So another chaotic week, yet the newsletter still gets done, not always on the stroke of midnight, but near as I can.
On which note next week I am out two nights at the most amazing music concert of all time, one night of which is Friday. So the newsletter need to be done in a slightly different way. Or a very different way because it may make no sense at all. I am that excited. Already.
So this week may we present … a beautiful beast, a rebellious red, a basketball benefactor, a silent star, an unlucky uprising, a dastardly diamond, and some info on insignia ….
Barratt & Co [trade : confectionery : UK] "Wild Animals by George Cansdale" (1954) 50/50 - BAR-830.b - BAR-107.b
#NationalBisonDay
So let us start with this beautiful creature, and its National Day. This card shows one in a zoo, but originally they would have roamed the great plains of America, en masse. They would have been a marvellous sight, for the bulls are large, at up to 2,000 lbs in weight, and tall, at up to six feet high. Their ladies are slightly smaller, and their young are born with a reddish tinge to their first coat.
Some idea of their size can be imagined by looking at Adkin`s "Wild Animals of the World" (1923), and the various printings of "Birds Beasts and Fishes". However many of the cards, like ours, show bison captive, in zoos, including B. Morris "Animals at the Zoo" (1924) and "Whipsnade Zoo" (1932). and Nicolas Sarony`s "Life in Whipsnade Zoo" (1934).
And the connection between Whipsnade and the bison is that they were probably the earliest inhabitants of the zoo, even before it was christened Whipsnade in 1931.
However despite their long span of existence in American history, this date is not an official one, only by usage. Some states are keener than others, too. However on May 9, 2016, the American Bison was granted the honour of becoming the national mammal of the United States. And there is a thought that this date may eventually change, so both are in May.
And there seriously should be a content warning on that reverse.
Now George Soper Cansdale, who was born in December 1909, may be a familiar name to those of us who grew up reading the Ladybird books, for he wrote many of those. Did he get that commission through these cards, well no, for his first was "Animals of West Africa", and that was published in 1946, after his return from Africa. Shortly afterwards he started working at London Zoo, in fact he was the Superintendent and lived within the grounds. And he was also a television and radio star, including Children`s Hour and Blue Peter - in fact, remember George, their tortoise? He was named after Mr. Cansdale.
Just a quick note to also add that he appears in person in this set, as a photo released by the TV Mirror, on card number 40, with a tiger, and his signature is printed below. And on card number 48 there is another card like this, with a signature of Jennifer Gay, who was an announcer for Children`s Hour, and just fourteen years old when she started. So these could well be two you have not got if you collect cards of famous autographs especially of tv and radio stars....
The original set of British Trade Indexes list this in part II as
WILD ANIMALS BY GEORGE CANSDALE. Md. Nd. (50) Dated 1954. See D.434. Back (a) with (b) without “Printed in England”.
D.434 is the handbook section in the back of the same volume and that tells us that this set was also issued by others – these are Liam Devlin and Slack. Not had time to investigate this yet.
Now in our updated version the text above has slightly changed and there is an addition! That reads
WILD ANIMALS BY GEORGE CANSDALE. 1954. 62 x 44. Nd. (50) Dated 1954. See D.434. Back (a) with (b) without “Printed in England”. Advert card 127 x 100 issued marked set of 48. See HX-68.
HX-68 simply lists the two other issuers, not add more about this intriguing card. And I wonder if the reason for the “set of 48” was the two autograph cards were not some kind of premium that you had to send for separately? Again over to you
Maple Leaf [trade : gum : Netherlands] “Film Stars”
#LoveYourRedHairDay
Now some may like blonde, and others brunette, but there is always a glance askance at a fiery redhead, especially today.
Now for some reason ladies with red hair are more popular in the press than men, so we are going to go against the grain and have a red headed man namely James Cagney. In fact it is said that he got his big break because his hair was the reddest at a casting, and it was thought that it would not need to be persistently dyed or re-touched. This was in 1925, it was his first serious, non-dancing role and it almost certainly changed his life because he played a tough guy.
James Francis Cagney Jr. was born on July 17th 1899 in Manhattan in New York City. His father, James Francis Cagney was twenty four years old, of Irish heritage, and working several jobs, plus boxing on the side.
His first professional acting role was aged twenty, dressed as a woman in a revue called "Every Sailor". He continued with revues and with dancing, touring, and on and off Broadway, until his hair gained him that part of "Little Red". The play was based on a book called "Beggars of Life: A Hobo Autobiography" by James Tully, who at one time worked for Charlie Chaplin, as a secretary for the most part, though they got on well and it is known that they would discuss ideas for films and sketches.
It was the theatre that led to films for James Cagney; he was in a play, "Penny Arcade", with Joan Blondell, the play was a bit hit and miss but what did get good reviews was the way the two characters sparked off around each other. Al Jolson thought it just needed tidying and bought the rights, selling it to Warner Bros on the proviso that thetwo stars remained attached. The film was released as "Sinners Holiday" in 1930, and James Cagney was contracted to Warner Brothers. His tenure was full of disputes and suings, both actual and threatened, and walk outs over rights and payments, he even sued them for breach of contract - and won..
He is still remembered for his tough guy roles, though it was "Yankee Doodle Dandy" which brought him his frst Academy Award in 1942. Off screen he enjoyed farming, painting, breeding horses, and also staying in touch with his fellow actors. He was also President of the Screen Actors Guild for two years. He died in 1986, of a heart attack, aged eighty-six, at his farm.
The Trading Card Database/Cagney has a hundred and seventy six cards listed for him. starting with one of the 1930-39 Aguila Chocolate Movie Star Premium Cards. However look at the top left corner and you will see the Warner Brother`s logo.This means that any earlier cards would have to be theatrical
This one might be inscribed as to the maker, but not to the title of the set, and what is the Constantin connection? Any ideas?
Kelloggs [trade : cereal : USA] “NFL Football Helmet Stickers” (1978) 19/28
So why the football helmet?
Well let us start with our man of today, James Naismith, born in Canada on November 6, 1861. And he invented the football helmet.
He also invented basketball, just for good measure, writing the rule book in actuality and founding the team of the University of Kansas. In fact what he thought he was doing was merley to invent an indoor game for the winter to keep the team in training when mud and rain and cold prevented training. However it took off amongst the colleges, teams were soon playing each other, and basketball was played as a demonstration event at the 1905 Olympic Games. It joined the list of official medalled events in 1936
Now we are not entirely sure about his claim to have invented the first football helmet. There are three contenders - he said he invented it in 1891 but we also have claims from a naval man, Joseph M. Reeves, who wanted to prevent this recurring head injuries and had one made in 1893 - and George Barclay in 1894 whose aim was to protect his ears - and also many people who said they had more than once stuffed a hat with thicker substance against cold and wet when playing outdoors. But as I could not find any basketball cards in the time I had, here you have a football helmet,
This set was issued with Pop Tarts, presumably only in America, in association with the NFL. These stickers were one each for the twenty-eight teams in the NFL or National Football League at that time. Each reverse has a very short history of the team and some referee signals that were designed to enhance your watching pleasure. Apparently there was a poster, though I imagine that many of these were stuck to books and desks.
They are on paper and there is a slit cut so that you can remove the central portion, which has rounded edges. Each full sticker measures 2.25 inches square.
As to why we have the New York Jets, well I do not know anyone with a Kansas City Chiefs sticker. If you have one, send us a scan and I will change this over. And write a bit about them.
W.D. & H.O. Wills [tobacco : UK] “Cinema Stars” 2nd series (March 1928) – W675-162.2 : W62-125.2 : W/170
Today, in 1893 was born Leatrice Johanna Zeidler, but you may know her better by her stage name Leatrice Joy. She was born in New Orleans, and her father was a dentist. There were no film people in her family, and she was going to be a nun, but that all ended when her father came down with tuberculosis and had to stop work. In 1915 the family were getting short of money and she walked into a local film company. She was hired, much to her mother`s disapproval; even worse, the best money in the film industry was not in New Orleans but in California. They relocated in 1917. She started out in short films often comedies. One of her co-stars was Oliver Hardy, not yet teamed with Stan Laurel.
Her heyday was in the flapper era, she cut her hair short and often played girls who were rather more masculine than feminine. In fact sometimes the films revolved around her being mistaken for a man. By doing this she became the best friend girls always wanted, but also appealed to men - both as a woman dressed as a man, and when her femininity was revealed. In 1922 she married, John Gilbert. They had a child, also called Leatrice, born in 1924, but she divorced him in 1925. Virtually the first thing she did was to cut her hair, really short. You can see that on Gallaher`s "Cinema Stars" (1926). That did not go well with the studio, and they parted ways in 1928 after several disputes.
There seems conflicting stories about what happened next. Some say that her accent was unsuitable for talkies; others that her association with John Gilbert was held against her. She remarried, in 1931, to a businessman with no interest in movies. She did continue to act, but not tied to a studio. She went on tour, performing in vaudeville theatres, but then seemed to fall into retirement. In 1944 she divorced again and then remarried, a year after, to a former actor. This was her longest lasting relationship, nine years. She moved in with her daughter after that. She died in 1985, in New York.
Despite her rather short time on the screen, she appears on twenty-two cards at the Trading Card Database/LeatriceJoy The first few of these are not very readily available, at least in the United Kingdom, so our earliest sight of her slipping out of a cigarette packet was the 1924 Godfrey Phillips set of "Cinema Stars", where she looks over her shoulder, draped in pearls
Now strangely this set is not as effusively described as usual in our Wills reference book, the whole group of these issues reading just
CINEMA STARS – Home issues. Fronts printed by letterpress in colour. Backs in grey, with descriptive text.
169. 25. 1st Series of 25. Portraits, in colour. Issued 1928
170. 25. 2nd Series of 25. Portraits, in colour. Issued 1928
171. 50. 3rd Series of 50. Film scenes, in brown. Issued 1931
In the original World Tobacco Issues Index it is reduced to
CINEMA STARS. Sm. Nd.
1. “1st Series of 25”.
2. “2nd Series of 25”.
3. “3rd Series – 50 Subjects”. Brown.
whilst our remastered version puts the heading on one line and squeezes all the text on another.
F. & J. Smith [tobacco : UK]”Battlefields of Great Britain” (1913) 28/50 - S548-050.J : S84-2.J
Today in 1745 Charles Edward Stuart crossed over the border from Scotland into England with a redoubtable army of men. Their intention was to reclaim the throne for his father James Francis Edward Stuart. and it was planned to take advantage of the fact that they were landing very far north of London and that most of the military might were away fighting in Europe at the War of Austrian Succession. And perhaps it was also stimulated by the fact that over there they were also fighting for the right to rule.
His full name was Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart, and he believed he ought to have been King. He was born in Italy on the last day of December 1720, and was the oldest son of James Francis Edward Stuart, the grandson of James VII.
There had been other attempts to gain back the throne starting in 1708; and the last had been almost thirty years ago. This time they managed to gain much more support from the Scottish people, and also to secure key towns incuding Edinburgh. They also had the promise of the French coming up from the South to meet them.
However the English were less easily swayed, and the goverment had raised several local armies which steadily pushed them back. They briefly won, but in April they were thoroughly defeated at this site, Culloden.
Charles escaped, and retreated to Rome, where he died in 1788.
We never had a Smith reference book, though one was planned, to be shared with fellow Glaswegian Stephen Mitchell. Therefore this appears first in our oroginal World Tobacco Issues Index, where it lists the set and the backs as :
BATTLEFIELDS OF GREAT BRITAIN. Sm. Nd. (50) See Ha.475.15 Backs.
- A. "Albion" Gold Flake Cigarettes
- B. Auld Brig Flake
- C. Cut Golden Bar "Twilight" Brand
- D. Glasgow Mixture Cigarettes
- E. "Glasgow" Mixture Tobacco
- F. Goodwill Virginia
- G. "Kashan" Cigarettes
- H. No.1 Mixture
- I. "Orchestra" Cigarettes
- J. "Pinewood" Cigarettes
- K. "Pinewood" Mixture
- L. "Squaw" Thick Black Tobacco
- M. "Studio" Cigarettes
- N. Sun Cured Mixture
- O. Wild Geranium Cigarettes
The updated volume varies very slightly. Gone is the reference to Ha.475 whilst brand C. is reduced to "Cut Golden Bar". The rest is as above.
Now as we have featured "A. Albion Gold Flake Cigarettes" in another newsletter, you can see it by just a quick click on the bold type above, and then you just work down until you find it on Thursday 14th of December 2023. And until we get to log them all in here you can have a look at the cards and these different brands at http://cardemp.co.uk/smith-battlefieldsofgreatbritain.html
B. Muratti, Sons & Co. Ltd. [tobacco : UK] “Crowned Heads” (1914) 2/35 - M958-230 : M160-21
Now here is a tale of diamonds, specifically the Cullinan Diamond which was given to Edward VII on his birthday in 1907 and which is in this crown. Actually it is the largest, most precious diamond ever found on this planet, weighing just over three carats.
It was called the Cullinan Diamond after the mine owner, who found it in January 1905. He tried to sell it a few months later but had no offers. Then in 1907 he had a brainwave. He would get rid of it, not for money but for fame - by suggesting that the government of Transvaal bought it and gave it to Edward VII. He must have been a persuasive talker because they did just that.
Now at this time it was still a rough diamond. it was only cut at this point, in Amsterdam, after the hand over.
The stone was cut into several smaller pieces, at least eight, and one large piece, called Cullinan 1, though Edward VII renamed it to "The Great Star of Africa". He had that mounted in the sceptre. The second largest was placed in the Imperial Crown, showing here.
No booklet exists on Muratti, so their first cataloguing was done for the World Tobacco Issues Indexes, which reads just “CROWNED HEADS” Lg. 82 x 53. Nd. (35)."
However we know that the company was founded by Basil Muratoglu in Constantinople, which became Istanbul. Some say this was way back in 1821, but the header of our updated World Tobacco Issues Index says "Founded 1887". He was Greek, and he relocated almost as soon as the Ottoman Empire announced they were changing the tobacco industry into a monopoly. He chose to split it up as well, so there was a branch in Berlin and another here in London. This is altered a bit in the header of our updated World Tobacco Issues Index, which says "Branches in London, Brussels, Paris and Constantinople. Later branch of the United Kingdom Tobacco Co. Ltd. Cards issued in home and export brands."
Krug Baking Co [trade : bakery : O/S : USA] “Know America`s Defenders” - D/49
It seems fitting that we have an American card because today is the birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps (started in 1775).
This set was a very good idea, circulating a picture of the insignia of their own countrymen`s forces so that they could be found in an invasion. You may not realise this but America was completely convinced, and more than a bit paranoid, about the threat of invasion during the Second World War. There were many reports of suspected spies and sabotage, but oddly the Japanese came the closest to a full scale invasion of America, using balloons.
Jefferson Burdick codes this set as D/49. I cannot find it anywhere else. He describes it as
Know America`s Defenders. 2 ¼” x 1 ¼”. Paper. Krug Bakery, Military and Naval insignia. 180 stated, 90 seen.
He values them at just .03 cents. Of course the reason that so few have survived is that they were probably used for their intended purpose, to have a shopping list written on and then left out for the deliveryman to take away and know what to deliver next. They may have returned the slips, but I am not sure this would have been logistically possible, they probably binned the used ones, hence we lost so many.
Krug made other sets, including “Airplanes of America”, and also printed booklets like the ones we had in children`s magazines.
And they issued a set, one card a week, which was based on the Allen & Ginter American Indian Chiefs. However the one they are best known for predates both these sets – it is “Mickey Mouse Recipes”, issued in 1935. It looks like they were postcard sized, a picture on the front and the recipe behind. But I have not had a close look yet.
This week's Cards of the Day...
have been celebrating Nelson`s Column in Trafalgar Square. Anyone who has been to London, or seen it on the television, will have seen this huge column, with its four protective lions at the base. These lions are bronze, and they were sculpted by Sir Edwin Landseer. The panels around the pedestal are also bronze, and they show the battles of Cape St. Vincent, Copenhagen, and the Nile, with the fourth showing the death of Nelson.
The Column was actually built to commemorate his victory against the French and Spanish Navies, during which he was killed.
Saturday, 28th October 2023
Now this card shows Jimmy Hill of Norwich F.C. and as far as I could work out Norwich F.C. was the nearest major football club to Burnham Thorpe where Nelson was born. If I am wrong in this, just let me know.
Note the word "major" though, for, of course, the nearest club of all to Burnham Thorpe is actually Kings Lynn Town FC, founded as the "Lynn Football Club" and recorded as being in existence in 1868. However this is not that original club, for they went out of business in November 2009, but subsequently re-formed in January 2010 as Lynn FC, then changed their name back again to King`s Lynn Town. However I am have not found them, or any of their former players, on cards - but if they exist, I would be glad of a scan.
This card may say "Wizard" but that was a brand, and the magazine was published by D. C. Thomson. In our British Trade Index part II it is catalogued as :
FOOTBALL STARS OF 1959. Sm. 70 x 38. Black portraits, varnished. Nd. (44) Inscribed "Wizard"
Our updated British Trade Index has it slightly different, as :
FOOTBALL STARS OF 1959. (W). 1959. 70 x 38. Black portraits, varnished. Nd. (44)
And if you want to see the original 1959 magazine cover on which they received their first mention, just click along to The Football Cartophilic Info Exchange / Wizard 1959. Thanks to this, we are able to record that the first twelve cards, including ours, were issued with issue No.1756, on the tenth of October 1959. At the time of writing this, one of those comics, complete with the uncut sheet of these cards, printed en block, was on sale on eBay for £94.99.
Sunday, 29th October 2023
This set was a trick, and a treat, because it looked like I had used the same card twice in fairly quick time, but instead this was the Faulkner version, not the Stephen Mitchell version that we used in "Back to the Future" week to represent a McFly. So now we can cross reference them.
This clue referred to Dartmoor, home of the river Dart, which was where the granite used to make Nelson`s column came from. In fact we know the actual place that granite was taken from, and that was Royal Oak Quarry, later renamed to Foggintor Quarry, near Tavistock. It was in use during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and was a very thriving place, a real community, with a railway to move the granite, a chapel, plus a blacksmith and stables for the pit ponies. amd a pretty constant occupation of just under two hundred people.
Dartmoor granite was used all over London, including for the National Gallery which is at one side of Trafalgar Square.
Now this first appeared in our earliest ever reference book, RB.1, which was devoted to the issues of W. & F. Faulkner. And it describes this set as :
1929. 25. ANGLING (titled series). Size "A" (Standard). Numbered 1-25. Fronts, printed by four colour letterpress, half-tone screen blocks. Illustrations of "fly" inset. Backs printed in grey-black, with descriptions, and numbered. Printed by Mardon, Son & Hall. Also issued by Mitchell.
These cards are attractive despite the subject. Each card is also topographical, because the picture is of a named region and body of water and then the bait is inset as a small picture. Now the immediate thing that I notice is that it says here "Illustrations of "fly" inset", but a look at the entire set shows that the insets are not all of artificial flies. In fact only eight, to my reckoning, are. And that tells us that when this set was inspected to add to the reference book it was not a set at all, but instead just a few odds, all of which, quite coincidentally, showed flies.
Moving along, the World Tobacco Issues Indexes read : "ANGLING. Sm. Nd. (25). See RB.21/449.B" . However this does close with a sudden spot of excitement, for RB.21 is, of course, the British American Tobacco Booklet, and the text in here, filed under "Section XVI - Other English Language Issues" says :
449. ANGLING. Small cards, size 68 x 36 m/m. Front in colour. Back in grey, with descriptive text. Numbered series of 25.
A. Anonymous issue, with letterpress on back.
B. Faulkner Home Issue
C. Mitchell Home Issue
So if anyone has this anonymous issue I would be interested to hear from you, with respect to whether the back is the same framework, and what it says in the box where the other two issuers insert their name.
Monday, 30th October 2023
Finally our third clue was to Trafalgar, the scene of Nelson`s greatest victory, after which Trafalgar Square was named.
Now this ship has nothing to do with Nelson save the name; she, and her sister HMS Nile (also named after a battle) were commissioned in 1890 and 1891. And they were the only Trafalgar Class ships.
HMS Trafalgar was begun, in Portsmouth Dockyard, in January 1886, and completed in September 1887. Both ships were delayed by difficulties with their armaments, and both served within the Mediterranean Fleet, HMS Trafalgar from 1890-1897 ; HMS Nile from 1891-1898. HMS Trafalgar had two brief brushes with fame - in 1902 she took part in the Spithead Review for King Edward VII`s Coronation - which seems to be why she has been celebrated here - and in 1907 she ran aground, stuck fast at Devil`s Point. She was freed and then served as a teaching and drill ship. In 1909 she was relocated within the Home Fleet in the Thames Estuary. HMS Nile eventually served as the Coast Guard Vessel for Devonport, near Plymouth. Both vessels were sold for scrap in 1912.
In our original reference book to the issues of R. & J. Hill (RB.2) published in 1942, this set is listed as :
1901-2. 25. BATTLESHIPS & CRESTS (untitled series). Size 2 7/8" x 1 7/16". Numbered 1/25. Fronts lithographed in full colour with white margins, subjects titled. Backs printed in bronze blue with brief descriptions. Inscribed, "Hill`s Imperial Cigarettes." The date of issue given in the Standard Catalogue is incorrect.
Now I have looked in the brown hardback "part 1 Catalogue of Comparative Values" of June 1950, only to see that this set is listed as "25 *Battleships & Crests (1901-2)". The asterisk before the name of the set, by the way, is how they showed a set was untitled. However I do not have the "Standard" Catalogue, so if you do can you check and see why we mention that the date therein was incorrect. And, just for interest, they retailed it at between 6/6 and 20/- a card, or £25 a set.
In our World Tobacco Issues Indexes this set is described as : "BATTLESHIPS & CRESTS (A). Sm. 67 x 36. Nd. (25).
Tuesday, 31st October 2023
Before we look at his column, let us look at Nelson himself. He was born on September 29th, 1758, at Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk, England, joined the Navy at the age of twelve, sailed the NorthWest Passage only two years later, and was in command of HMS Hinchinbroke aged just twenty. He was such a great sailor that he was chosen to escort the future King (WIlliam IV) to the West Indies.
In 1787 he married, a widow with a young son. In 1793 he was given a warship, HMS Agamemnon, and despatched to the Mediterranean. He was brave and fearless, but lost the sight in his right eye from being hit in the face by a French cannon ball, and then, in 1797, he lost his right arm too. He continued to fight, and also to take ever more daring chances, once even going across with his men and taking over an opponent`s vessel. He also fell in love, with Lady Emma Hamilton, the British ambassador`s to Naples` wife. Then his fated luck ran out, and during the Battle of Trafalgar, in 1805, he was hit by a musket ball, and died, on board his beloved ship, HMS Victory.
His daughter with Emma Hamilton, called Horatia Nelson, was just four years old.
So to the card chat. Let`s start with Jefferson Burdick`s "American Card Catalogue". He starts with the header
Kinney Issues
New York. N.Y. Brands - Special Favors, Sweet Caporal, New York Standard, Sporting Extra, Special Straight Cut, Latest English, Full Dress, Cleopatra, Egyptian Flowers, etc. A "Memorandum Card" (Calendar 1890-91) was probably an insert. (Value 20c.)....
He values the cards at .15 each - and describes the set as :
222. Leaders (25)
May be collected in two widths. 1 1/2 in. and 1 3/8 in.
Now our original World Tobacco Issues Index adds a bit more to the Kinney story, with the header of
Kinney Bros., or Kinney Tobacco Co., New York, U.S.A.
Founder member of American Tobacco Co., 1890. Includes brand issues inscribed "Sweet Caporal Cigarettes". None of the cards bear the A.T.C. name, and most series were issued in the 1884-90 period. The "Sweet Caporal" brand issues and issues outside the U.S.A. probably mostly date after 1890.
The updated version of this work adds, under the heading for Kinney, that "Kinney`s name and Sweet Caporal appear on Ogden`s set O100-980." That card code is the very last entry in the Odgens section, under 6. "Miscellaneous", and the description is "STEAMER POSTCARDS WITH TOBACCO ADVERTISEMENTS. (A). Ex. Lg 139 x 89. Unnd. (6) Six different advertisements known, probably multi-fronted. Note - one of the advertisements is inscribed "Kinney`s Sweet Caporal" without mention of Ogden."
Now the set is listed in both the original and updated World Tobacco Issues Index as : "LEADERS. Sm. 70 x 38, and cut to about 70 x 35. Bkld. (25). Ref. USA/222" . This mention of "cut" confuses things, at least for me, and I am not sure if the "cut" was officially done by Kinney, or if it was done by collectors, to match other cards, or to fit in an album. Anyone have any answers, or theories?
By the way, there is a checklist of all the cards, and images, at The Trading Card Database/KinneyLeaders. The same site has an image of the album, and to see that just click on "packaging" which appears amongst the side links.
Wednesday, 1st November 2023
Our original R. & J. Hill reference book, RB.2, published in 1942, tells us that this set was issued in two sizes, and describes them as :
1925. VIEWS OF LONDON (titled series). Size2 3/4" x 1 1/2". Numbered 1-50. Fronts, printed in brown by photogravure, white borders, but no subject titles.
Backs printed in
A. Deep Slate
B. Olive Grey,
With descriptions and "Issued by The Spinet House, R. & J. Hill, Ltd., and Hy. Archer & Co. . ."(See Henry Archer & Co.). Printed by Ripley & Co., London1925. VIEWS OF LONDON (titled series). Size 3 7/16" x 2 3/4". Numbered 1-50. Same subjects as small series. Fronts, printed in brown by photogravure, white borders, but no subject titles.
Backs printed in
A. Deep Slate
B. Olive Grey,
With descriptions and "Issued by The Spinet House, R. & J. Hill, Ltd., and Hy. Archer & Co. . ."(See Henry Archer & Co.).
Now our World Tobacco Issues Indexes shorten this to :
VIEWS OF LONDON. Brown gravures. Nd. (50) See Ha.577. Size (a) small (b) large
and, strangely, there is no word of the differing back shades. Perhaps they were just too similar. To be honest I had an awful job getting anything off this back, so if anyone wants to try with theirs and gets a better result it is easy enough to change the picture. Saying that though, perhaps it is better to keep this as an example of the Olive Grey and seek for a subject with which to use the Deep Slate.....
However there is a very intriguing card code. And more about that - tomorrow
Thursday, 2nd November 2023
Let’s start this by welcoming you aboard the magical mystery tour, and that it truly is…
So at first I went to the World Tobacco Issues Index, and in the header for Teofani it says “For Anonymous series believed to have been issued by the firm see Sets under ZA-7…(etc) – ZA7-7 reads: "VIEWS OF LONDON. Sm. 68 x 38. Grey black gravure. Back inscribed “Issued with these World Famous Cigarettes” Nd. (50). See Ha.577"
Now that is the set we had yesterday so I thought I was in the right place, however the description didn’t really fit because today`s cards are not numbered, and the backs are plain, but I wondered if the number may have been on the back. Anyway Ha.577 says “VIEWS OF LONDON. (titled series). Front in brown photogravure. Numbered series of 50. Hill. A. Small size B. Large size - Teofani – Anonymous cards, inscribed “Issued with these World Famous Cigarettes”
However it turns out I did not go far enough, because today`s card is listed as ZJ5-15, under “Anonymous Issues (3) – with plain back” - and catalogued as :
LONDON VIEWS (A) Sm. 58 x 32. Black and white. Unnd. (12). See Ha.620. Issued abroad by Teofani group..
That let me find it in our updated World Tobacco Issues Index too, coded as ZJ05-450. The text is the same but it changes the handbook reference to the updated H.620 and not the original Ha.620. The handbook references can be a bit confusing because originally it was the London Cigarette Card Company Handbook, in two parts, H. being for the older pre-1920 cards, and Ha. being for the 1920-1940
The question is why there should be two sets associated with Teofani that are so similarly named and produced? Why not just reissue the set of fifty overseas?
Friday, 3rd November 2023
This is a most unusual use of Nelson`s column, and there is a slightly different version of this on card three which shows the ship in its entirety inside Trafalgar Square. The description on that says if she were parked in this way her stern would go into the Garrick Theatre in Charing Cross Road and her stem into Whitehall. Both these cards appear in the large sized set, which I will bear in mind if I have used this set before.
There is something curious on the card, and that is the dimension. It is quoted as 170 feet and 6 inches. However when it was erected it was claimed to be 185 feet. It was only in 2006, when it was refurbished, that it was found to be only 168 feet and three inches. So where did our card get the measurements?
Now this set was first described in our reference booklet RB.10, published in 1948, as :
113. APRIL 1936. 50. THE "QUEEN MARY" (titled series). Size 2 11/16" x 1 7/16"or 67 x 36 m/m. Numbered 1-50. Fronts printed by letterpress, 4-colour half tone process. Backs in dark green, with descriptions. Printed by Mardon, Son & Hall.
114. JUNE 1936. 16. THE "QUEEN MARY" Similar design and layout to item (113), but size 3 5/16" x 2 9/20" or 80 x 62 m/m.
Our World Tobacco Issues Index shortens this to just "THE "QUEEN MARY". Nd. A. Sm. (50) B. Lg. (16)"
and that is where I must leave you for this week. I have done most of the things I planned to, and it will be a different experience to sit and have a coffee and go to sleep, waking up, hopefully, just in time to load this into place on my mobile phone at midnight.
See you tomorrow!