Well this was uploaded at midnight as a more or less complete newsletter - which is an unusual event these days. The halting block was the card codes, simply because the text is too small for me to read under artificial light. And I had an error of reading when I thought I had the wrong jockey all researched as our final card, but I turned out to be right. And it definitely helped that I picked wisely and there were only a few codes to add, most of the cards not appearing in our World or Trade Indexes at all.
Today is the first of June, the mid point of the year. So I hope you have accomplished some of the things you resolved to by now, or have at least taken a single step towards them? And I hope you have all found something interesting to add to your collection, whether that be cards, or information?
As far as tonight, well, what will we have, if I get a move on and stop waffling....? That will be drinks drunk, wrongs righted, lands saved, a star remembered, and an art-lover, strokes struck, and races run.
Off we go....
Teachers [trade : whisky : UK] "Scottish Clans and Castles" (1955) Un/24 - TEA-030.1 : TAR-1.A
Today, why not raise a glass to Friar John Cor, who is recorded in Scotland`s Exchequer Rolls as being the first person to distill whisky in Scotland. The record reads - "To Friar John Cor, by order of the King, to make aqua vitae, VIII bolls of malt" - and it is dated "1 June 1494".
The Exchequer Rolls were kind of tax sheets, which listed income and expenditure. However they did this after the event, so the details were actually for the year prior. The word "Aqua" (or, sometimes "Aquae") means water(s) and "Vitae" means life - and water of life is still sometimes used as a term for whisky.
The quantity of malt is also interesting, for it is quite a large amount, it would make 1,500 bottles of Whisky, maybe more, if used sparingly.
Now, remember that I said this was the first "in Scotland"? Well it was well beaten by the first record of its Irish cousin, which was in 1405 - and that refers to a clan leader succumbing, fatally, to "a surfeit of aqua vitae"
These circular cards measure about 80 m/m diameter, and were prseumably intended to be used as a beer-style mat beneath your whisky. They are recorded in our original British Trade Index part two, as a set of twelve, issued in 1969. There are two varieties, TAR-1.A which are named for "Teachers Highland Cream", and TAR-1.B which are named for "Teachers Highland Cream Scotch Whisky". The cards in both versions are the same apart from three which have differences in the wording:
-
Clan Macdonell of Inveraray Castle from 1.A is altered to Macdonnell in 1.B
-
Clan Macdougall of Dunolly Castle is renamed as above to Dunollie
-
Clan Macneil of Mismull Castle is renamed as above to Mismul.
Our British Trade Index part three of 1986 corrects the above in several ways, most importantly that the full name of the issuer Wm. Teacher & Sons Ltd, Glasgow does not actually appear on the first two groups. In addition Mismull Castle should read Kismull Castle and be altered to Kismul (which is our card here) in TAR-1.B - and that the pictures in set TAR-1.B had been redrawn.
Another addition in the British Trade Index part three records that more cards had been issued in 1970, after the publication of our British Trade Index part two. These twelve cards were numbered 13 to 24, and their backs were different, they had a rectangular text giving the firm's full name. These have the reference code of TEA-030.2 : TAR-1.2
B. Morris & Sons, Ltd. [tobacco : UK - London] "Strange Vessels" (1900) Un/6 - M884-130.5 : M142-11.5
Today is our first Centenary Card of the week, and it marks the date that the Native Indian Freedom Citizenship Suffrage Act was signed.
This was a rather long title - and a rather long overdue action - which stated that all Native Americans which had been born within the current boundaries of the United States of America were to become citizens thereof. One of his feelings was that this would be a thank you, and a way to honour those people who, despite not being citizens, had still fought in the First World War as part of the American forces.
The President of that time was Calvin Coolidge, and he ordered his Secretary of Interior to issue them certificates of citizenship too. However it was not an automatic right, and was often denied on the strangest of reasons.
When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 it made no mention of the Native Americans, and nor did the American Constitution of 1788. It was only in 1831 that the first of them were allowed to become citizens, and it only applied to the Choctaw tribe. And though a few court rulings mentioned, casually, that all Native Americans could become citizens by way of naturalisation, even in the 1880s laws were being written that directly excluded them, or added clauses to which they would fall foul.
It was only The Dawes Act of 1887 which gave citizenship, on an individual basis, to those who fulfilled the demands required and on the proviso that they also applied for and accepted land grants.
This is from one of my favourite sets, and it has a sympathetic air about it, the two men, going about their business, "paddling their own canoe". Some collectors count it as but part of a larger set, that they call "General Interest", though that name does not appear on the cards, whilst other collectors think each set of six cards is separate, and titled as does appear on the cards.
They are listed in our original World Tobacco Issues Index in a way to please both camps, as :
GENERAL INTEREST SERIES (A) Sm. 67 x 37. Unnd. Series of 30, in 5 sub-series. See H.280. ... M142-11
1. "Agriculture in the Orient" (6)
2. "Architectural Monuments" (6)
3. "The Ice Breaker" (6)
4. "Schools in Foreign Countries" (6)
5. "Strange Vessels" (6)
This text is identical in our updated version, but the "M" code has changed.
Nestle, Peter, Cailler, Kohler [trade : confectionery : O/S - Switzerland] "Reptiles" (19?) 7/12
Today in 1924, The Gila Wilderness became the first National Forest in America. And, pleasingly, it remains a National Forest - as well as the largest wilderness in New Mexico, with a vast range of different terrains and species. And it is deliberately only accessible to the general public by foot, or on horseback.
It was created thanks to the continued efforts, and coaxing, not all of that gently, by Aldo Leopold, and one of the areas still holds his name.
Here we have a card of a so-called "Gila monster". This is the only venomous lizard that is native to the United States of America, and the "Gila" part of its name refers to the Gila River that runs through our wilderness, which is its home. There were once a lot more of them, but they suffered much at the hands of man. It seems that the first stories of the monster, and about it being venomous enough to kill a man, were told around the camp fires when the cowboys had finished work. That led to many trials of strength, and attempted captures, and death and destruction to both sorts of monster. .
Its proper name comes from the studs that run down its skin, "Helos" being Greek for nail head, and "Derma", which many of us already know from trips to the doctors or chemist, means skin.
This is another one of those lovely little paper cards that were issued in Europe. However this is a later one than the rest we have featured, and it is a re-issue of an older set that appeared in the 1920s.
There are two differences by which you can tell the old and new.
The first is the top border, which originally started with "Albums Chocolats Peter, Cailler, Kohler, Nestle", but in the later version has Nestle up first of all the names.
The second difference is the bottom border, which has a large initial right in the centre of the more recent cards, in our case "B", and to the left hand side it now says "Serie 61" rather than "Serie LXI".
Does anyone know when this version dates to? If so, please tell us.
Anonymous [trade/commercial : arcade games : O/S - USA] "Film Star Playing Cards" (1950s)
Another Centenary, for today, in 1924, this man was born, William Dennis Weaver.
You may know him, depending on your age, as Marshal Matt Dillon`s deputy in "Gunsmoke", (1955-64 : which I am presuming appears here), as a guest star on "The Twilight Zone" (1961), as the eponymous Sam "McCloud" (1970-77), or as the hounded driver chased by the monster truck in "Duel" (1971), which was Stephen Spielberg`s directing debut. Or maybe you remember others ? Or that before all this, he trod the boards, and had a promising theatrical career, before moving into movies and tv ?
Before all that, he was a promising athlete at school, but then had to leave that, and his childhood sweetheart, behind, to become a U.S. Navy pilot in the Second World War. Afterwards, he came home to both, even trying out for the 1948 Olympic team but not making the grade. He married his sweetheart though, and they were together until he died in 2006. She died in 2016.
Despite his fame, he wanted to be remembered as an environmentalist, campaigning against fossil fuels, and promoting kindness to nature. He was a vegetarian too.
This card shows that the story of the Arcade Card is a mighty one indeed, for they were first inserted in the 1900s. Some of them came with small sweets, and were grabbed by a mechanical arm, which are technically trade, whilst others you put your money in the slot and received a card, no sweets, which is therefore commercial. You would have to lay out quite a bit of money to get all fifty-two cards, let alone a joker or two, so it seems likely that many of these saw service as replacements for cards in standard sets. There are a few more of this set online, at Gunsmoke.net/PlayingCards
Gunsmoke was featured on Topps "T.V. Westerns", issued in 1958. It was a set of seventy one cards but only fifteen of those were from our show. You can read more about this at TheCardboardConnection/TVW. One of these cards appears as card 19 of Topps "75th Anniversary" set - as a base card, and a foil special.
A more recent set, and entirely devoted to Gunsmoke, was issued in 1993 by Pacific Cards.
If you want cards of him from The Twilight Zone, you will find them in two sets - both by Rittenhouse. The earliest two were issued in the year 2000, and they are cards A-36 (an autograph card) and S-11 (a Stars card) - both are in "Twilight Zone - The Next Dimension" series two, though they are extras rather than in the base set. The other one is in "The Complete Twilight Zone - 50th Anniversary", and that is card 36.
Hignett Bros & Co. [tobacco : UK] "Interesting Buildings" (July 1905) 23/50 - H536-150 : H44-24 : H.70
Centenary Card time again, for today in 1924 was born someone you have probably never heard of, Kenneth Burslam Gardner. He would eventually become a librarian at the British Musuem and the British Library, but he was also an author and expert in early Japanese books and paperwork, responsible for the much renowned "Descriptive Catalogue of Japanese Books in the British Library Printed Before 1700".
He was such an expert that friends, and people he never met, sent him books, with the certain knowledge that he would look after them and treat them with respect. Many of these he gifted to his work places, so that they could continue to be treasured after he was no longer there. Due to this, and also to his own collection, The British Library currently holds the most comprehensive number of Japanese works outside of their homeland.
His favourite books were ones with woodcut illustrations, dating from the Edo Period. This is the reason for our card, for the Edo Period ran from 1603 until 1868, when the whole of Japan was ruled by Shogun Tokugawa and his family/descendants, out of Edo Castle and the surrounding township.
And, you may be wondering, what happened in 1868 ? Well the Imperial forces marched through Japan, and Emperor Meiji was restored to his throne, aged just sixteen. The last bastion was Edo Castle, and the Shogun surrendered after a siege in May 1868. The Shogun was captured and after a brief spell of imprisonment, retired peacefully.
Then, on September the third, 1868, the city was renamed - to Tokyo.
As for where our man found his love for early Japanese books, well that was one of the good things to come out of the Second World War. He did not know any Japanese before he was drafted, but he said he was willing to learn, so he was given a quick course and sent to South East Asia as a translator, reading any documents that were discovered during battles or left behind after raids. To further his knowledge he would read any books he could find, picking them up at markets, or from local people caught up in the war who he helped in small ways. And his kindnesses were rewarded when he was shot in 1945, for a Japanese army doctor chose to heal him, when he could have let him die.
Now I have used this set and its many variations quite a bit in our newsletters but not, or so it seems, as a Card of the Day, which makes a much better, and more direct landing page for the newsletter cards to link to. So I will note down all that we have used, in my spare time, and in the next week or so make sure I use one of the unused ones in that way. Then we can link them all together.
To make this easier for me I will note some bits here and remove them later
"Interesting Buildings"
Churchman July 1905
Hignett July 1905
Stephen Mitchell 1905 (no month)
Wills Capstan Australia 1905 (no month)
Williams 1912.
J. Millhoff & Co., Ltd. [tobacco : UK - London] "Famous Golfers" (1928) 20/27 - M699-150 : M108-14
And, in another Centenary Card, but not the one I wanted, Cyril Walker beat Bobby Jones. I wanted Cyril Walker, but could not find it, though I do know of it, just not anyone who has it. That card is by Spalding, from a set known as "Champions", issued in 1926. You can see it at the Trading Card Database/CWalker - and read more about the set at Pre-War Cards/Spalding
In the mean time we have Bobby Jones, from a set that it seems not many golf card collectors are that familiar with.
Now though Cyril Walker was born in Manchester, England, in 1892, he emigrated to America in 1914. His big claim to fame happened today in 1924, when he beat Bobby Jones to win the U.S. Open. More than than, Bobby Jones was the defending champion.
Cyril Walker won by just three strokes, and a lot of luck. He never again made even the top ten, and he had not done so at any time before. However he would win seven other events during his career.
Now as it is getting late (23.40 on Friday night) I will simply direct you to a website that tells his life story, and a fascinating read it is too. It`s courtesy of ESPN/CWalker
This set is often considered to be a pair to Millhoff`s "Famous Test Cricketers" issued in the same year, and they do have several similarities, though our set was only issued in one size, the cricketers in two. Sadly there was no special reference book to the issues of Millhoff where there would have been space for such elaborations.
It does not say anything about this in our original World Tobacco Issues Index, only :
FAMOUS GOLFERS. Sm. 66 x 35. Sepia photos. Nd. (27) ... M108-14
This is identical in our updated version, but the card code has changed
Jockeys' Guild [trade/commercial : cards : USA] "Jockey Star Trading Cards" (1996) 6/220
And so to our final card... which did not need to be changed after all, I just got confused. It was pretty late by then.
Our final card, yes, but also our final Centenary Card of the week, of which there have been a goodly amount. And today, in 1924, this jockey, Earl Harold Sante, won The Belmont Stakes on a horse called Mad Play.
He was twenty six at the time, and in his prime. He had learned to ride the hard way and even ridden in bucking bronco contests where an untrained horse is released into an arena and the rider attempts to stay aboard whilst the horse has other ideas. He must have come to his senses, or perhaps had a near miss, because he turns up riding quarter horses in a much more sedate brand of competition.
I do not know what he did in the First World War, and whether he was still involved with horses at the front but he disappears from the horse world and only turns up again in 1918, so that seems to point to war service of some kind. Now he was a jockey, at first riding for anyone, and then signed as a contract rider for Commander Ross. He was a Canadian, and a rich one, who had donated his yachts for use by the Canadian Navy, so maybe this is where their paths crossed. He also gave millions of dollars for hospitals, the Navy, and to a fund for the widows and orphans of the men who did not return from the war.
In 1919 Earl Sande hit the headlines, by tying a quite amazing record of having six winning rides at a single day`s event, this was at a now defunct racetrack in Maryland called Havre de Grace. He seems to have managed to remain contracted to Commander Ross but also ride for others, which is possibly why he was the most successful jockey (in monetary value) three times in the 1920s.
He won our race, the Belmont Stakes, in New York, an astonishing five times. In fact, when he won on Mad Play, a hundred years ago, he was the defending champion, having won on Zev the year before. And, oddly, we featured Zev in our newsletter of the 11th of November, 2023. It was the last card of the week then, too, on Friday the 17th of November.
This set is generally thought to have been issued as a sealed box of cards, but I have seen that packets are available, so maybe someone could enlighten me as to whether the packets were inside the box, or whether they were sold at shops (or racecourses). There is also more than one set, I have seen cards from 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 1998.
If you want to see the few early, and contemporary cards of our man Earl Sande, just head to the TradingCardDatabase/EarlSande - and guess what, one of them is from the same set I mentioned earlier in regards to Cyril Walker!
This week's Cards of the Day...
aimed to get you all in the know about composting, just in time for "Learn About Composting Day" on the 29th of May. Which actually started in 2011, by a Bob Matthews from Rochester in New York State. Though composting is far earlier than that !
And before I forget your hashtags are #LearnAboutCompostingDay - and - #CompostingDay
The first myth is that it is only for people with huge gardens, but you can make compost in really small quantities if you only have space for pots or a window box.
As for the second, that it is not hygenic - that it smells, and looks a mess, and is invaded on a regular basis by rats - well that depends on how you make it and what you put inside. And meat will attract them better than any Pied Piper ever could.
Saturday, 25th May 2024
The clue here was "The Sun" because heat is a vital part of turning the things you put into the compost bin into usable compost. And putting the compost in the sun for most of the day gets you heat for free. Though you can buy special hot composters that run at up to sixty degree temperatures and say they can make compost in under a month, rather than the six to twelve that a normal compost pile takes. Adding heat to natural materials breaks down the structure and lets it rot more easily, and, more importantly, kills weeds and infections - but you can speed any type of composting up by making sure you cut everything up into small inch sized pieces, and this is also a good way of telling what should go into the compost, because bad things like branches that will not rot down will not cut up either.
Now this card says simply "Orient" but it actually shows Leyton Orient, who are based in the Waltham Forest area, East of London. The clock tower in the photo was how I tracked them down.
They were. like many teams, founded as a cricket club who used football to keep fit out of the cricket season. The cricket club started in 1881, and the football slowly developed until they joined the Clapton and District Football League in the late 1890s; coincidentally as Orient. They then changed their name to Clapton Orient, just before the turn of the century, a name which they retained for many years - it was only changed to Leyton Orient after the end of the Second World War.
Orient's golden years were in the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1961–62 season Orient were promoted to the top tier of English football, the First Division, for the only time in their history, after finishing second in Division Two under the management of Johnny Carey. The team struggled in the top flight and were relegated after just one season. Nonetheless, they did defeat local rivals West Ham United at home.
The 1970s were kind to them, they started it as League Division Three champions, and moved up to League Division Two, where they would remain for the entire decade. And in 1978 they reached the semi-final of the FA Cup for the first, and so far last, time - losing 3-0 to Arsenal.
This is quite a sought after set, which shows teams and individual players - Captains, Star Players, and Teams from League Division One, Star Players and Teams from League Division Two, and Teams from League Division Three. The backs were in various colours, only one tone of colour per back.
They appear in our original British Trade Index part III as :
The Sun
Newspaper. Cards issued in the 1970s.
Football Swap Cards. 69 x 51. Nd. (134). Album issued, titled "Encyclopaedia of Football, 1971"
They are slightly borderline as them being trade cards, because they were not inserted in the paper, you had to collect tokens from each edition of the newspaper, save them up, and then send them to the address given, and then you would get your cards in exchange through the post. The album was available at newsagents, for a cost of two shillings, but it is slightly incorrectly described in the British Trade Index above - it was actually called "The Sun Scrapbook Encyclopaedia of Football", and it was very comprehensive, having 134 pages, these including histories of the clubs, maps of the ground, and spaces for the cards to act as pictures.
This is partially corrected by our updated British Trade Index, which reads :
Football Swap Cards. 1970-71. 69 x 51. Nd. (134). Album named "Scrap Book Encyclopaedia of Football, 1971", obtained for cost of post and packing.
This last line suggests that the newsagent was not the only way to get an album, and that you could send up to the Sun for one.
The problem with this set was that the cards were not adhesive, which basically meant that every kind of glue was used to stick them in, most of them quite unsuitable to the task, and this is why the cards are not so easy to come by, let alone in collectable condition. Another reason for their scarcity may be that in advertising of the time The Sun broadcast that you could swap your completed album for a football - if you were really quick, because the football was only available for the first 100 albums sent in.
Sunday, 26th May 2024
The clue here was rather a hidden one - for it was what was in the pot, beneath the tea cosy, which I am sure confused many of you, and in this case it was tea.
Tea - and coffee - are excellent for putting in compost, though you should tear (or cut) the tea bags up to save rotting time. If you ask at your local coffee shop, they will probably be quite happy to give you used coffee grounds for free (our local Waitrose actually puts them in a dustbin in the foyer and you just help yourself).
What these substances to is add nitrogen, a valuable fertiliser for the future, which is packed with nitrogen to encourage growth, especially of foliage.
The one thing you need to know though is not to put pyramid style tea bags in your compost. Some are biodegradable, but most are made from plastic, and even though it is derived from corn, it is no use to compost. Also, if you use the kind of tea bag that has a dainty swinging string outside your cup note that it is held there by a staple, and that staple should go in the rubbish bin, not the compost.
Now this set is more or less a promotional item, it simply shows an item with silks attached, and the reverse offers "£100 in cash monthly. First Prize £10". The text then tells the reader how to make the item shown, including the measurements and materials required, closing with an exhortation to "Work into the design as many as possible of the B.D.V. Cigarette silk pictures to give an artistic and pleasing effect and post, when finished, to GODFREY PHILLIPS Ltd. (Prize Needlework Dept.) 114, Commercial Street, London, with 6d. stamp for return if unsuccessful."
Now if you look at our card you will note something very interesting and that is the address, where it reads "Commerical" - not Commercial. Does this error appear on any other cards from this set?
In our original reference book to the issues of Godfrey Phillips (RB.13, published in 1949) this set is described as :
116. PRIZES FOR NEEDLEWORK. Small cards, size 68 x 37 m/m. Unnumbered. Fronts printed by letterpress in colour. Backs in blue, with details of prizes for needlework utilising B.D.V. silks. Thought to have been issued in 1925, but date may have been earlier - a reference to prizes given for needlework appeared in the "Daily Sketch" of 11th Sept., 1915.
There then follows a list of the subjects, which is
- 1. Baby`s Blanket
- 2. Bag
- 3. Bed Cover
- 4. Bedroom Shoes
- 5. Biscuit Box
- 6. Blotter
- 7. Boudoir Jacket
- 8. Cloak
- 9. Cosy
- 10. Cushion
- 11. Dressing Gown
- 12. Fancy Dress
- 13. Fire Screen
- 14. Handkerchief Sachet
- 15. Lamp Shade
- 16. Parasol
- 17. Photo Frame
- 18. Pyjama Case
- 19. Sideboard Cloth
- 20. Table Cover
- 21. Telephone Cover
- 22. Toilet Cover and Three Mats
- 23. Waste Paper Basket
- 24. Work Bag
- 25. Work Stand
Now there is method in my madness of typing these out long hand rather than scanning it, and that is so that we can add in any extra information about the silks that were shown on the cards.
This would be especially important in proving whether or not they were issued in 1915, or in 1925, or even in both years, with the later set being a straight reprint. There is a very valid point for thinking they were issued in wartime, too, which is that simple, repetitive, tasks, like needlework, were considered to be beneficial for recuperation of forces personnel who had been damaged in the war.
In our World Tobacco Issues Indexes, none of this remains, though there is a link to the former Godfrey Phillips reference book. The text in the original volume reads :
PRIZES FOR NEEDLEWORK. Sm. 68 x 37. Unnd. (25) See RB.13/116.
The main text is the same in the updated version, but for one change, that being because we have an updated reference book to the works of Godfrey Phillips and its associated companies, which is coded RB.113 - therefore the new listing closes with a link to RB.113/116 instead of the code above.
Monday, 27th May 2024
So here we have a very attractive fish, but it is not them in whom we are interested, it is the humble worm, which is a really useful little friend to have in your compost, for they much enjoy munching through the small pieces of fruit and vegetables that you donate. The waste that they produce at their other ends then goes into your compost all over again. It is not much use putting in garden worms though, what you need are these little red ones, known as brandlings, which are more active, and hungry eaters of your donations. And you get them at a fishing tackle shop, which you can then exit in the certain knowledge that they will have a much happier time with you than dangling at the end of a hook.
If you have children, or are fascinated by wriggling things, this is a great way to compost - and it also means you do not need such a large container, because this method can be done in a small plastic bin, once holes have been made to allow liquids out and air in.
In our original Churchman reference book (RB.10, published in 1948) this set is described as :
57. May 1914. 50. FISH AND BAIT (titled series). Size 2 11/16" x 1 7/16" or 67 x 36 m/m. Numbered 1-50. Fronts lithographed in colour. Backs in blue, with descriptions. Printed by Mardon, Son & Hall. Also issued by Wills, and I.T.C. in Canada.
Our original Wills Reference Book part III lists the Wills version as "[W/] 62. 50. FISH AND BAIT. Fronts lithographed in colour; backs in grey with descriptive text. Home issue, 1910. Similar series issued by Churchman and Imperial Tobacco Co. of Canada (marked "6636")" From Wills own records, we can add a month of issue for this set too, that being May 1910.
In our World Tobacco Issues Indexes our version is listed as :
FISH & BAIT. Sm. Nd. (50). See H.65.
The Wills listing differs not in these books, but the I.T.C. of Canada version again cites the serial number on the cards, "6636". This Canadian version was actually issued much later too, in 1924. And it also appears in Jefferson Burdick`s American Card Catalogue, as "C11. Fish and Bait. (50). Br." He valued them at .15 cents a card. By the way "Br." meant that there was a version of the set issued in Britain, which American collectors probably found as much of a novelty as we do when we find identical overseas versions of our cards.
Tuesday, 28th May 2024
Did any of our readers know, or guess, that this man, George Washington, was a keen composter?
He even wrote about it in his diary, on April 14, 1760, stating that he had "Mixed my compost in box". He also experimented with seeds, adding different soils and fertilisers, in a very similar manner that we today call "trialling". You can read more at CityFarmer/Washington.
This set might be anonymous, but we know enough about it to attribute it to Reemstma, who issued fifteen other albums of cards on all manner of subjects. Ours is listed in our World Tobacco Issues Indexes as :
ALBUM NR. 7 or SAMMELWERK NR. 7 ; GESTALTEN DER WELTGESCHICTE (Figures in World History). Size 105 x 70. Nd. (200). Anonymous.
A. "Album Nr. 7"
B. "Sammelwerk Nr. 7
The company was founded by Johann Bernhard Reemstma in Erfurt, Germay, in 1910 - and it is still going strong. In fact it is one of the largest tobacco companies in Europe, though it is now but a subsidiary of Imperial Brands, and it has relocated its HQ to Hamburg.
Wednesday, 29th May 2024
This card, of cuttings, has two links to composting - the first is that your successful cuttings will be grown on in little pots, and then into the garden, with the assistance of fresh soil and compost - the second is that the leaves and small twigs form one of the two basic layers that make up good compost, namely the "dry" layer. This is formed of anything which crunches or feels solid to the touch. However you must remember that the pieces that go in the compost box are going to rot down, and the smaller they are the better, and the faster, that this will be accomplished.
Now this set is not the familiar one that was issued by W.D. & H.O. Wills within the British Isles, but I bet it fooled you at first glance. Nor is it one of their export issues.
Our original World Tobacco Issues Index lists this set as :
GARDENING HINTS. Sm. 68 x 36. Nd. (50). Serial 3932. See W/227. Ref. USA/C.15
If we look at W/227, which comes from the Wills Reference Book, there are more details about the cards themselves. That reads :
227. 50. GARDENING HINTS. Fronts lithographed in colour. Backs in grey with descriptive text. Two grades of board (a) thin, (b) thick. Home issue [March] 1923. Similar series issued by Imperial Tobacco Co. of Canada.
The other code given in the original World Tobacco Issues Index links to Jefferson Burdick`s American Card Catalog. That entry is small, and reads :
C.15 Gardening Hints. (50). Br.
We encountered "Br." elsewhere this week, and to save you looking it means a set which was also issued in Britain, but in a slightly different form by another maker.
Mr. Burdick did not value these cards very highly, only at .05 cents a card. However, reading his description, two things stand out to be missing. The first is those two grades of board that are quoted in the Wills reference book - that makes me wonder whether the Canadian version had two thicknesses, or not? Does anyone know? The second, even more curious, is lack of a serial number which is quoted in our original World Tobacco Issues Index, but not by Mr. Burdick.
Thursday, 30th May 2024
After yesterday`s "dry" layer, it is time to add a "wet" layer to our compost.
This is comprised of anything that when you press it extracts its juices into your hands, fruit, vegetables, soft plants, flowers, etc.
Banana peels are especially good for composting, though if you have houseplants of the leafy kind, like rubber plants and palms, remember that before you compost your bananas you can run the banana skins on the leaves to give them a natural shine. Leather shoes also appreciate the same treatment. And if that surprises you, you can also rub bananas on your face - for a quick boost of vitamins B, and C, magnesium, and potassium. Use the soft side of the peel too, for that both nourishes and soothes the skin.
Once all that is done you also have another option, and that is to cut the peel into strips and dry them in the sun, then use them like a cross between fertilizer and bark chippings.
The most important thing to remember, though, is to cut up the peel. A whole banana skin takes a while to rot down around the edges. Small squares, an inch or so across, will take considerably less.
This unusual set is first listed in our Tobacco War Booklet, (RB.18, issued in 1951), under section IV, "Beauties Series (Distinctive)". And "Distinctive" is certainly right. The text is rather short, just :
68. Beauties - Fruit Girls. Girls` heads superimposed on fruit. 25 subjects, illustrated in Fig.68. Issued by B.A.T., with green net design back.
Now Fig.68 did not scan too well, and it is in black and white, but here it is anyway
However there is an online listing at CardEmp/BFG where some of them are shown in their natural colours. This is a sales list, so if it is not there in the future when you visit just let us know and we will unlink.
Note too that the backs on these cards are often a very light version of the green net back, and many of the cards have browned with age, which makes the green net blend in to the point that it becomes but a shadow of its former self. The one I use here is off another series entirely, for I failed to get anything but a whisper of a design off the actual card.
A few years later, in 1956, our original World Tobacco Issues Index lists the cards as simply :
BEAUTIES - FRUIT GIRLS (A). (25). See RB.18/68. ... B116-5
At that time, listing them so was quite understandable, because our original Tobacco War book was still easily obtainable. Today, they are jolly scarce. I think I have seen only two on the open market in the last few years, and one as a private sale (which I bought).
This has been rectified by an updated version of the book, which is now coded RB.118, and yes, it is available in our bookshop.
Changing this code, (and the card code, of course), is the only difference between the text for this set in the original and the updated World Tobacco Issues Indexes.
The heading in the World Tobacco Issues Indexes does tell us a bit more about the set, and actually it applies to all of the British American Tobacco "Section 1.A - Net Design Back in Green" cards. It says "Cards [were] issued in all overseas areas, between 1902 - 05. All small size, 67 x 38 m/m and unnumbered. Ref. USA/T.440 to USA/T.443."
Most of the cards in this section were beauties, their heads alone, cut off at the neck, and peeking rather eerily from the middle of something incongruous and exceedingly strange - like our bunch of bananas - though some, like the "Marine and Universe Girls", "Star Girls", and "Smoke Girls" are truly beautiful. The bulk of the other cards in the section are of "Chinese Girls", which are technically still beauties. That means the odd ones out are "Buildings" (a set also issued by Imperial Tobacco Co. of Canada, and Murai) - and "Chinese Trades - Set 1" (also issued by Murai). There was a "Set II" for this, but not issued by B.A.T, only by W.D. & H.O. Wills, through their "Autocar" brand (the only set that brand ever issued), and, once more by Murai, making theirs into a pair, eighty cards in total.
Friday, 31st May 2024
To close, we go back to something we touched on earlier in the week, the wriggly wigglers that are used in vermi-culture.
But did you know that an early fan of this interesting form of composting was none other than Queen Cleopatra ?
Even more, she passed a law which made them sacred creatures - and made it illegal to damage a worm, to remove one from soil, or even to move a single one outside of the boundaries of Egypt. We do not know of the penalties for the first two, but taking a worm across the border was a capital offence, and the sentence for the offender, if discovered, was death.
She was not the first to appreciate the wonders of compost though, for we know that almost as soon as humans grew crops they also saved crops, and ploughed them back into the fields, the ploughing doing much as we do today, cutting up the surface area so it would rot down quicker. Sometimes, and this is what I find most amazing, they also grew crops for such purposes, rather than food they could eat.
We still have no idea how they learned to do this.
The small size version of this set, and a comprehensive listing of the features of all the versions, can be found as the Card of the Day for the 16th of March, 2023. The only difference is that the maker of the figure on that card is known, whilst the maker of the figure we show here is not.
In addition, whilst this figure is of Cleopatra, and pairs with Mark Anthony, it comes as part of the theatrical figures, and is from the play, by William Shakespeare, rather than being a set of actual Egyptians. Research proves that this is not her only costume, and that she can also be found in a rather fetching leopard skin dress, which seems unlikely, as she was not just kind to worms, she is thought to have had at least one cat, and, reputedly, a leopard.
If you would like to see this figure as an actual pottery item, nip over to the Victoria and Albert Museum/Cleopatra - and we do mean that, for theirs is the actual figure from which our card was drawn.
By the way, in the small sized version of this set, card 9 is "Peace", described as "a female figure with an inverted torch, resting upon the symbols of war - a helmet, quiver of arrows, shield, sword, and axe."
And thus closes another week. Now we are in June, and, almost, apart from the rain outside, into Summer.
If anyone has any summery thoughts about the newsletter, and suitable events to cover, just email us at webmaster@card-world.co.uk
Look forward to hearing from you.