And so let us begin another newsletter, one of the few left before Christmas (actually there are only two after this one). So far, and this week is no exception, the festive feels have been lacking - and I feel I must rectify that in next week`s edition.
We are getting a few 2025 meeting dates coming in, and these are, for the mean time, going in to the home pages for each branch. We are waiting on Cheshire, Kent, Lea Valley, Leicester, Middlesex, Midlands, North East, North West, and Winchester and Solent. The rest are already there, and there are a couple who have given us dates for 2026.
I did a bit more indexing and adding of info, still working through the A & BC sets. I did hit a snag in that the card we used this week of John Fraser (see below) is not the set mentioned in the British Trade Index. Can anyone explain this?
Anyway, on we go.. with ....
Liebig [trade : meat extract : O/S - France] "Phares" / "Lighthouses" (1907) F.891 : S.891
This is a fascinating tale, though gloomy. For today in 1703 started a huge storm which raged through England, Wales, France, Belgium, Germany and Holland, and did not stop until the 10th of December.
Today we view it as an Atlantic Hurricane that did not blow out across the sea, as is usual. It is estimated that it killed at least eight thousand men at sea and wrecked several Royal Naval vessels on the Goodwin Sands with loss of all life aboard in many cases, including Rear Admiral Basil Beaumont. Another great loss was the Eddystone Lighthouse, shown on this card, which was totally destroyed, along with its architect Henry Winstanley and five other people who were stranded on it during that fateful event. In fact its end is mentioned on this card, as ".....par an ouragan, en 1703", (By a hurricane, in 1703)
The set is called "Phares" in both the French and Belgian versions, which means lighthouses, but comes from the Greek, Pharos, which refers to both an island and a lighthouse off Alexandria in Egypt, which was one of the famed seven wonders of the world. This was lit by fires and torches and it was built in 280 BC. Sadly it was destroyed by an earthquake in the fourteenth century. As for the other issuing countries, Germany calls it "Leuchtturme" (or light-towers), Italy calls it "Fari" (which seems a phonetic rendering of Pharos), and the Netherlands, which is the most sought after, calls it "Vuurtorens" (or fire-towers).
The full set shows
- Cas St, Vincent (Portugal)
- Constantza (Romania)
- Eddystone (England)
- Le Havre (France)
- Phare de Messine (Italy)
- Phare de Rotesund (Germany - actually Roter Sand, built in 1885)
Libby, McNeill & Libby [trade : canned meats : O/S - Chicago, USA] "Shakespeare Series" ?
Today in 1660 is said to mark a very important event, the first woman to appear on stage, playing Desdemona in Shakespeare`s "Othello".
This appears to be slightly misreported as there is evidence that sixty years earlier a certain Mary Frith had been regularly seen on stage. The reason for forgetting Mary Frith seems to be that she usually appeared on stage dressed as a man, and sometimes dressed as so in the streets too. But more than that, she had rather a reputation for thievery, brawling, cussing, and generally having a good time, and her nicknames also tell a lot, for they were Merry Moll, and Moll cut-purse. And though by the 1920s a moll had come to mean the girlfriend or mistress of a gangster, in the seventeenth century it definitely meant a woman whose favours could be bought.
As for who the 1660 actress was, well there are two candidates, one is Anne Marshall, Mrs. Anne Quinn. However though she was an early actress, and played the role of Desdemona several times she is not thought to have been the first lady to do so. And, interestingly, she also started her career on stage dressed as a man. The other is Margaret Hughes, who was known as Margaret Hewes, Peg Hughes, or simply as the mistress of Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland. They also had a daughter, Ruperta, and Margaret Hughes was very well kept, and seen about town lavished with jewels, some of which were from the Royal collection.
There were also rumours that she was the mistress of Charles II, but this is unproven, however it would add credence to her being the first actress, because it was King Charles II who repealed the Puritan ban on theatres, and was also opposed to watching men dressed as ladies, so much so that he issued a royal decree that female roles must henceforth only be played by actresses.
Now this is a really odd card and I doubt it would have amused William Shakespeare. It is a very well drawn image, and on the left hand side there is an extract from Act 1, Scene 3 of Othello, namely : "Most potent, grave and reverend signiors, my very noble and approved good masters". However then it all goes commercial, for at the side of poor Desdemona is inserted a huge can of ox tongues, and on the right hand side it actually says : "Othello and Desdemona plead the excellence of Libby, McNeill & Libby`s canned meats."
And just in case you failed to see the can of ox tongues, they have also put a large can of corned beef on a pillar to the far right.
I asked, at this point, whether any other Shakespeare plays so travestied, by either Libby or anyone else - and that if you knew please do tell.
Well, thanks to several readers, I can tell you that there were several, and also that some of them have advertisement backs, as we show here. I was going to change our card and give it an advertisement back, but I am told that whilst some of the cards can be found with both a plain and a printed back, some of them were only ever issued with a plain one. So I will just contact everyone who helped with this list and ask them to check their reverses.
By the way, we also now know the printer, or lithographer to be exact, it was G.H. Dunston of the Dunston-Weiler Lithographing Company, 198 and 200 Terrace, at the corner of Ann Street, Buffalo, New York. He died in 1912.
Anyway here is a little list - which includes a note of whether they have a plain back (P), an Advertisement (A) or both :
- All`s Well that Ends Well - Act IV Scene IV -
"All`s Well that Ends Well, still the fire`s the Crown Whate`er the course the end is the renown. The beginning and the end of a can of Libby`s Meats always carry the renown of them" - As You Like It - Act III Scene III -
"Touchstone propitiates Audrey with Libby McNeill and Libby`s Canned Meats. And how, Audrey? Am I the man yet? Doth my simple feature content you?" - Comedy of Errors - Act III Scene I
"Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast, especially when Libby`s Canned Meats are used" - King Henry the Fourth - Act II Scene IV - (P)
"Some more of Libby McNeill and Libby`s Canned Meat and some sack, Francis - Falstaff at the Inn" - Macbeth - Act III Scene IV - (P)
"Hence horrible shadow! Unreal mockery, hence! It will have blood, they say blood will have blood : nay, nay, offer it a can of Libby, McNeill and Libby`s Meats!" - Measure for Measure - Act II Scene IV - (A)
"Believe me, on mine honour, Libby`s Meats are the Best" - Richard II - Act II Scene II - (A)
"Lay aside life-harming heaviness and cultivate a cheerful disposition with Libby`s Meats" - Tempest - Act II Scene I - (A)
"Beseech you sir, be merry, you have cause, so have we all, of joy. Libby`s Meats have come" - Timon of Athens - Act II, Scene II - (A)
"If you suspect my husbandry or falsehood call me before th`exactest auditors and set me on the proof" - Titus Andronicus - Act III Scene I
"I will befriend thee more than youthful April and keep eternal springtime on thy face. Libby`s Meats may not keep eternal springtime on thy face but by their excellence a taste of eternal spring"
If anyone knows any more just send them along.
As far as Libby, McNeill & Libby, they were founded in 1869 in Chicago by two brothers, Arthur and Charles Libby, and a partner, Archibald McNeill. Their first product was beef in brine, later known as corned beef. Then they branched out into canning tongues. There is nothing to date this card, but we do know that their corned beef was first canned in the trapezoidal tin, showing here, in 1875.
Liebig [trade : meat extract : O/S - South America] "Animals of the World" ? (19??) Un/6
This is turning into a fun newsletter for now we are off to South America, specifically Peru, to chat about llamas. And before you wonder why, today is National Llama Day.
Now although this card says Peru, you will find llamas native to Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, North America and even Canada.
The first thing I discovered is that llamas are in the same biological family as camels. They are herbivores, so they only eat grass and plants. They can live for about twenty years, and can breed from the age of three, one baby being born at a time after almost a year of gestation, and then there is a year off to allow the mother time to care for her child until it reaches a year old, then she will again start the breeding process.
An adult llama is about four feet high at the shoulder and they were primarily used as transportation for baggage and goods, as shown on our card. Strangely there seems to have never been any experiments in riding them like a horse, or even like a camel, though camels have those curious humps which makes saddling them so difficult.
They can be moody though, sticking their tongues out at one another, and even spitting undigested food at anything which displeases them.
However, when they are happy, they emit a little humming noise, which is very sweet to hear. And they are also gaining a reputation for kindness, some even touring round hospitals and care homes to brighten up the lives of those who must stay confined in bed
Now I have no idea of which set this card comes from, so if you do, please let me know. I am very fond of the side drawing on the reverse of the llama`s head, and think perhaps the other animals in the set also have this, if so that might make it easier to track them down. It could be along the lines of animals of the world, because they do say Peru, but on the other hand it could just be beasts of burden, though thankfully these llamas do not seem to be too over-worked.
The Express Tobacco Co. Ltd [tobacco : UK - London] "How it is Made" (1939) 2/50 - E990-300 : E38-1
I suppose the modern day equivalent of a beast of burden is a conveyor belt, and that is a neat link to the next card in our newsletter, for today, in 1915, the millionth Model T Ford rolled off the assembly line.
Things sped up after that, with the five millionth being finished on May the 28th, 1921, and the ten millionth being ready on June the 4th, 1924.
Now we know that the five millionth was given to Edsel Ford; whilst the ten millionth was used for display and promotional purposes,and that, thrillingly, it still survives, in private hands. However, the millionth seems just to have been sold as any other, and simply vanished from sight. It may still be out there, somewhere, but we will never know of its life, nor of any of its grand adventures. And that seems very sad.
Now whilst the Ford on this card is not a Model T, it is still the Ford Assembly Line, being shown in great detail on a set of fifty cards. However little is known about Express Tobacco, something that I hope to tease out.
Our "Directory of British Issuers" (RB.7, published in 1946) does offer a few clues, for their entry reads :
EXPRESS TOBACCO CO. LTD., THE.
129 Vassal Road, London, S.W.9
(See also Charlesworth & Austin.)
One set of cards in 1939, "How it is Made", illustrating a Ford car in the making.
[brands] "Atheneum", "Blue Fleet", "Express Navy Cut".
Now if you look in the same book at Charlesworth & Austin, their entry reads :
CHARLESWORTH & AUSTIN LTD.
Old Chums Tobacco Factory.
Vassal Road, Brixton, London, S.W.9
(Previously 319 Borough High Street, London, S.E.)
See also Express Tobacco Co., Vassal Road, S.W.9
Founded 1837
Issued several series of cards, but only those similar to other tobacco manufacturers.
[brands] "Planters Pride", "Old Chums", "Eyes Right".
In our original and updated World Tobacco Issues Indexes, the entry for Express Tobacco Ltd reads :
The EXPRESS TOBACCO Co. Ltd., London
Probably associated with Charlesworth & Austin. Cards issued in 1939"HOW IT IS MADE". Md. 76 x 51. Motor car making. Brown gravures. Nd. (50)
The entry for Charlesworth & Austin only says that they were : "Founded 1837. Trading 1956. Cards issued about 1899-1903."
Whilst researching this I came across something else rather curious, and that was a diecast Model T Ford van, produced by Lledo, which is liveried up for "E.C.C. & Co. Albert Dock, Liverpool", and is a limited edition to celebrate five years of trading from those parts by the Edwardian Cigarette Card Co. This is a company of which I have never heard, so I throw that out to you and ask if you have?
I also found out, thanks to Genio Marvel (2003), Card No. 283, that the Model T Ford was assembled in just 93 minutes. And it intrigues me that such a modern set would care enough about the Model T Ford to feature it as one of their cards.
W. DUKE, Sons & Co. [tobacco : O/S - Durham, N.C. & New York] "State Governors, Coats of Arms, etc" - untitled, folders (1888) Un/48 - D900-410.B.a.B : D76-43.B.a : USA/133
Back in time a bit now, to 1816, when the former Indiana Territory became the nineteenth state of the United States of America, as Indiana. However the area had been devastated by the War of 1812, which ran until 1815, and was actually a little known conflict in which the United States had declared war on Great Britain (on the 18th of June 1812). In fact the first battle of that war, the Battle of Tippecanoe, took place there.
The idea of Indiana becoming a state had been talked about before all this happened, in 1811, but after the war it was again discussed. After all, the territory area held well above the number of citizens needed for it to be considered as a state.
Now it is not known whether this census counted the Native Americans, but it seems likely it did not, for between the years of 1800 and 1836 they were pretty much all expelled from its boundaries, which makes it rather unsavoury that the territory and the state should have taken its name, Indiana, (meaning Land of the Indians), directly because of the large amount of native tribes which had inhabited it.
Instead of these, Indiana invited settlers from the neighbouring states, Illinois to the west, Kentucky and Tennessee to the south and southeast, Michigan, New England, and New York to the north and northeast, and Ohio on the east.
As for our man, he was Isaac Pusey Gray, and he was Governor of Indiana twice, once from 1880 to 1881, and then again from 1885 to 1889. He was not born in Indiana though, he was born in Pennsylvania, in 1828, he only came to Indiana in 1855, and set up shop as a dry goods merchant, before becoming so interested in law that he started taking classes and passed the bar in 1861. And he then went on to serve, with distinction, in the Union Army, during the Civil War. He then became a Republican candidate for Congress in 1866, but lost at the ballot box. However within two years he was a state senator, and by the mid 1870s he had served with both the Republicans and the Democrats, before being elected Lieutenant Governor, for the Democrats, in 1876. In 1892 he even stood for President, losing to Grover Cleveland. However after that he was elected, as minister to Mexico, in 1893.
Now this card looks large, but it is actually a flattened out folder, which folds into three sections that when held together are no bigger than a standard cigarette card.
From the front, it resembles, very closely, another set, known as "Rulers, Flags & Coats of Arms", issued a year later, (1889), but the central open section is of a King or Ruler of a foreign country, not a governor of an American state - and also the back is only words, not a map of an American state.
There is also much debate about the title; what we call it above being how it was recorded in our original World Tobacco Issues Index, but a lot of people preferring a much longer title, namely : "Governors, Coats of Arms and Interesting Features of the States and Territories".
In our original World Tobacco Issues Index, the full description is :
STATE GOVERNORS, COATS OF ARMS, ETC.(A). Lg. Unnd. (48). Ref USA/133 ... D76-43
A. Thick Card Type
B. Thin Triple Folders. Front inscribed :
(a) "Duke Cigarettes"
(b) "Duke`s Cameo Cigarettes"
(c) "Turkish Cross-Cut Cigarettes"
This inscription, by the way, is in the centre, below the picture of the Governor.
Now by the time of our updated version of the World Tobacco Issues Index there has been several changes and discoveries, so that entry is longer and includes a number of variations which changes most of the codes above. This reads :
STATE GOVERNORS, COATS OF ARMS, ETC.(A). Lg. Unnd. (48). Ref USA/133 ... D900-410
A. Thick Card Type. "Honest Long Cut" brand issue.
B. Thin Triple Folders. Front inscribed :
(a) "Duke Cigarettes". Maps on back in (A) red (B) orange.
(b) "Duke`s Cigarettes". Back with maps in red.
(c) "Duke`s Cameo Cigarettes". Each card is probably found with 2 out of 3 styles of back - (A) text in blue, maps in (a) orange (b) red - (B) text in black, maps in blue.
(d) "Turkish Cross-Cut Cigarettes". Back with maps in (A) red (B) orange.
CARRERAS Ltd [tobacco : UK - London] "Personallity Series - Film Stars" (1933) 59/72 - C151-550.C : C18-91.C
Today we celebrate the birthday of Emanuel Goldenberg, in Bucharest, in 1893. His family emigrated to America in 1904, when he was ten, and set up home in New York City. He planned to become a lawyer, or maybe even a criminal attorney, so it seem odd that he spent the rest of his life on the wrong side of that law, as a gangster, on the screen, at least.
His first acting role came in 1915, and it was on Broadway, in a play called "Under Fire", a war play about spies, though at the time America was not involved in the First World War, that came later. His film debut came in 1916, in "Arms and The Woman", written by the English female novelist Ouida, and he was supposedly credited as E. G. Robinson. Sadly the film no longer survives in any format, seemingly not even a still, so his name cannot be proven.
When America joined the war, he joined the U.S Navy, but never went overseas. It is unknown what he did when he left the Navy, but he next turns up on stage, again on Broadway, in "The Racket". His character did not have a name, he was just called "a gangster." Someone saw his performance, liked it, and that led to many appearances as gangsters on the big screen too, starting, in 1929, with "The Hole in the Wall" with Claudette Colbert. He made a total of fourteen films in the next two years, and left the stage forever.
Despite so many towering performances, he was never even nominated for an Academy Award. However, in 1973 he was awarded an honorary one, though, sadly, it was his widow who collected it on his behalf, for he had died two months earlier.
This set was issued in Australia and is is essentially the same as both their standard set of Film Stars and their Smile Away series, save the colour, as both of those are tinted brown and our set is green. Though there is one major difference, as none of the three sets number the cards in the same order. The trio appear in our original World Tobacco Issues Index under :
2.E. Australian Issues 1933-34. Series issued after firm took over G.G. Goode in 1931. Brand issues. Small size 67 x 40 m/m.
FILM STAR SERIES or PERSONALITY SERIES - FILM STARS. Sm. Nd. (72). See RB.20/42-1. Brand issues. ... C18-91
A. Inscribed "Smile Away". Titled "Film Star Series". Brown
B. Inscribed "Standard". Titled "Film Star Series". Brown
C. Inscribed "Turf" Titled "Personality Series - Film Star Series". Green
It is almost the same in our updated volume, but for our version, where they change the final part of the listing as "Green - backs green". There are no other changes to the text.
Do note that right at the bottom of the base of our card, it says "O & Co", a firm that we mostly connect with Sniders and Abrahams, and with G.G. Goode. However in this case all it shows is that when Carreras bought out J.J. Goode they must have retained the services of their favoured printers.
You see we did make it, though there will be a bit more card information added over the weekend.
We close with this card, for that shows Eugene Cernan, and he was the last human being to walk on the moon, today in 1972. All this time has elapsed, and we never did return. It is no wonder that some people want to believe that it was all a fake, for if it were the truth why did we not go back?
Before I veer any further into Friday territory, Eugene Andrew Cernan was not just an astronaut, he was a fighter pilot, and an aeronautical and electrical engineer. He was born in March 1934, in Chicago, and he started his career in the military in the Navy, as an ensign, on a ship. However he then changed to being a naval aviator. In 1963 he was selected for the space programme primarily because of his experience with flying jets, as well as the fact that he knew how to maintain them.
His walk on the moon, which became so fateful, was not alone, he was with Harrison Schmittm but Mr Schmitt was the first to climb back into the spacecraft, leaving our man alone on the surface of the moon. But he should be remembered for other things too - he is one of only three astronauts to travel to the Moon twice - and one of only twelve ever to have walked on its surface.
Now this card completes the trio of "Man in the Moon", for it was issued by A. & B, C. Gum in England, O-Pee-Chee in Canada, and, showing here, Topps in America. We have used the other two already, and over the weekend I will link them in together so that you can access each version direct from the other
This week's Cards of the Day...
This week we are going to take a look at Women`s Football - because on the 5th of December, 1921, the Football Association met together and announced a total ban on women playing football at any ground or pitch owned by them. This was especially galling as during the First World War Women`s Football had not only been promoted to keep war workers healthy, but the moneys raised from games had gone to support the War Effort and the wounded.
Saturday, 30th November 2024
Clue one for this week gave us Watford, or rather Watford Junction, the first stop on the new Lioness Line, which commemorates the Women`s England Football Team, and also passes Wembley Stadium, the scene of their epic 2-1 victory against Germany in the Euro 2022 Final
The two footballers are :
Brian Pollard - in what appears to be his only cartophilic appearance. We know that he was born in May 1954, in York, starting his footballing career with local team York City, turning professional there in 1972, and also making some good appearances in the England youth squad. This seems to have attracted the attention of Watford F.C., who bought him in late 1977 for their then record fee of £33,000. Watford had a new manager then, Graham Taylor, and a relatively new club chairman, Elton John, who had come aboard in 1976. The team quickly moved from their Fourth Division, being top of the table that first season, reached the second division in 1978, and the First Division in 1981. However, by that time our man had gone, he had been sold to Mansfield Town, for £45,000 in January 1980. After that he joined many clubs, ending with Sherburn, in the Scarborough and District League, where he seemed content to settle, and buy a local pub. He is still alive, as I type, aged seventy.
Luther Loide Blissett, OBE, was a bit more popular on cards, and twenty-four appearances are recorded at the Trading Card Database. He was four years younger than Mr. Pollard, born in February 1958, in Falmouth, Jamaica, and actually began his career with our team, Watford, as soon as he left school in 1974, turning professional in 1975. He played for Watford in over five hundred matches, and scored a hundred and eighty six goals - which earned him a place as a "legend" in the Topps set of "Match Attax Watford Club Edition", issued in 2020. However he did play for other clubs, including AC Milan, who bought him for a million pounds in 1983 - and for England, fourteen times.
This set is listed in part III of our original set of British Trade Index books, as :
Football 80. 65 x 52. Nd. (582) ... PAP-16.
However it is not listed in our updated version, which stops at 1970.
Sunday, 1st December 2024
This clue gave us Euston, the other end of the Lioness Line from Watford Junction. As well as a subsidiary clue to women, courtesy of "Princess Royal".
Euston Station was opened in July 1837, on open ground owned by the Dukes of Grafton, which is how it gained its name - Euston Hall in Suffolk being their ancestral residence. It was the first inter-city train station in the capital, allowing travel by train to Birmingham, therefore the line was called, rather unimaginatively, the London to Birmingham Railway, or L. & B. R. This lasted for less than ten years, for in July 1846 the company merged with the Grand Junction Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, becoming a name that a lot of readers will be familiar with - the L. & N. W. R (or London and North Western Railway. Then, in 1921, with the passing of the new Railways Act, that became part of the L. M. & S. (London Midland and Scottish) - before being nationalised in 1948 as part of British Rail.
Today the section of the line which runs within London, Watford Junction to Euston, is called The Lioness Line. It also stops at Wembley Central, which is the closest station to Wembley Stadium, where, in July 2022, the England Women`s Football Team, or Lionesses, won their first major victory, beating Germany 2-1 in extra time.
This card hides away in our original British Trade Index, buried at the back in the "Z" codes. However the description is excellent, and there is also a checklist of the cards in the set because they were not numbered. The text reads :
SET ZB7-7. FAMOUS TRAINS & ENGINES. Sm. 76 x 37. Back illustrated at Fig. ZB7-7. Unnd. (24). Issued in strips of 4 with "Triumph". Special album issued ... ZB7-7
By the time of our updated British Trade Index, the entry had been moved to the front and listed under Amalgamated Press, as :
FAMOUS TRAINS & ENGINES. (T) 1932. 70 x 37. Unnd. (24). Issued in strips of four. 28 page album titled "The "Triumph" Album of what every Boy wants to know about Railways", spaces for anonymous cards. See HA-62 ... AMA-170
HA-62 is another list of the cards in the set, identical to above.
A bit more about the album. The cards were stuck in, over a section of text that said "put here picture of" and gave a brief version of the title on the front of the card. The text off the back was pre-printed in a box beneath where the card fitted in. The cards do suffer from the fact that they came in strips, and had to be cut out into single cards - it is rare to find one like ours, centred and cut straight.
Monday, 2nd December 2024
This might have at first fooled you, but this was not how to draw a lion, but a lioness - however, this fact was only revealed when the reverse of the card appeared.
So lets start with what intrigues me most, and that is who is W. Weatherby. He must have been quite important at the time, for not only was he commissioned to provide the artwork for these cards, his name appears almost at the top. However, after many searches I am none the wiser.
I did find out some interesting facts about Joseph Allen Pattreiouex though, which have been added to their home page, .
Sadly the information about this set in our World Tobacco Issues Indexes is also rather scant, just :
DRAWING MADE EASY, Sm. Nd. (30).
Now the reverse of this card presumably tells us with which brand it was issued, for they advertise "Trawler" Cigarettes. These were, unsurprisingly, "Navy Cut" Virginia Cigarettes, and you got ten cigarettes in a packet. The packet was quite amazing though, and I am waiting on a scan to show you all. One side has a seaman, in a sou-wester hat with a cigarette in his mouth, and the other side shows his trawler. I will let you know when this arrives!
Tuesday, 3rd December 2024
I have taken a bit of a liberty here because although this looks like a "throw-in", of course it is a lantern. There is a reason for the card though, for the first ever women`s football was played in China, as well as several other Asian countries.
As for a date, that varies, for written records of it do not tell of when it began - but it was definitely between 475 – 221 B.C.
This game was called Cuju (which means "kick ball"), or Ts`u-Chu, and today it is reported as being a cross between several modern sports - but there is no doubt that one of those was football. Even the Football Association agree; they refer to it as the earliest game involving the skill of kicking an object, usually a ball stuffed with feathers, into a goal. The word "goal" is a bit of a stretch, because it was a hoop. However the hands could not be used, only the feet, and the ball had to be kicked through an opening into that hoop. .
Now it started as a training exercise for young soldiers and cadets, for it developed hand eye co-ordination and physical fitness, under the guise of sport rather than training, but it also developed outside of the military as a civilian entertainment, and formal rules were even drawn up. During the Tang Dynasty there were two major changes, the feather ball being dropped, and changed to one which was inflated by being filled with air, and also a new style of target, posts with a net strung between them replacing the hoop.
By this time women were regularly playing the game, though a lot of historians believe that women played the game for fun from much earlier times, and that the records from the Tang Dynasty should be taken to mean that they were playing it professionally, with proper coaching. Others believe that the way the words are written actually mean that the women were regularly playing against men. Sadly the game slowly fell into decline though, and by the fourteenth century it only remained as shadows, buried in books and papers.
This set is catalogued in our original World Tobacco Issues Index as :
CHINESE STAGE SHOWS (A). Sm. 63 x 36. Chinese caption and numeral in black, red framelines, border in (a) gilt (b) silver. Actors and actresses in costumes. Nd. (50). See X21/525-18 ... ZK3-11
The reference to X21/525-18 leads you to the handbook, where the entry reads :
X21/525-18. CHINESE SET 20 - Stage Shows. The "A" printing, Anonymous with plain back, is found with border to front (a) gilt (b) silver
This seems a bit odd, until you suddenly link the "21" to RB.21, and, though not mentioned in either of the above listings, this set is indeed also in our reference book RB.21, to British American Tobacco issues, where it is catalogued as :
525-18. CHINESE SET 20 - Stage Shows. Small cards, size 63 x 36 m/m. Front per Fig.525-18 in colour, red frameline, gilt border. Series of 50.
A. Anonymous issue, with plain back
B. B.C.C. issue, pearl bordered design back, per Fig.200-17.F in yellow.
The front index gives us the date of issue, and also a date of 1910-1915 for that British Cigarette Co. version. Both were issued in China. And if you return to the original World Tobacco Issues Index, and look at the B.C.C. version, it is catalogued under B130-44 as : "CHINESE STAGE SHOWS. (A). Sm. Nd. (50). See RB.21/525-18.B
Now curiously, this B.C.C. version is also listed in our updated World Tobacco Issues Index, under B745-450, as "CHINESE STAGE SHOWS. (A). Sm. 63 x 37. Red frameline. Nd. (50). One card has been seen without numeral. See RB.21/525-18.B"
However, it was decided that Chinese Language issues would not appear in the updated version, and so there is no updated code for our issue. Also, though, this means that without access to RB.21, the collector knows not a thing of our version, showing here.
Wednesday, 4th December 2024
Here we have John Fraser, from Hibernian, and the reason for that is two fold. Firstly it marks the first recorded women`s international football match, on May the 7th, 1881, at Hibernian Park in Edinburgh. This was England vs Scotland. Despite that, the match still deserves its honours, for it was the first to be played under the Football Association rules which had been drawn up in 1863. And, secondly, Scotland were the winners of that match - 3-0 - with Lily St. Clair becoming the first ever female goal scorer.
Now very little is known about Lily St. Clair, but it seems that this was a pseudonym, and her real name was Lillian Davis, an actress. I have not yet found a card of her, but will keep asking.
Our original British Trade Index part II tells us that this set is from the "Footballers Grouping" which appears in full with the Card of the Day for October 19 2024, simply because that was the first football set ever to be issued by A & B.C. Gum, in 1958-1959. All the other sets are tackled like today`s, in as much as they simply repeat their section of the listing, and not how it interacts with the other sets.
However there seems to be something awry with today`s card, which is listed in that book as :
FOOTBALLERS GROUPING (A). Md. or Lg. 8 backs illustrated at Fig. ABF-10. Nd. ... ABF-10
3. Portrait or action picture with L/base corner "turned in", brown border 81 x 57.
1. English players. Back in blue, style of Back 3 except Nos. 55, 105 (see below) and 110 which are team pictures with back headed "Footballer Check List". (110). Two subjects at No.105 - (1) Check List inscribed "English Series 2". (2) Dennis Viollet, as listed on back of No.110 which is inscribed "English Series 2 Revised".
2. Scottish players. Back in green, style of Back 4 except Nos 44 and 81 which are team pictures with back headed "Footballer Check List" in horizontal format. (81. Backs of Nos. 44 and 81 are transposed - No.44 is a picture of Glasgow Celtic with list of Nos. 45/81 on back; No. 81 is a picture of Dundee with list of Nos. 1/44 on back.
Now the problem is that our card is definitely Scottish but the text above, from the British Trade Index, clearly says that these cards have back 4, whereas that is very different, not only being vertical rather than horizontal, but also having a coin rub quiz and a box with curving frames to the top and bottom lines. Now if you look at our card, this back is listed as back 3, which is also the back given to the English version of this set. So I imagined that there was a small error, and both sets here ought to have said "Back 3".
However after talking to a footballing collector, they tell us that this description in the British Trade Index is nothing to do with our set, it relates to the 1964-65 A & B.C. "Footballers", again two sets, English and Scottish, which do indeed have a "Portrait or action picture with L/base corner "turned in", like the corner of a page being rolled up, and a "brown border" which is kind of like mock wood. And these cards do have back 3 for the English cards and back 4 for the Scottish ones.
So back to square one I go....
Thursday, 5th December 2024
This card marks the rebirth of women`s football. For when women stepped up during the First World War, and did of arduous, dangerous work in the munitions factories, football was remembered, and taken as a pastime; though mostly to improve their fitness in the hope of making them work harder, than for pleasure. However the women loved playing, and their lithe frames proved to be every bit as skilful as the men. In the end many factories had teams, and they played each other. What became known as The Munitionettes Cup Final even took place in 1918 at Ayresome Park, in Middlesbrough - in front of 22,000 fans - with Blyth being easy winners over Bolkclow Vaughn, 5-0, with the now legendary Bella Reay scoring three of the goals.
By 1920, there were over a hundred Women`s Football Clubs, and the most famous of them all were the Dick, Kerr Ladies - they were founded in 1917 and were also a group of war workers, from Dick, Kerr and Company, of Kilmarnock, Scotland, and Preston, England. However as well as the usual war work, of making shells, bombs, and fuses, they made trains, trams, and aircraft. Lily Parr was their most famous player, (though I am told by my footballing friend, Mark Evans, that Florence Redford actually scored more goals in the 1921 season - 170 to Lily Parr`s 108), and many books and documentaries have highlighted her achievements, though not so many have recorded how young she was, being just a teenager when she started at the factory. In fact this was common place, and pre-teen girls were employed in war work too, for they had tiny fingers and could manage to get them into the tiny housing that held the fuses inside the bombs and hand grenades.
We are also informed that this team appears on a photographic card, possibly by Ardath? Any ideas? In case you are not a football fan, their uniform was a black and white striped jersey with a small Union Jack on the left breast and blue shorts., or white jerseys and blue shorts for International matches. And all women footballers had to cover their hair in a cap or hat - Dick, Kerr`s Ladies choosing striped ones.
In fact they also wore hats whilst they worked, see the lady at the back on our card, to keep their hair out of the machinery, so it is easy to see that they used the very same hats to keep their hair from blowing in their faces during football.
We have also been sent a link to two sites that feature the ladies on a Baines card - the first is front only, that can be viewed at http://donmouth.co.uk/womens_football/dick_kerr.html and it is a red card, with a red football - whilst the second is a green card and ball, and it shows the back and front of the card, that is https://www.footballsoccercards.com/1918-the-1st-ever-dick-kerrs-ladies-rookie-womens-football-team-baines-football-trade-card-11700-p.asp
However, despite the fact that ladies football had kept workers healthy, provided entertainment and relief for those affected by war, and raised millions of pounds for charities, when the men came home the ladies got the boot in every way; they were told to leave their jobs, which most of them had come to enjoy, and also ordered to clear the football field for the menfolk.
This did not work, so in 1921 the Football Association actually banned women from holding matches on any football league grounds, with stiff penalties for any ground who allowed them on, even to train. The Dick, Kerr Ladies team did try to keep going, and toured North America in 1922. But on their return, even they had to admit defeat.
This series followed on from “The Great War Series”, which was also a set of a hundred cards. Both appear, one after the other, in our original Gallaher reference book, RB.4, published in 1944. As I have not used the first series yet I will insert both here and then remove the first when I do. They are recorded as :
1915.THE GREAT WAR SERIES (titled series). Size 2 1/2" x 1 1/2". Numbered 1-100. Fronts, lithographed in full colour, black marginal lines, white margins, subjects titled. Backs, printed in grey, with descriptions and "Issued by Gallaher Ltd., Belfast & London".
1916. THE GREAT WAR SERIES (titled series). Inscribed "Second Series". Different subjects to the above, and numbered 101-200. Fronts, lithographed in full colour, black marginal lines, white margins, subjects titled. Backs, printed in grey, with descriptions and "Issued by Gallaher Ltd., Belfast & London".
Error card No.147. This shows the rifle on the wrong shoulder. A corrected card was issued.
The error card, No. 147, is entitled : “Dress worn by Troops at Tsing-Tau”. The error card is not that rare, and it should be quite possible to find one without too much trouble.
Now by the time our World Tobacco Issues Index was issued the description was much shorter, only :
THE GREAT WAR SERIES. Sm. Nd. (100) ... G12-19
1. Nos. 1/100 (100)
2, "Second Series ", Nd. 101/200 (100)
This text is identical in our updated version, save the code, and also the fact that both series have been squeezed on to the same line.
Friday, 6th December 2024
Now it was many years between our last card and this one, and the same was true of women`s football, though upon the ban being announced an English Ladies Football Association was formed, of fifty eight clubs, and they continued to compete against each other, with the most successful team eventually winning a silver cup. They continued through the 1930s, but seem to have stopped with the War. And it seems that football also continued in Europe, for there is a very intriguing card of a 1930s German woman`s match at FootballSoccerCards.com/Greiling.
The first International Ladies Football Association`s European Championship took place in 1957, in West Berlin, despite women`s football being banned in Germany at the time. There were four teams, Austria, England, Netherlands, and West Germany, and England won. This was not the turning point though - that came because of the football fervour caused by England`s men winning the 1966 World Cup This led to many calls for the Football Association to lift the ban on women`s football, and in 1969, the newly formed English Women`s Football Association took up the cause. After this, the F.A. decided that they would consider an affiliation to what they called "ladies football", with a full lift of the ban coming in 1970. However, the rules were not altered to make such play possible until the middle of 1971.
Before this, though, in 1970, the first real woman`s world wide football tournament took place. This was called the Women`s World Championships and it took place in Italy, with teams from seven countries. It was not approved by FIFA and they gave no assistance. Denmark won, but the competing teams were Austria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland and West Germany. Other teams had applied, but pulled out - one of these was Brazil, where women`s football would remain illegal for another seven years. This was followed by the 1971 Women's World Championship, held in Mexico, which, once more, Denmark won.
This card is very apt for, also in the 1970s, it was Italy who led the world in having professional women footballers (albeit not full time) and also in setting up a system to transfer other players from other countries. However the honour of running a full Women`s league goes not to Italy, but to Denmark.
In 1972, the first ever England International match took place, and just like at the beginning of our story, this was England vs Scotland. This time, England won, 2-0. Despite this, it was not until 1991 that we had a national women`s league, which soon segued into three divisions each of ten teams, a Premier Division, and one each for the North and South of the country. However in 1993 there was almost disaster as the Women`s Football Association decided it could not continue. Kudos to the Football Association though, who agreed to take it over, and also devote full time staff and funding to the leagues as well as to the contests and trophies. They were also able to use their trademarks and allow for a Women`s World Cup, rather than just a World Championship.
Our card dates from the 2011 World Cup, and that is a very special event for cartophily, as it was the first time that a set had been devoted to women's football, as well as, astonishingly, the first set for any international sport solely played by women. Now curiously it seems to be the case that it was only available in Germany, the host nation of that World Cup, but the back is in several languages; surely a waste of money if they were not for distribution inside those countries. So if anyone can tell us more about this, please do.
We close, for now, with the UEFA Women’s EUROs 2022, when England beat Germany 2-1 and won the event outright. But if you head along to the Trading Card Database/WomenFootball you will find out just how many sets have been issued since.