moustafa. Something else to research.
As far as the cartophilic output of Moustafa, that was well after Godfrey Phillips had acquired them, in the mid 1920s. Three sets were issued with the Moustafa name, these being :
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"Camera Studies" (50 - 1923)
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"Leo Chambers Dogs Heads" (40 - 1924)- and
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"Real Photos" (25 - 1925) -
plus another three which were issued without the name, these being
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"Hand Coloured Pictures of Movie Stars" (25 - 1924 - which seems to appear in catalogues as simply "Cinema Stars" And by the way this link goes to a newsletter, so you will need to work down the page a bit),
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our set "Hand-Coloured Pictures of World Interest" (25 - 1923 - which again you will most likely find listed as "Pictures of World Interest") - and
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another set of "Camera Studies" (50 - 1923) which was identical to the "Moustafa" branded set listed above but stated in the World Indexes to be "without any of the captions or numbers". However, what they actually meant was that it had a plain back.
This set appears in both our World Tobacco Issues Indexes under "Anonymous Issues (1) with letterpress on back - 2. English Language Issues - without reference to tobacco." Their set description is the same in both, namely :
HAND-COLOURED PICTURES OF WORLD INTEREST. Sm. 63 x 35. Hand-coloured brown gravures. Nd. (25) Issued by Moustafa.
And before I close, you are right, this is not a real photograph. But it is the sort of "photo" that would have appeared in newspapers of the time. In fact the gravure fell out of favour because if you looked at the image very closely the edges were not entirely straight, and this was seen as a disadvantage when compared to other printing methods.
However, in these modern times, we seem to have come full circle, for most magazines and papers use various electronic and digital means of production, and we have ended up accepting a very similar result all over again, without complaint.
Thursday, 17th August 2023
Here we have another instantly recognisable National Symbol for Britain, the British Bulldog. Though in recent years it is falling from favour as a symbol and being replaced by the lion, as in our footballing "Three Lions" and Lionesses. However in the 1700s bulldogs were seen as symbols of courage and bravery, and also one was drawn in as the companion of a cartoon character, typifying England, called John Bull. He, and his dog, were really long lasting, and he was still used during the First World War on recruiting posters etc. Then, in the Second World War, Winston Churchill even called himself "The British Bulldog".
Sadly the bulldog breed is not very long lived, only lasting for six or seven years, and suffer badly with deformities of their hips and skull and, strangely for one so associated with courage, weakness of their heart and breathing. Most of this is as a result of selective breeding, aimed at making their faces more pugnacious and their bodies lower, wider hipped, and broader across the chest
Now the dog on this card, "Basford Revival Replica" is quite well known, and Basford is a big name in the Bulldog breeding World even today. The card tells us his date of birth, the 26th of March 1935, which means he was only four years old on this card. He was originally owned by Mr. Roddy, but was then sold (?) to Mr. F. Dunn, and relocated to America, where he continued to charm the show ring, and also father many more show winning bulldogs.
This set was issued in 1938, with a second series the following year. It is described in both our World Tobacco Issues Indexes under John Sinclair section No. "4. Issues 1934-39. Small size 67 x 35-37 Large 76 x 63 m/m" The description is :
CHAMPION DOGS. Black and White photos. Nd.
1. Backs "A Series of... "
A. Small (54)
B. Large (52)
2. Backs "2nd Series of ..."
A. Small (54)
B. Large (52)
By the way, we featured a card from the large size version of this first series in a previous newsletter - as a diary card for Tuesday, 26 July, 2022
Friday, 18th August 2023
Now here we have The Royal Navy, the pride of all British Fighting Forces, and envy of the World, and also British sailors, who are world renowned as being the most skilful, and also the best at adapting what they have at hand in a crisis to save the day, There are examples of this throughout the card-world. However, there is also a direct cartophilic link to two companies that issued cigarette cards - Gallaher Ltd and J.A. Pattreiouex Ltd. Their story is entwined, for in 1925 J.A. Pattreiouex Ltd started to issue "Senior Service" branded cigarettes, named directly after the nickname of the Royal Navy.
Now why it was called that was because it was the oldest military force in Britain. You may wonder at this, because surely the Army came first, but if you think about it the Army only had any use after the opposing forces were on our land. If we wanted to go and fight them, we had to first cross the water which surrounds our shores.
In 1937, Gallaher Ltd acquired J.A. Pattreiouex Ltd, and used the Senior Service brand. For some reason, they were chosen by Ian Fleming as the brand of choice for his secret agent, James Bond, and they appear in several novels, these being Goldfinger (1959), Thunderball (1961), The Spy Who Loved Me (1962), and The Man With The Golden Gun (1965). It may seem strange to younger readers that the hero smoked, because today it is way more likely to be the villain who does that, and the hero who does not. Such is the way that the world changed, without us.
Now the date of this set, just pre-Second World War, means that it is also propaganda, and that is why you get cards showing what fun it is, for recruiting purposes, as well as the serious military side, to frighten any enemies who got hold of the cards. In addition these photographs were direct from the War Department themselves, and reportedly they wanted control over the texts as well.
This set is listed in our original reference book to Ardath (RB.6), published in 1943, as :
May 1938. 50. LIFE IN THE SERVICES (titled series). Size 1 7/8” x 2 11/16”. Numbered 1-50. Printed in 2 colours, blue and black, from half-tone blocks, titled, white margins, varnished. Backs printed in bronze-blue, with descriptions, adhesive. Issued with State Express and Ardath Cigarettes. Also issued in Jersey. Issued abroad February, 1938, and to H.M. Ships in April 1938.
Dec.1937. 50. LIFE IN THE SERVICES. As above but not adhesive. Issued in New Zealand.
Our original World Tobacco Issues Index, and the updated version, simply lists this as :
LIFE IN THE SERVICES. Sm. Blue-black. Nd.
A. Adhesive back. Home issue
B. Non-adhesive back. Export issue.
So “A” must cover all the issues listed in the first paragraph, and “B” refer to the New Zealand version. I am sad, for that is a lot of information deleted, and if you do not have the original Ardath Reference Book, lost to you forever, including the curious date order to where the cards were issued.
And so, there we go.
See you all next weekend, and until then make the most of it. Because change is in the air, in every way....