Welcome to another weekend, which spreads before us like a blank canvas, ready to fill with delights and reminiscences, and to enliven with contact amongst our friends, as well as, perhaps, chance meetings with people we may not know yet, but are predestined to stay a part of our lives forever.
Not been too bad a week this week and my cold is dispersing very well. Just the cough remains, unless I eat something enormously spicy or hot, and then that awakens the remnants of the cold in my nose. Hopefully this will be my only cold of winter. And if you are currently suffering the sniffles I hope they soon leave you too.
I also only had a couple of last minute changes to what I wrote out as the plan on Sunday - one I had used that subject before, and I kind of realised that as I was writing it down, and one of them turned out to be the wrong date, but it was only out by one day so I have the first date of next week`s diary all sorted already!
Anyway enough wasting of time - onwards and upwards, with a muse on mealtimes, a chance connection, a drab duckling, a parliamentary place-naming, some musical mammals, several ignored invitations, and a super "Spirit"
James Marshall (Glasgow) Ltd [trade : millers and semolina makers : UK - Glasgow, Scotland] "Marshall`s Recipes" - coloured (1920s?) 5/10 - MAR-280.4.D : MBR-12.4.D
So to our muse on mealtimes, and this concerns the word "pudding". I wonder what you think of first when I say that, steaming suet with meat inside, or a jam roly poly? Both are correct, oddly.
Even the dictionaries give two definitions at the same time - either a "cooked sweet dish served after the main course of a meal" or "a savoury steamed dish made with suet and flour". This does mean, however, that a pie, constructed of pastry, is not a pudding. But wait, because right up to the late nineteenth century "a pudding" meant meat, though of slightly low quality, which was sold encased in a tube, in other words a sausage; which is almost certainly where black pudding gets its name.
Now over in America they define a pudding as either "a food baked or boiled with cereal at the bottom" (which baffles me completely), or "a thick, spongy, or creamy dessert, made with eggs, flour, or cornstarch", or even "In Britain - a dish of suet boiled in a bag" (which sounds most unappetising). Then there are other meanings, including "a slang term for someone who is overweight" (or perhaps eats too many puddings), and also "a slang term for someone very attractive". That sounds like a recipe for disaster if the person you are hoping to impress takes it the wrong way....
With all this confusion it is understandable why so few puddings appear on cards. One of the few I have found is Bocnal Tobacco Co`s "Proverbs Up-to-Date" (issued in 1938 as a set of twenty-five), though it does not show the pudding, just the empty plate. Strangely this subject also appears on Ardath`s "Proverbs" (1936 - 24/25) but as "The Proof of the Pudding is in the Eating" - though it then shows a pie, not a pudding. The text there tells us that "This proverb, in various versions, has been in popular use for hundreds of years. At the beginning of the 14th century it appeared in `King Alixsaunder` (a legendary account in verse of the life of King Alexander the Great): "It is written that everything showeth itself in tasting", while in 1623 William Camden, headmaster of Westminster School, wrote "All the proof of a pudding is in the eating"
Our card is actually allied to one we featured quite a while ago, in our newsletter for the 25th of November 2023 - on Sunday, 26th November 2023 - but today`s is the coloured form and the last one was the black and white, which shows the tray that you were saving your packet fronts for. The full listing of all the Marshall`s sets can be found there too, extracted from our original British Trade Index, for curiously there were four sets and possibly an advertisement card of Marshall`s Oat Flour.
Our series is in both the original and the modern British Trade Index, where it is described as :
MARSHALL`S RECIPES (A). Sm. 63 x 37. Four series
4. Numbered series of 10. Recipes on one side, coloured picture of the finished product on reverse. Back in (a) black (b) blue (c) brown (d) emerald-green (e) olive-green (f) orange (g) red (10)
Chocolat Poulain [trade : chocolate : O/S - France] "Divulgateurs de la Science" / "Spreaders of Science" - 2nd series (19??) 18/30?
This one started out as the centenary of the birth of Russell Johnson, of "Gilligan`s Island" fame, but I could not find anyone with a card that showed him.
So another ramble through the date books found the fact that it was today, in 1871, that Henry Morton Stanley came across the long disappeared David Livingstone, who had completely lost contact with anyone, even his family, for six years. This was baffling enough, but he did have enemies, for his trip was not just to discover the source of the river Nile, but to become famous enough through doing so that he could put an end to the slave trade in that area for ever. And he was an incredible explorer, not just the first European to cross south-central Africa from side to side, but the discoverer of Victoria Falls, which he personally named after the Queen of England at the time.
Now Mr. Stanley did not travel there off his own back, he had been commissioned by the New York Herald Newspaper in 1869. And it took until the 10th of November to find him, in the small town of Ujiji, beside Lake Tanganyika. This is true, but it seems unlikely that he ever really said "Dr Livingstone I presume". However Dr. Livingstone may have been found but he did not want to return. And in fact he died in Africa, some time between the 1st and 4th of May 1873, aged sixty, at a village called Chipundu, after which his heart was buried beneath a tree.
Now this set is a bit intriguing because I was not sure that Mr. Livingstone was actually a scientist, however the word "divulgateurs" does not necessarily mean scientists per se, it is more people that spread scientific ideas and ideals. And David Livingstone FRGS FRS was definitely that, being a physician, and explorer, who not only worked with the London Missionary Society, but had married Mary Moffat, whose family had been missionaries for centuries.
Now there are probably more cards of this set than 30, but that is the last one I have tracked down. I also know that there were three series, at least. But here is a list of our set, as a starting point....
8. Jacquart
10. La Perouse
11. George Stephenson
12. Olivier de Serres
13. Robert Istienne
14. Volta
15. Newton
16. Littre
17. Galilee
18. David Livingstone
19. Franklin
20. Claude-Bernard
30. Hauy
Chocolaterie d`Aiguebelle [trade : chocolate : O/S - France] "Animals and their Homes" (1890) Un/??
A spot of literature now, for today in 1843 a book called New Fairy Tales was published. It had been written by Hans Christian Andersen, and amidst the collection was the story of the Ugly Duckling.
Its a pretty sad story, a tiny duckling is different, and therefore unaccepted by its nest-mates, who mock and tease him. Nothing seems to go right for him, and his only spot of joy is one day when the wild swans fly overhead, leaving, for this simple action thrills its soul in ways he cannot understand. Eventually, after months of misery, the swans come back, and the tiny duckling decides that he wants to go and meet them, even if they hate him, or tear him apart. However, when he gets there, they are excited and welcome him in, and it is only then that he looks in the surface of the water and finds that he too is a swan.
This is a story that some people will read and remain unmoved, but they are the people that are perpetually in the crowd, surrounded by friends and family. Whilst it is most loved by those of us who feel akin to the little duckling, feeling they are just as different, and wondering if we will ever find our tribe and be accepted.
There are many theories that Hans Christian Andersen saw a lot of himself in the little duckling too, for a variety of reasons. And though the story bought him worldwide fame, sadly he never found what he considered to be true love, and he never had any children, despite a couple of well publicised and long term friendships, including one with the opera singer Jenny Lind.
Now I must correct what I originally typed as the title, for I said it was "Birds and their Nests". However it has been brought to my attention that this is incorrect, and that some cards show animals; even better, a list of some of the cards were provided, which is below. What I did was not to look the word "Nid" up, because I knew it was a nest, which it is, but it can also mean a den, or lair. So it is probably more correct to call this set "Animals and their Homes".
That list is :
- Aigle [eagle]
- Araignee Macenne et d`Argent [spider]
- Castor [beaver]
- Cicogne [stork]
- Ecureil des Phillipines [Phillipine squirrel]
- Fourmis [ant]
- Guepe Commune [wasp]
- Hibou et de Chouette [owl]
- Loriot [Oriole]
- Mesange a Longue Queue [long tailed tit]
- Mouette et Goeland [seagull]
- Muscade et de l`oir [squirrel]
- Rossignol [Nightingale]
- Taupe [mole]
If anyone knows any more do please tell us
Anonymous [tobacco : O/S] "Beautiful England" (19) 4/50
An unusual one now, because today in 1439 Plymouth became the first town incorporated by an English Parliament.
This is also often said to be a name change, for the area had been settled since Saxon times, slowly developing into being called "Sudtone", which is how it appears in the Domesday Book. This name was then altered subtly until it was called Sutton, though that was technically the name of the area around the harbour, not the town in its entirety.
In fact that harbour was of the River Plym. And this is where we get the word Plym-mouth. And yet the name of this river actually predates the Domesday Book. Even stranger, there is evidence that the rest of the town which did not directly touch the harbour was called "Plymmuth" well before the thirteenth century.
So why did the town need to be incorporated? Well the main reason was purely for trading purposes, for it was an important harbour, with easy links to the inland. You can tell that from the arms of the town, which are surmounted by a blue sailing ship, from which comes an arm holding an anchor. Its chief trade was in fishing, and tin from Cornwall which was simply sailed around the coastline.
Skybox [trade/commercial : O/S - USA] "The Lion King" - first series (1994) 80/80
A bit of light relief now, because today we celebrate the opening of The Lion King the Musical, at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York.
Now this all started with an animated film, The Lion King, which was released on June the 15th, 1994, at least in America, and which was a production of Walt Disney Feature Animation.
It was a human story, transferred to a pride of lions, and was amazingly successful, attracting many top stars to offer their services to perform the voice overs for the characters. Subsequently there have been claims that the story was based on a combination of William Shakespeare`s Hamlet and on the Bible.
It also holds a really important honour, for amongst its over thirty different language soundtracks is Zulu. And this is the only film in Zulu to ever have been released by Disney.
By the way the music was composed by Elton John and Tim Rice and it was a kind of later addition, because when the story was suggested it was not in a musical form at all, it was just a straight animated tale. We will never know of that would have worked so well, but the musical version was the most successful film of 1994, both in the sale of tickets and the amount of people who viewed it. To this day it remains the most popular animated film of all time, and the best selling home video. And it also won an Academy Award for "Best Motion Picture", albeit in the slightly less important "Musical or Comedy" category.
The Broadway adaptation, which was opened today in 1997, was also a great success, and led to two more films, a sequel and a prequel. However the stage version is much different to the film one, for the actors and actresses are primarily hidden, with their elaborate animal shaped headdresses and puppetry being the stars of the show.
It is also curious because though opening of the show is stated to have been today in 1997, there were other earlier performances. The first one was in Minnesota in July also in 1997. And then it actually opened at the New Amsterdam on October 15th, almost a month before today.
Today it is still running, but not at the New Amsterdam, it was moved in 2006 to the Minskoff.
With all this success there were always going to be cards. Ours were issued by Skybox in 1994, hot on the heels of the film. They were also very canny and tied up with Burger King so that children`s meals contained a free card.
There are actually two series. Set one is of ninety cards, and this tells the story in card form. This is then expanded on for the second series and several additional characters are featured for the first time. It is also easy to tell which series the cards come from as the numbers continue on starting at number 91, with a pair of checklists being at 89 and 90.
However there were also special cards - starting with promotional cards which were available with magazines, or at the 1994 Super Bowl. Then there was a range of inserts, including ones available only at the Disney Store and Wal Mart. Some were only available in Australia and though you might imagine these are hard to come by, in these days of internet trading it is as simple as looking on another country`s site, where such things are plentiful.
Stickers were also issued in 1994 and 1995 by Panini.
It took until 2003 for Upper Deck to get involved with the franchise, starting with a set to commemorate the upcoming tenth anniversary of the film. This put them in a great position to obtain the rights to the second film, released in 2019, and to issue several sets and spin offs for that.
Have you ever wondered why there have been no States added to America recently? Actually not since 1959, when Alaska and Hawaii came aboard, one being the most northerly and one the most southerly, though neither of them are attached to any part of America - Alaska being bordered by Canada and Hawaii is amidst the Pacific Ocean.
However in 1967 there were approaches made by America to two states.
One of these was the District of Columbia, which surrounds Washington but is only a U.S. federal district, even though it contains the national capital.
And the other one was Puerto Rico.
It seems that the District of Columbia has resigned itself to always being the bridesmaid - but rumbles still go on about Puerto Rico. There have been several later entreaties by America too - in 1991, 1993, and 1998. All of which have led to voting, but not acceptance.
The problem seems to be that at the moment Puerto Rico is sufficiently allied to America to get what it wants, but not sufficiently allied to have to obey rules that it does not really want to get involved with - and so why should it join in formally? In other words, they have the carrot, without needing to worry of the stick. They have even ignored enquiries that their place may be usurped as a candidate by other countries, Guam, Samoa, and the Virgin Islands to name but a few.
It is perfectly happy to remain in between. In fact its Spanish name is The Free Associated State of Puerto Rico, and it proudly boasts that it is an unincorporated territory of the United States - neither a sovereign nation, nor an American State unless it wants, for whatever reason, to sit slightly more to one side of that fence.
So here we have a strange card, which is ostensibly American Number Plates, but includes Puerto Rico, and not only that, says "Government or Ruling Power : United States". And technically they are right, for the islands of Puerto Rico are American, and have been since the Spanish American War of 1898.
Jacques [trade : chocolate : O/S - Belgium] "De Automobielwereld 1966" / "The World of Automobiles 1966" (1966) 110/??
I have to be very fast with this one - which is very apt as here we have Craig Breedlove, at one time the fastest man in the world.
He was born on March the 23rd, 1937 and there is very little known of his childhood. He really only arrives in 1962, attempting to take what was actually a tricycle beyond all its limits.
He called it The Spirit of America, and it broke the current land speed record with a run of 407.45 mph - despite the fact that at that time any record attempts were supposed to be performed in a four wheel vehicle.
He would go on to take the Land Speed Record five times, each of those times in a vehicle called The Spirit of America, though they were continually honed and refined and added to, gaining turbo jets too and becoming the first Land Speed Record gained by a jet engine.
In one of those attempts he also became the first living person to attain a speed of five hundred miles an hour.
This was all a far cry from the first ever Land Speed Record, which was set in 1898 - at just over thirty nine m.p.h.
I am struggling a bit to find much out about this set, but I do know that the cards were issued in a mixture of sizes and that it contains standard production cars as well as motorways and sporting events. All help welcomed!
This week's Cards of the Day...
Saturday, 2nd November 2024
This card gave us the county of "Devon" - and the town of our first event is only ten miles away from Exeter, where this card was issued
We know quite a bit about the company which issued this card, and you will find that as part of our Card of the Day for the 13th of May, 2024. However, it has been quite a task to find Mr. Spiers, but all was revealed when I went to the Football Cartophilic Info Exchange, which said that though the set is titled "football" these are all rugby players. Armed with this, I found the Gloucester Rugby Heritage site, which is a much better biography than I could write, and even has details of his rugby-playing father. However I do not yet know if any of them appear on other cards.
The Football Cartophilic Info Exchange also has a checklist of the players in the set, but not the Boer War personalities. On which note, some collectors who are convinced those were a separate set anyway. However in our original World Tobacco Issues Index, they are indeed combined in one single group, separated only by size and appearance and not by subject. This listing reads :
DEVON FOOTBALLERS AND BOER WAR CELEBRITIES (A). Black and white, on thin board. Unnd. See H.259, Ha.259 and X1/H.259. Inscribed at base "Lloyd`s - Exeter Cigarettes". Plain back. ... L54-3
1. Overall size 70 x 41 (very variable). No framelines. 30 known.
2. Overall size 70 x 45, with framelines 64 x 39, picture in centre 47 x 29. One known.
Curiously then, that the first handbook code, of H.259, which refers to the one which was published to be used in conjunction with the 1950 London Cigarette Card Company Catalogue, changes everything. For that reads :
H.259. DEVON FOOTBALLERS AND BOER WAR CELEBRITIES (adopted title). Fronts per Fig.259 in black and white, on very thin paper-like material. Issued by H.C. Lloyd. Unnumbered series, 12 subjects seen.
Devon Footballers :
1. D. D. Dobson
2. T. Dunn
3. H. V. Gordon
4. J. C Matters
5. W. Sims
6. W. SpiersBoer War Celebrities :
7. Commandant-Gen Botha (Transvaal)
8. Col. G. M. Bullock (Devon Regt.)
9. Gen. Joubert (Transvaal)
10. Col. R. G. Kekewich (of Kimberley)
11. Dr. F. W. Reitz (Sec. of Transvaal)
12. The Hon. W. P. Schreiner, C.M.G.
Then, in part two of that handbook, which covers later cards between 1920 and 1940, but also commences with any errors and corrections to the earlier volume, the text reads :
Ha.259. DEVON FOOTBALLERS AND BOER WAR CELEBRITIES (H.C. Lloyd).
It is now known that there are two distinct series, as follows ;-Set 1 - Overall size 70 x 41 m/m, no framelines (as illustrated under H.259). 25 subjects seen. 12 listed under H.259, and the following
Devon Footballers :
13. P. H. Baron
14. Arthur Brock
15. S. F. Cooper
16. F. L Hitt
17. E. W. Roberts
18. G. SowdenBoer War Celebrities :
19. Gen. Sir Redvers Buller
20. Dr. Leyds (Transvaal)
21. Major-Gen Lord Methuen
22. The Right Hon. Cecil J. Rhodes. P.C.M.L.A.
23. Vice-Admiral Seymour, K.C.B.
24. Spec` - Express
25. Gen. Sir George WhiteSet 2 Overall size 70 x 45 m/m, with frameline 64 x 39 m/m, picture in centre 47 x 29 m/m. One subject seen - F. Lloyd Hitt (different picture from No.16 in A but clearly the same player
The other handbook code, X1/H.259, comes from our handbook to the World Tobacco Issues Index, and this follows the format of splitting the two groups up. It also adds more cards. namely :
X1/H.259 DEVON FOOTBALLERS AND BOER WAR CELEBRITIES (H. C. Lloyd). Add the following known in Set 1 (front without framelines) -
Devon Footballers - (26) J. Jones
Boer War Celebrities - (27) General French
(28) Sir F.W. Forestier-Walker
(29) Mr. Rose-Innes (Cape Colony)
(30) Sir Alfred Milner
Now in our updated World Tobacco Issues Index, the two parts seem to be getting further away, for that splits them into A.1 and A.2. The text reads :
DEVON FOOTBALLERS AND BOER WAR CELEBRITIES (A). Black and white, on thin board. Unnd. Inscribed at base "Lloyd`s - Exeter Cigarettes". Plain back.See H.259 ... L645-200
A. Overall size 70 x 41 (very variable). No framelines
1. Devon Footballers, word "Cigarettes"" about 25 mm long. (20 known)
2. Boer War Celebrities, word "Cigarettes" (A) about 25 mm long (10 known) (B) about 28 mm long (20 known)B. Overall size 70 x 45, with framelines 64 x 39, picture in centre 47 x 29. Based on same originals as above, but in different perspective. (6 known, Devon Footballers only)
As far as the handbook for this volume, it puts all the cards so far known together, and so this will be scanned and entered later. This takes the total up to forty-two cards, plus, thrillingly, ends with an anonymous card, perhaps one of others, similar...
Sunday, 3rd November 2024
This was a rather crafty clue, but we were after the basic meaning of the word "tradition", which means handed down from one generation to another, often by action rather than in a written form
Apologies if I have the wrong set here in respect to whether these are large or small numerals. Perhaps if there was a bit more difference in the size it would be easier, read on....
Now the earliest cataloguing of these that I own comes from the London Cigarette Card Company catalogue for 1950. That starts with three columns, "Ref No." (which refers to its number in a table when all the sets of that maker are listed in alphabetical order irrespective of date - and this set is No.19), "Size" (A, which means standard size) and "Printing" (which is actually the colour of the card, and ours is "C" meaning coloured). As far as the actual catalogue entry, that reads :
19. A. C. 25. Traditions of the Army and Navy (? 1917)
A. Large numerals ..................................... 3/- a card - £12 a set
B. Smaller numerals, back redrawn ........between 2/6 and 7/6 a card - £10 a set
In our original World Tobacco Issues Index the same order is followed, though we have added the dimensions of part of the wording too, not that there is much difference, as I kvetched above. The text reads :
TRADITIONS OF THE ARMY & NAVY. Sm. 66 x 36. Nd. (25) ... S16-22
A. Back with larger numerals. "Series of 25" 28 m/m long
B. Back with smaller numerals, redrawn. "Series of 25" 29 m/m long.
In our updated version, it reads,
TRADITIONS OF THE ARMY & NAVY. Sm. 66 x 36. Nd. (25) ... S041-580.A
A. Back with larger numerals. "Series of 25" 28 m/m long
B. Back with smaller numerals. "Series of 25" 29 m/m long.
which is a bit curious as it does not mention that the smaller numbered cards (or more correctly, their backs) were redrawn.
Armed with this information I went on a hunt online, and think I have discovered a much better way to tell the two versions apart, that does not immediately alienate anyone who is mathematically challenged, and that is to look at the top of the cartouche in which the number appears. I will, some time, also add a picture to make it even clearer. Now this cartouche is a circle with the bottom part in a kind of heart shaped form, and the top part, above the number, with a kind of bauble hanger on it, and that is in either a wide-ish bell shape, or a more definite triangle. Still not sure which is which size wise, but do let me know that if you can! Anyway our card is the bell shape.
Monday, 4th November 2024
And lastly we have simply the title of the set, "Annuals", meaning, in our case, something that happens every year for a long period of time. Curiously, in the case of a flower, "Annual" means something rather different, for it is a plant that sprouts, flowers, goes to seed, and withers to nothing within just the space of one growing season - less than a year. And must be grown again from scratch in the following year.
This little plant is the sweet pea, or, to give its proper Latin name, Lathyrus odoratus - and as you might imagine the "odoratus" suggests that it has a scent, which all the best sweet peas do. They were first seen in the Mediterranean, Italy and Greece and their islands, and we are not sure how they made it to our shores.
What we do know is that it really only started to come into popular favour in this country in the 1880s, mostly as a result of changes effected by a Scottish man called Henry Eckford.
He was an estate gardener, and nurseryman, and because of that he was offered another job in the late 1870s, quite an unusual one, working in the gardens of an asylum near Cheltenham. The doctor in charge was a keen gardener and had also found, quite foresightedly for the time, that many of his patients responded positively to gardens, and time spent in nature. However he also had a bit of a hobby, and that was trying to improve on the flowers of the day by hybridising them to correct their failings. It appears that this enthusiasm was catching, and that somehow Mr. Eckford was introduced to the wonders of the humble sweet pea. We do not know why he chose that, but something must have appealed to him, and inspired him to start developing a better form, the original having rather small flowers, more or less hidden amidst a mass of tangled greenery, though the scent was always there.
In 1882 the asylum relocated to Shropshire and Mr. Eckford went too. In the same year he was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society`s First Class Certificate for one of his newly created plants, a cultivar called "Bronze Prince". This flower, for all the fanfare, has completely disappeared, leaving no plants, no seeds, and not even an image. We have no idea, therefore, of its size, or shape, or even, most tantalising of all, how bronze-like it was. This is especially intriguing as today, whilst there are species of sweet pea called "Bronze", they are towards the red end of the spectrum, whereas a true "Bronze" is a mixture of brown and yellow, and yellow is the one colour of sweet pea that everyone wants but nobody can produce. The closest is a cream colour, which, on some heads, darkens as it ages.
A few years later Mr. Eckford seems to have moved on, but stayed in Shropshire, and acquired some land on which he could set out long beds purely for sweet peas and experimenting with them. He produced over a hundred new forms and was awarded with a medal of honour by the Royal Horticultural Society. He died in 1906.
This is a charming set, with a twist, for it was issued twice. However you will never tell by looking at the fronts, which are identical, and never know from the backs unless you have both the versions.
All is revealed in our original reference book to the issues of Godfrey Phillips, RB.13, published in 1949, where the text reads :
9. ANNUALS. Small cards, size 67 x 37 m/m. Fronts printed by letterpress in colour. Backs in black , with descriptive text. Home and export issue, 1939. The New Zealand issue bears variations in the descriptive text to provide for planting the annuals 4-6 months later in the year than in the home issue, other export issues presumably have similar variations.
Now this is curious, because "other" export issues suggest that New Zealand was not the only recipient of an export set - and yet In our World Tobacco Issues Indexes the set is listed as :
ANNUALS . Sm. Nd. (50).
A. Home issue
B. New Zealand Issue, dates for planting 4-6 months later.
Tuesday, 5th November 2024
Now if you are in Devon right now, Bonfire Night, you may already be aware of our first event, which is the Ottery St. Mary Tar Barrel Roll. This is held every year on Bonfire Night - unless that falls on a Sunday and then this event is moved.
This is a spectacular event, which can only be competed in by people who were either born in the town, or have supported it by opening a business there. Those people carry a barrel on their backs and race through the town, visiting local hostelries along the way. There is a twist though....
The hostelries are chosen by a simple method, for they are the ones who have applied to sponsor a barrel. Nearer the event, this barrel arrives, and once it does the proprietors start soaking it liberally with tar. Then, on the night of the race, as the crowd yells out that the runners are on their way towards one of the hostelries, their barrel is set ablaze, and hoisted aloft on to the shoulders of the group of participants when they arrive.
Another twist is that as the race progresses, the barrels get heavier, and heavier, until the last one, which is truly massive.
As for the origins of the event, we are told it started in the seventeenth century, but we are not entirely sure whether this is true or not - some say it dates back centuries further. There are also lots of rumours about it being connected with smugglers and smuggling, and if we think about this, the burning would be a pretty good way to get rid of any evidence, whilst the liberal coating of tar would also cover up any incriminating smells. And it would also explain why the runners stop at local inns, to change barrels, disposing of many all in one night....
This set is, therefore, an excellent link, especially as it shows the way that the barrels were often altered to hide contents from the probings of the law.
It was first described in our original Ogdens reference book, RB.15, issued in 1949, as :
155. 50. SMUGGLERS AND SMUGGLING. Fronts printed by letterpress in colour. Backs in grey, with descriptive text. Home issue, 1932-3.
It is shortened, in our World Tobacco Issues Indexes, to :
SMUGGLERS AND SMUGGLING. Sm. Nd. (50)
Wednesday, 6th November 2024
Now the tar barrel racing we spoke of yesterday is not the only one in the area, for on the second Saturday of November they also do it in Hatherleigh, where it is accompanied by a carnival. This one is very early in the morning, you have to get up specially - and perhaps that is also a bit of a link to it all being over by the time the customs men are on their rounds...
This event seems to have started in 1903.
To card chat, when I was researching yesterday`s card I was struck by the fact that tar was used because of its strong, and maybe noxious odour, as well as the way it disguised all trace of what was beneath it. And yet it also appears on a lot of trade cards for another reason, and that is health and hygiene.
In America you can find trade cards where is it is recommended to combat colds, coughs (especially whooping cough in children), sore throats, lung infections, toothache, consumption, bronchitis, and Sines` Syrup of Tar is even advertised as "Cures all Pulmonary Diseases"
Back in England, the top brand was Wright`s Coal Tar Soap. This was created in 1860 by William Valentine Wright, from the liquid by-product that occurred when coal was distilled to make coke or coal gas. He had been born in Suffolk but then opened a small business in London as a wholesale druggist and chemist. This was at the romantic sounding address of Old Fish Street Hill, and it was very close to Billingsgate Market. He did not call it Wright`s Coal Tar Soap, he called it "Sapo Carbonis Detergens" - which is Latin, for, in order, soap, coal, polish (as in rubbing, not furniture polish, though the truth is that the "polish" bit of furniture polish actually means the way it is applied and not the name of the substance)
Anyway Mr. Wright somehow acquired a source for this liquid, and his soap was seemingly inspired by the local farmers from his Suffolk youth - this was a practise which had been going on for centuries, and even the Roman poet Virgil mentioned shepherds using pitch and bitumen on their flocks to cure itching and sores, even what was later known as the mite damage, scab.
For some reason though this by-product was so well known to farmers, it had primarily always been used in industry as a preservative for fencing (which would come to be known as creosote), and for making a hard weather proof surface for local roads. You can see that on card 10 /24 of Priory Tea`s "I-Spy Men at Work" (1959). It was also used in the railway industry for making sure that the wooden structure that supported the iron rails did not decay.
Coal tar then became part of many popular medicines for human complaints involving itching and dryness, things like eczema, and dermatitis, as well as dandruff. It was one of the constituent parts of paracetamol too. There were always certain areas of the body that it was unsuitable for, and also you were told you should not use it on areas where the skin is broken and as yet unhealed, or where infection has set in close to the surface.
Then, in 2005, along with several other similar products, Wright`s Coal Tar Soap was banned. This came about because it was linked with cancer, amongst its users, but more tellingly amongst the employees of the factories. However this link was, rather shockingly, discovered way back in 1980.
Now you might be sitting here thinking but I have a bar upstairs I bought earlier in the week - well fear not, for it is still made, in Turkey, but to a different formula using tea tree oils, though it does still have "with coal tar fragrance" on the packaging, which is designed to resemble, as closely as possible, the original version.
Thursday, 7th November 2024
Now for our next Devon delight we are off to Shebbear, where their fifth of November sees their local residents turning the Devil`s Stone.
This is sited on a very pleasant village green, by St Michael's Church, and it just looks to passing traffic like any other large rock - but the locals know it has several secrets.
The first of these is that it is not local stone, and there is even modern evidence to suggest that it was once moved by a glacier. Then there is the curious fact that it weighs much heavier than it appears. Most interesting, though, are all the stories of the way it got there, most of which involve The Devil, hence the name of the stone. The one which seems to have most provenance is that one day The Devil was having a fight with Archangel Michael, and somehow he either dropped the stone or it was forced from his grasp, upon which both stone and Devil fell to earth, the stone landing right on top of him. And this is why the church is called St. Michael`s. We also know that the stone was there before the church was built, in Saxon times, though the oldest part of the church still remaining is the Norman south doorway.
As far as the reasoning for the turning of the stone, legend has it that it takes a whole year for the Devil to dig a tunnel from his chamber in such a way that when he breaks through he can feel the stone with his fingers and lever it off so that he can climb out. But if the stone is moved, or turned, he is thwarted, so he must descend and start to dig another tunnel. And the church also rings its bells just before the villagers turn the stone, so that he will hide from the noise and not hear the movement or feet above him.
I have not been able to find out when the stone flipping started, but there is strong local tradition, and in both World Wars there have been occasions when it did not seem appropriate to do it, only for a decided spell of bad luck to befall the village, and then, when they turned the stone after all, things started to get better.
Now this card comes from Album 9, which is entitled "Marchen" - or fairy tales - and which held 216 cards when completed. Our set, "Der Starke Knecht" is translated as "The Strong Servant" and it is complete in six cards, these being :
- Der starke Knecht [the strong servant]
- Der schone Kragen [a nice collar]
- In der Teufelsmuhle [in the Devil`s Mill]
- Die Ferkelschwanzchen [the piglet`s tail]
- Die Fahrt nach der Holle [the road to Hell]
- Die alten Bekannten [old friends]
The story comes from Switzerland, but the earliest edition I have tracked down is 1915 and these cards were issued in 1906. The story is set in Switzerland too, and it involves some cruel landowners who lived in a mighty castle, whose servants were disrespected and often killed. The locals were powerless, until one day a man came to town. He went to the castle and said he wanted to work for him. The landowners set him a task before they agreed, and that was to lift a huge boulder inside the castle walls. This was easily accomplished by the man, who managed not just to lift it but to throw it, so that it flew in the air, and sank deep into the earth when it landed.
Once he was employed, he was continually set tasks of strength and daring, all of which he passed. The landowner grew scared, that the man could so easily do of these things, and one day he asked the servant to dig a well. When night fell, and the man was still digging at the bottom of the well the landowner got he rest of the servants to put a block of stone over the well so that there was no way out, only to see the stone lift up and move away. The man then started climbing up the steep sides of the well, and the landowner ran. After that we do not know what happened, but neither man nor servant was ever seen again, and the villagers were left alone.
The problem is that the cards do not seem to fit this story, so maybe this is a later tale after all and I have just not found the one to which these cards relate.
I am impressed by the fact though that this card was only chosen for the Devils, and instead it is yet another story of a thrown stone and a blocked entrance.
Friday, 8th November 2024
So this is another curious connection, because here, on Dartmoor, there is another Church of St, Michael, and that too has a legend relating to the Devil, like the one we told you of yesterday.
Apparently The Devil was very fond of walking on Dartmoor, he liked its wildness and loneliness, and people would run at any noise fearing he was chasing at their heels. Dartmoor is a very otherworldly place, dotted about with these curious stones, where one is balanced atop the others, and even more so when you learn that these are ancient tombs from peoples whose tribes have all disappeared, so long ago that the earth which originally covered these stones and the body inside have all been washed away by the rains and scattered by the winds.
One day the Devil was standing at the top of the moor when he saw a ship, fully laden, and decided to pounce on it. To help in this, he created a storm of immense proportion and guided it down towards the ship, extinguishing all the warning beacons along the way. He then flew about the ship and tried to drive the crew into capsizing the vessel. However the merchant, who owned the ship, called out to his patron saint, Michael, that if he saved the ship and his remaining crew he would build him a church on the Devils land, the Dart Moor. And almost immediately the wind and rain failed to obey the Devil and faded away.
When the ship landed to shore the dream of the church began, and the purchasing of the materials, and the finding of stonemasons and carriers. However the Devil was only resting, licking his wounds, and when he saw all the materials for the church were getting assembled he flew into a rage and threw them down the hill. This occurred for a very long time, but neither side would give in, the more the stones were scattered the quicker the men got them up again.
One night there was a fight, between St. Michael and the Devil. The Saint seized a huge stone and threw it at the Devil. Now some say that his hit him and made him leave the church alone, whilst others say that the Devil was trapped beneath. Either way he left the Church alone.
Now this is yet another St, Michael - remember, the stone from yesterday was turned outside St. Michaels Church, and it turns out that Ottery St. Mary, where Monday`s tar barrel rolling took place, also has a St. Michael`s Church in West Hill.
This card is from a very confusing set. It is listed in our World Tobacco Issues indexes as :
LINKS WITH THE PAST. Sm. and Lg. Grey black gravures. Special artistic covers issued for binding sets through holes punched in left hand margins.
1. First 25 subjects. Nd. 1/25. Home issue.
A. Small, 71 x 42
B. Large, 78 x 63
2. Second 25 subjects. Sm. 69 x 40, Lg 78 x 63.
A. Advertisement issue, Lg., without holes punched. Back in blue, with advertisement for set and Sarony Cigarettes. Hand-outs. Unnd.
B. Home issue. Nd. 26/50. Back in black. Size (a) small (b) large
C. Sydney and Melbourne issue. Nd. 1/25. Back in blue. Size (a) small (b) large
D. Christchurch (New Zealand) issue. Nd/ 1/25. Back in blue. Size (a) small (b) large
And thus closes another newsletter for another week.
Thanks to U2, who not only disguised the firework very well, as nipper is still not too keen, but put up with my singing along, if unfortunately it reached them through the ether.
Next week will be better. I shall start earlier, and have all the subjects and cards written on my piece of paper by the end of Sunday night. Then again sometimes there are distractions.
Thanks for coming over and reading. I hope that you will do that for a long while yet. And I hope I will also continue