A new newsletter has arrived, but there were times this week when I truly doubted that it would. Not a single one of the first things I wrote down as the diary dates made it in and some of these are the third attempt. And Friday afternoon I came in rather tired and spent the whole afternoon asleep in the garden.
HIGNETT Bros & Co. [tobacco : UK] "How to Swim" (1935) 43/50 - H536-480 : H44-51: RB.21/215-103.B : Ha.571-10
For some reason I wrote down first of all that today in 1925 Theresa of Lisieux was canonised. However, probably unsurprisingly, she never seems to have made it on to a card. Maybe I ought to have checked that before I wrote half the description. I did find a few cards of Lisieux Cathedral, but that was nothing to do with her, she was commemorated by the Basilica.
My second hunt through the internet of dates, however, found that it was #NationalLearnToSwimDay.
Hence we have this card, showing one of the movements in a style called "The Back Crawl". Now we know this today as the backstroke, but originally it was known as that other name, and when I say originally, it has a very long history, centuries before it made its first appearance at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris. Before that, in 1896, the swimming was simply "freestyle", for either 100, 500, or 1200 metres, plus a "Sailor`s 100 metres freestyle". And, as I knew you would ask, this last event was restricted to sailors of the Greek Royal Navy - and it was won by Ioannis Malokinis
The first real hero of our style was a man called Harry Joseph Hebner who won the "100 metre back crawl" event at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. He had already won bronze at the 1908 Olympics as part of the American men's 4 × 200-metre relay team, and a silver medal in 1912 for the same event. And in 1920 he was a member of the American water polo team, who came in fourth, just outside the medals.
Call it back crawl or backstroke, whatever you wish, but it is a fast paced stroke, and it is the only recognised swimming style which is entirely swum on the back, apart from the turns at each end of the longer events. The true skill comes in the fact that you cannot see where you are going as you swim along.
Now this card also gives us an addition to another page, the newsletter for the 6th of April, 2024, where the card for Thursday, 11th April 2024 was the Chinese version; and I did at that time promise to show you the Ogden version from which that card was redrawn - so now I have, and, as it is not yet a Card of the Day, that page also includes the gen regarding the Ogden`s version. Once I use the Ogden one, those details will relocate there, and it will become the home page for all three issues.
So our card today is pretty much identical to that Ogden`s set, but for the name, as it is by Hignett.
Hignett never had a reference book. They were founded in 1790, and did not issue any cards at all for just over a hundred years, not until 1896. The three stages are classed as the pre-Imperial Tobacco period, 1896 to 1903 - the Imperial Tobacco period, 1903 until 1927, but with a gap, between 1916 and 1923, for the First World War and its aftermath. Then there was another gap, from 1927 to 1933. The third period started in 1933, but stopped in 1939 with the outbreak of the Second World War, and all the sets from this time, nineteen in all, are identical to Ogden`s sets, apart from the Hignett branding. So it is possible that this was why the decision was made to not publish a reference book to Hignett, and to just add these nineteen into the Ogden`s one. Another reason is that they were a relatively small issuer, with only thirty sets, of which all twelve of the first period sets were issued by other firms. In fact, only thirteen sets of the entire thirty were issued by Hignett alone.
Ogden did have a reference book, and the description of their version of our set reads :
- 103. 50 HOW TO SWIM. Fronts printed in letterpress in colour. Backs in grey, with descriptive text. Home issue, 1935. Similar series issued by Hignett.
The next mention of the Hignett issue comes in our British American Tobacco reference book; along with the first ever mention of a "Chinese Version", which we discuss as the diary card for Thursday, 11 April 2024, in the newsletter dated 6 April, 2024. Anyway, the text for all three variants reads :
- 215-103. HOW TO SWIM. This series was issued as follows ;-
A. Ogden`s Home issue. Series of 50.
B. Hignett Home issue. Series of 50.~
C. Anonymous issue, with Chinese language back. Series of 48, inscribed “MA” at left base of back. Same basic studies as in A-B, but Chinese swimmer demonstrates.
It is not until our original World Tobacco Issues Index that our Hignett version gets its own descriptive entry for the very first time, and that reads :
Our set is recorded in the original World Tobacco Issues Index as
- HOW TO SWIM. Sm. Nd. (50). See Ha.571-10 and RB.21/215-103.B ... H44-51.
And this is not much altered in the updated version of the same work, which reads :
- HOW TO SWIM. Sm. Nd. (50). See RB.21/215-103.B ... H536-480
G. W. GAIL & Ax [tobacco : O/S - Baltimore, USA] "Bicycle and Trick Riders" (1891) Un/25 - G040-150 : G8-2 : USA/100.b : ABC/100 : USA/100 ...
This day started out as "Earth passes through tail of Halley`s Comet, 1910". But we have had Edmund Halley, as a newsletter card, for Friday, 3rd May 2024 - and his comet, as a Card of the Day for the 22nd of December 2024.
So instead of that we have #RideAUnicycleDay", and we are also able to link it as another version of the Duke version that we already featured as a newsletter card, for Sunday, 15th October 2023.
There was no bike riding for me this week, by the way, but I will return this week. Instead of that I went ten pin bowling with the local carer`s group on one of the days, and shopping to Asda on the other, via Waitrose for my free cup of coffee, of course - heedless of the fact that they are in completely opposite directions. But that is a benefit of being old enough for a bus pass.
I am not sure that I will ever attempt to master a unicycle, but this lady makes it look quite easy, so maybe I will. And you must admit those yellow tights are rather splendid. As far as unicycles, they are much more recent inventions than the bicycle, the first American patent being written in 1869 to a Frederick Myers, for a "single-wheeled 'velocipede". And instead of my telling you any more, I will send you off to Bart Haynes, who seems to know everything!
Now Gail & Ax have appeared on our website before, but only in conjunction with two issues that were also issued by Duke - today`s set, which we featured as a diary card for Sunday, the 15th of October 2023 in our newsletter dated 14th of October, 2023 - and "Lighthouses" which you can see as a Card of the Day for the 12th of December 2024.
Gail and Ax were actually G.W. Gail and Ax, and they were based in Baltimore, Maryland. We know that their pre-1891 brands included "Bob` Link", "Navy Long Cut Tobacco", and "Pay Day"
The header for them in our original World Tobacco Issues Index tells us that they were "Taken over by American Tobacco Co. in 1891. Sets G8-6, G8-7 ["Lighthouses" and "Novelties - Girl on Object] and most of the photographic series were prepared prior to 1891. All other cards are inscribed "The American Tobacco Co., Successor" and were issued after 1891. All large size, 104-107 x 61-63 m/m, unless stated."
However the first appearance of this set in cartophilic literature, predates that volume, for it comes in Jefferson Burdick`s American Card Catalogue, and that is how we first discover that this set was also issued by Duke.
The full text there reads :
- 100. Bicycle and Trick Riders (25)
a) Duke issue
b) Gail & Ax issue. ... 35 cents each
Our version of the set is then recorded in our original World Tobacco Issues Index as :
- BICYCLE AND TRICK RIDERS. Lg. Unnd. (25). See ABC/100. Ref. USA/100 ... G8-2
And it appears in the updated version of the same work as :
- BICYCLE AND TRICK RIDERS. Lg. Unnd. (25). Ref. USA/100.b... G040-150
The UNITED Tobacco Cos. (South) Ltd. [tobacco : O/S - Cape Town, South Africa] "Pastel Plates" - untitled (1938) 22/50 - U560-490 : U14-24 : RB.21/396
This day started out as "Casey Stengel, last Major League Game as player". But we have had him before, albeit as a manager of the New York Yankees, as a newsletter card, for Tuesday, 10th October 2023.
So instead of that we have the start of #WalkToSchoolWeek", but I failed to find any cards of children actually walking to school, so I have gone for a school entrance, and you will just have to imagine the children filing in through the doors.
Even better, this is actually a card which is a missing link to our Card of the Day for the 17th of March, 2025, where we state : "The identity of "C.T. Ltd" is not known, though it is sometimes suggested that it stands for Cape Town. I think there is a clue on another set though, the United Tobacco Companies (South) issue of "Pastel Plates", which were published by Cape Times Ltd, a newspaper first published in 1876, as the first daily paper in Southern Africa, and which soon became the main paper there. I am not saying this set was issued with the paper, but perhaps it was produced by their printers".
So to our card, and this shows "Bishops", also of Cape Town. However this is a much shortened form of its original name, from when it was established in 1849 as The Diocesan School of the Diocese of Cape Town - by Bishop Robert Gray. At that time, it was a boy`s school only, but also, as the name suggests, closely allied to the English Church. The first Principal was also of the English Church, Reverend White.
The card does not show this first school though, that was in Bishopscourt - it moved, shortly after, to Rondesbosch, where it remains to this day.
This set is first listed in our original British American Tobacco reference book, RB.21, published in 1952. They supply us with the date too, as part of a description that reads :
- 396. PASTEL PLATES. Large cards, size 76 x 57 m/m. Pastel plates of South African buildings, views, etc. Front in colour. Back in grey, with descriptive text, and announcement that series consists of miniatures of Pastel plates, published by Cape Times, Ltd. Numbered series of 24. U.T.C. issue.
However, in our original World Tobacco Issues Index, it is less wordy. It appears under section two of the United Tobacco issues, for "Issues 1918-1943" and sub-section 2.A, for "Cards in English only". The entry reads :
- PASTEL PLATES. Lg. 76 x 57. Nd. (24). See RB.21/396 ... U14-24
And in the updated version of this volume it is recorded as :
- PASTEL PLATES. Lg. 76 x 57. Nd. (24). See RB.21/396 ... U560-490
In fact the set is untitled, though this is not mentioned, and it is not even given the usual (A) after the title to show that this name was given it by early researchers. And the chosen, "Pastel Plates", seems to have been arrived at simply from the wording at the bottom, just above the cartouche with the issuer`s name, and that reads "The illustration on the reverse side is a reproduction in miniature of one of a series of Pastel plates, published by the Cape Times Limited "
By the way, there is a checklist of the set at Jeff Allender`s House of Checklists/UTC-PP.
La Gaduase [trade : medicines : O/S - France] "Animal cut-outs" (1930s) Un/??
This one was a triple header. It started out as World Bee Day, but I am rather fond of bees and have featured them way too many times already.
Then I found it was the birthday of Aleksey Tupolev, but was finding it hard to find a card of his aircraft from any set I had not already shown.
However then I discovered it is #NationalPickStrawberriesDay, though I am not sure how, mine do not even have any flowers yet. But I was sent this scan a while ago by Mr. Whyte, and though it was sent as a cockerel, it actually advertises a medicinal strawberry syrup. So here it is.
The end of the text is rather amusing, as it says "L`huile de foie de morue, repugnant et indigeste" - and "L`huile de foie de morue" is French for cod liver oil, which many of us will remember as being rather repugnant and indigeste-able.
Unfortunately I just realised that my French has failed me, for Gaduase is advertised as having the benefits of cod liver oil with the taste of raspberries, not strawberries. Strawberries are fraise and not framboise.
So this makes it four attempts - and the card may have to be put back in the archives for another time if I can actually find a strawberry !
Fifth time lucky... maybe
OGDENS Ltd [tobacco : UK] "Cricket 1926" (1926) 5/50 - O100-504 : O/2-142 : O/68 [RB.15/68]
This one was not so bad, beginning as the centenary of Roald Amundsen`s attempt to fly over the North Pole, only for me to find he has featured several times in newsletters past.
Then I found that it was the birthday of Arthur William Carr, in 1893, and it gives me the chance to add a little cricket. Now this card shows him as playing for Nottingham, but he was also on the England squad, both of which he captained.
He started young, his first time out for Nottinghamshire being at the age of just seventeen. And. just nine years on, he was captaining the side. However it took until 1922 for him to be selected for England, on a tour of South Africa - and the following year he was made a Wisden Cricketer of the Year on the strength of that performance.
This card, issued in 1926, celebrates his Ashes performance of that year, against Australia, though he was not playing at his best and missed some of the fourth test through tonsilitis. He also lost his captaincy because of it. In fact he was never so fond of playing for his country thereafter, though he, along with fellow county players Douglas Jardine and Bill Voce, were the players behind the development of the very controversial "bodyline" technique of the 1930s, which began at county level and was used against Australia in 1932-1933. Later he would come to regret this, not only when he suffered from it himself as it was adopted by other County cricketers, but when he looked back at how it changed the game - and not for the better - and he was sacked when he expressed his views.
He never played for Nottinghamshire again. He even moved away from it, to Yorkshire, and began a whole new career, as a racehorse owner. His family had been involved in horse racing anyway, and were the owners of two mighty steeds, Golden Miller and Solanum. Carr retired to Yorkshire – his original family home in Nottinghamshire had been Rempstone Hall, which his father, a very rich stockbroker, had bought in order to join the Leicestershire hunting set. The family were heavily involved in horse racing and owned, among a string of race horses, ‘Golden Miller’ (who you will find as card 14 of Ogden's "Prominent Racehorses of 1933") and ‘Solanum’ (who I have yet to find).
He died, on February 7th, 1963, aged sixty-nine, collapsing, and dying, after attempting to shovel away the snow outside his home.
The set first appears in our Ogden reference book, RB.15, published in 1949, as ;
- 68 50 CRICKET 1926. Fronts printed by letterpress in brown. Backs in grey, with descriptive text. Home issue, 1926.
The entry in our original World tobacco Issues Index is much shorter though, simply :
- CRICKET 1926. Sm. Dark brown. Nd. (50). ... O/2-142
and this is repeated in our updated version, which reads :
- CRICKET 1926. Sm. Dark brown. Nd. (50). ... O100-504
F. & J. SMITH [tobacco : UK - Glasgow, Scotland] "Battlefields of Great Britain" - `Wild Geranium` brand (December 1913) 14/50 - S548-050.O : S84-2.O
Now this was another trying day, it started with the birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in 1859, whom we have featured before, several times - and then I got all excited because it is #WorldGothDay, but cards were a bit thin on the ground, and some were slightly, or more than slightly, "unsuitable", though they did provide a little lift to keep me going.
I was saved by finding out that it was the Battle of St. Albans, which allowed me to fill in another gap in our listing (with the Card of the Day for the 29th of March, 2024) of all the various backs available for this set. Which I will also update over the weekend, as it appears I am getting close to showing them all.
However, and surprisingly, Smith actually has the date wrong on the card; they give the 23rd of May. But it was on the 22nd of May, 1455, that what has become known as "The First Battle of St. Albans" took place. As for "The Second Battle of St. Albans", well that was on February 17, 1461.
There is something else important about the first Battle of St Albans, and that is that it was the first battle of the Wars of the Roses. It took place just twenty-two miles north of London. and was an early victory for the Duke of York and his followers, who beat the Duke of Somerset, shown on our card.
As for strangeness, that is also shown on our card, as the fighting took place in the streets of the town.
The Duke of Somerset, the Earl of Northumberland, and Lord Clifford were all killed, and the Duke of Buckingham and King Henry VI were not only wounded, but captured. And once the King was captured, Richard of York was able to declare himself King in all but name.
This back is for `Wild Geranium` Cigarettes, but there was also `Wild Geranium`tobacco, which was promoted as being richly perfumed.
Thanks to one of our readers we also know that the cigarettes appeared on an advertisement card issued by F. & J. Smith, and here it is. This tells us that the cigarettes were sold in packs of ten, with mouthpieces, and again stresses the fact that they are "richly perfumed, and have an exquisite aroma".
R. J. HILL [tobacco : UK] "National Flag Series" (1914) 9/20 - H554-360 : H46-29 : H.473 : Ha.473
Lastly, this day was not so bad. It did start off, perhaps jokingly, as #NationalTaffyDay - try finding a card of that, or at least I failed, miserably. But at least I did learn what Taffy was - and it is a type of sweet, made in America from sugar, butter, and oil, plus a range of flavours and colours, which is stretched and pulled, often by a machine, which adds air with every tug. After it can stretch no more, it is rolled up like a stick of rock and cut into slices that are shaped like thick rounds. As far as "saltwater" taffy, that is a bit more fun, as an enterprising Atlantic City confectionery seller decided not to throw out his damaged stock of taffy after a flood, but to sell it as "salt-water" taffy.
Then I found out that in 1915 Italy joined the Allies to fight the First World War. That was not actually true, what they did was to declare war on Austro-Hungary, but as they were on the other side to the Allies I suppose Italy did join the Allies by default. However they do not seem to have appeared on any sets of "Flags of the Allies", at least none I could track down - though this card is not so bad, and it is the flag of a "Man of War", so it will do for me.
There is a reason for the fact that Italy is not included in those early sets, and that is quite an odd one, as when the First World War actually began, Italy was part of the Triple Alliance, and allied with our foes, Germany and Austria-Hungary. Once war broke out, it declared itself a neutral country. This was not very popular with the Allies, as they felt it was rather a case of sitting on the fence, from where they could hop off either way as the war progressed and either join us, or rejoin the other side.
It was really people power that sent Italy into the Allies, for the population were not so keen on being neutral, and saw that neutrality meant you actually had nobody to back you up. Apart from this, there was also another reason for them joining us, as many Italians had been stranded in little pockets along the borders of what had once been Italy, but was now part of Austro-Hungary. And regaining these, or releasing their former country folk, could not be done by Italy alone.
So on April the 26th, 1915, Italy met with Great Britain and France and signed an agreement, in which Italy said it would enter the war as an Ally, in exchange for the Allies supporting Italy`s wish to annex their former lands. Then, on May the 3rd, 1915, Italy announced they had resigned from the Triple Alliance. Now this came as a bit of a shock, as it had been said that they were neutral, and so it had also been presumed that they had already resigned from this. There was much grumbling, especially in the newspapers, but Italy did hold true to what they promised, and they declared war, against Austro-Hungary, at midnight on May 23, 1915.
This set is one I have not come across before. It first appears in our original reference book to the issues of R. & J. Hill, RB.2, published in 1942, as part of a group, listed as :
- 1914. 20. NATIONAL FLAG SERIES (titled series). Size 2 1/2" 1 7/16". Numbered 1-20. Fronts, printed in full colour from screen blocks: coloured borders but no margins. Flags titled. Backs, printed in bronze blue, no descriptions; inscribed "Hill`s National Flag Series ..."
- 1914. 20. NATIONAL FLAG SERIES (untitled series). Size 2 1/2" 1 7/16". Unnumbered. This series is exactly the same as the preceding on, but has plain backs and was probably used in Archer packings (See Henry Archer & Co.) e margins. Flags titled. Backs, printed in bronze blue, no descriptions; inscribed "Hill`s National Flag Series ..."
Now in the original London Cigarette Card Company Catalogue to issues between 1888 and 1919, the set is catalogued at :
- 20 NATIONAL FLAG SERIES (1914) - odds from 6/6 to 17/6 : sets £18
- plain back ............................... - neither odds nor sets available
It is not listed in that handbook though, instead it appears in the following one, part two covering issues between 1920 and 1940, and not published until 1954. The entry reads :
- Ha.473 NATIONAL FLAG SERIES. (titled in printing "A" only). Front per Fig.473 in colour. Issued by Hill.
A. Printed back with Hill`s name. Numbered
B. Anonymous, with plain back. Unnumbered.
List of subjects in order of numbered printing :
- Canada
- Belgium, Royal Standard
- Sweden, Imperial Standard
- United States of America, National
- Austria Hungary, Merchant
- Japan, Man of War
- Greece, Royal Standard
- Switzerland, National
- Italy, Man of War
- China, Merchant
- Norway, Royal Standard
- France, National
- Netherlands, Royal Standard
- Turkey, Merchant
- Germany, Imperial Standard
- Spain, Royal Standard
- Persia, Imperial Standard
- Great Britain, Royal Standard
- Russia, Imperial Standard
- Australia, Commonwealth
In our original World Tobacco Issues Index our titled version appears in section 2 of the Hill listing, for cards issued between 1911 and 1917, and subsection 2A, for "General issues" as opposed to their Chinese ones. It is described as :
- NATIONAL FLAG SERIES. Sm. 64 x 38. Purple borders. Nd. (20). See Ha.473 ... H46-29
In the updated version it appears as
- NATIONAL FLAG SERIES. Sm. 64 x 38. Purple borders. Nd. (20). See H.473 ... H554-360
This is because another handbook accompanies the updated volume.
As far as the unnumbered, plain back version, I will have to go fetch the World Indexes all over again!
This week's Cards of the Day...
...have been looking at cards which were originally issued in May, and adding them to our ever growing calendar of "A Cartophilic Year".
Saturday, 10th May 2025
... this was chosen because, like our cards of the week, David Robert Joseph Beckham was "born in May" - on the 2nd of May, 1975.
You will find a bit more about "Merlin" with our Card of the Day for the 14th of March, 2022, which commemorates "Comic Relief".
As this is the first time, I think, that we have featured one of their football sets, it seems apt to note that their first Premier League Football Collection was for 1994, just two years after the League itself was founded, and the subsequent years` would become the best selling sticker collection right until 2008. However, in that year Merlin was rebranded as Topps. The stickers still had an almost cult following, but in 2020 Panini managed to win the contract for the Premier League.
Sunday, 11th May 2025
This is not only a set which was "born in May", but it was May 1902, and so far that is the earliest issue that we have entered in the May listing.
Our man is "BOBS", or, more correctly, Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts VC, KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, VD, PC, FRSGS.
He has a rather interesting claim to cartophilic fame, apart from this card, as he appears on packets of Wills` `United Service` Cigarettes - which you can see for yourself with our Card of the Day for the 7th of June, 2022.
He was born on the 30th of September 1832, in India, and went to school at Eton and Sandhurst, then joined the East India Company Army when he was still quite young, just nineteen. He won the Victoria Cross less than ten years later, in 1858. He was transferred to the British Army three years later, and did of sterling service all through the Boer Wars. Who knows what he may have achieved during the First World War, but sadly he saw little of it, he died, of pneumonia, in France on the 14th of November, 1914, whilst paying a visit to the Indian troops who were on active service at the front.
He was buried in St. Paul`s Cathedral, becoming one of only two non-Royals to be interred there in the twentieth century. (The other was Sir Winston Churchill)
Our Wills reference book part two, or, more correctly, "RB.11 – The Cigarette Card Issues of W.D. & H.O. Wills Part I (revised) and Part II", was published in 1948. The description includes all three versions, and gives the cards of the third, unnumbered set in alphabetical order of the card titles, but it also numbers them, very misleadingly, and so I have altered that to show them as bullets. The full description, altered, therefore reads :
- 31. "VANITY FAIR" SERIES. The name of this series was taken from a popular Victorian Society periodical [called] "Vanity Fair" which published a great many cartoons of notabilities, and the cards are reproductions of a suitable selection. The caricatures were usually accompanied by racy biographical sketches, and from these most of the card texts were extracted. The cartoonist was "Spy", and his self portrait appears in Series 2, card No.42
Fronts lithographed in colour on stone coloured background. Backs in grey, with texts.
The records of Wills show the issue date as May 1902. Printed by Stewart & Wolf, Germany. There are three series, each of 50 cards.
A) "Vanity Fair" 1st Series. Numbered 1-50
B) "Vanity Fair" 2nd Series. Numbered 1-50. There are two cards numbered 29, "Just" and "HMS Powerful". The latter card has a lighter background than the other cards in the series, and is known with and without the red colour printing, (particularly noticeable on medal ribbons). This card also appears at No.16 with a normal background.
C) "Vanity Fair" Series. Unnumbered. This series consists of 37 cards from the first, 6 cards from the 2nd, with 7 new titles, as listed below ; -- "A Flannelled Fighter" (2nd, No.27)
- "An Admiral of the Fleet" (a new title)
- "A Retired Leader" (1st, No.23)
- "Aubrey Tanqueray" (2nd, No.26)
- "Australia" (a new title)
- "Birdseye" (1st, No.10)
- "Bobs" (1st, No.36)
- "Canada" (1st, No.20)
- "Canterbury" (a new title)
- "C.I.V." (1st, No.44)
- "Dick" (1st, No.40)
- "Dover and War" (1st, No.39)
- Dr. Jim" (2nd, No.16)
- "Dublin University" (2nd, No.22)
- "Easy Execution" (1st, No.29)
- "Fair, if not Beautiful" (1st, No.42)
- "Forbie" (1st, No.13)
- "Frank" (a new title)
- "From the Army to the Church" (1st, No.4)
- "From the Old Bailey" (1st, No.3)
- "Hard Head" (2nd, No.43)
- "High Commissioner" (1st, No.18)
- "Jacky" (new title)
- "Khartoum" (1st, No.22)
- "Ladysmith" (1st, No.35)
- "Little Bo Peep" (1st, No.46)
- "London" (1st, No.47)
- "Mafeking" (1st, No.37)
- "Mr. Speaker" (1st, No.15)
- "Our Soldier Prince" (1st, No.2)
- "Oxford Athletics" (1st, No.11)
- "Partnership" (1st, No.1)
- "Peking" (a new title)
- "P.R.A." (1st, No.17)
- "Ranji" (1st, No.21)
- "Redrag" (1st, No.30)
- "Sammy" (1st, No.6)
- "Self Reliant" (a new title)
- "Shamrock" (1st, No.50)
- "Smith`s Leading Cases" (1st, No.9)
- "Thanet" (1st, No.31)
- "The Colonies" (1st, No.45)
- "The Commercial Traveller" (1st, No.25)
- "The Croucher" (1st, No.49)
- "The New French President" (1st, No.24)
- "The Opposition" (1st, No.26)
- "United States Embassy" (1st, No.28)
- "U.S.A." (2nd, No.25)
- "Westminster" (1st, No.8)
- "Yorkshire Cricket" (1st, No.7)
We featured the unnumbered, third version as our Card of the Day for the 26th of May, 2023
Our original World Tobacco Issues Index lists these cards under Wills section 1.E, for "Issues 1898 - 1902 inscribed "Wills`s Cigarettes". Cards without the full name of firm" :
- “VANITY FAIR” SERIES. Sm. 68 x 36. See W/31 ... W62-58
1. “1st Series”. Nd. 1/50.
2. “2nd Series”. Nd. 1/50.
3. Unnumbered. (50)
This means that without the original Wills reference book RB.11, which by then were in short supply, you would have no idea of the make-up of the unnumbered set. This is almost certainly one of the many reasons why the decision was made to reprint them all in one hard back volume.
In our updated version of the World Tobacco Issues Index, this has been partially restored, and the text there, still under Wills section 1.E, for "Issues 1898 - 1902 inscribed "Wills`s Cigarettes". Cards without the full name of firm", reads :
- “VANITY FAIR” SERIES. Sm. 68 x 36. See W/31 ... W675-083
1. “1st Series”. Nd. 1/50.
2. “2nd Series”. Nd. 1/50.
3. Unnumbered. (50). 43 subjects from the above two series, 7 new subjects.
Monday, 12th May 2025
And another card issued in May, but six years after the one above, in 1908.
Here we have a welcome sight indeed, the Kingfisher. though spotting it is not always easy, it sits for long periods observing the waters beneath it, and then plummets speedily to grasp its prey as it slithers through the water. In fact, if you get to know its sound, you will have better luck at finding them.
May is a very good month to see them. They tend to move to the coast during the winter months, and they do not like the inclement rain and cold. But they return to the river banks to lay their first eggs in April, and these hatch in just under a month, at which time those hungry little mouths need feeding. The food of choice is fish, which provides energy, but they have to be small breeds, like stickleback, or minnows, though tadpoles will do if fish do not swim by - after all, each chick, and there may be seven, needs a minimum of twelve fish every day. They do have a very interesting feeding system though, as once a chick has had its fish, it moves to the back of the nest, to wait its turn again.
Although it is not mentioned anywhere on this card, this is the first series of this issue, which is also, rather wonderfully, aligned with another Ogden`s set. The story starts unfolding in our original Ogden`s reference book, RB.15, first published in 1949, where it is described as :
- 100 BRITISH BIRDS (1905-1908). Fronts lithographed in colour. Backs in green, with descriptive text. Home issue.
47. "50 in Series". Numbered 1-50 on fronts, numbers arranged to correspond with subjects in item 34. Two grades of board (a) white, semi-glossy (b) off white, matt backs. Issued 1905-06. Similar series issued by Imperial Tobacco Co.
48. "Second Series". Numbered 51-100 on fronts. Backs off-white, matt. Issued 1908.
Several threads to tie here.
You can see the second series of this set as our Card of the Day for the 6th of April, 2025 - and the Imperial Tobacco version as our Card of the Day for the 26th of March, 2023.
Next, in case you are wondering what "Item 34" is, check out our Card of the Day for the 10th of April, 2022.
And, lastly, the two different boards mentioned for the first series of this set also occur in the set of "Birds Eggs" - and that makes me wonder if when these "birds" were issued the set of eggs were reissued too.
In our original World Tobacco Issues Index, the two Ogden`s sets are still together, under section 4 of the Ogdens listings, for sets described as being "Issues with I.T.C. Clause. All issued in U.K. Small size 67 x 36 m/m, unless stated." - and sub-section 4.A, for "cards issued between 1903 and 1917" . They are described as :
- BRITISH BIRDS. Sm. Nd. See H.229 ... O/2-95
1. "50 in Series". Nd 1-50
2. "Second Series". Nd 51-100
Then, in our updated version of the World Tobacco Issues Index, our sets remain in section 4.A, and the description reads :
- BRITISH BIRDS. Sm. Nd. See H.229 ... O100-414
1. "50 in Series". Nd 1-50
2. "Second Series". Nd 51-100 (50)
Now in 1923, just to confuse things, the first of these sets was re-issued. That is described in our original Ogdens reference book as :
- 49. 50. BRITISH BIRDS (1923). Numbers arranged to correspond with the subjects in item 35. Fronts printed by letterpress in colour. Subjects cut and perforated to stand out. Variations in the length of the rouletted line on which the cut-out rests are known for Nos 25, 29 and 30 - other similar variations probably exist. Backs in green, with descriptive text. Home issue, 1923. Similar series issued by Imperial Tobacco Co. of Canada.
As for Item 35, you will find that in the same place as item 34, our Card of the Day for the 10th of April, 2022.
The reprinted set appears in our original World Tobacco Issues Index, still under section 4 of the Ogdens listings, but under sub-section B, for "Issues 1922-1939." In there, the description of our set reads :
- BRITISH BIRDS. Sm. Cut-outs. Nd. (50) See RB.15/49... O/2-131
And in our updated version of the World Tobacco Issues Index, the description reads :
- BRITISH BIRDS. Sm.Cut-outs (uncut cards are known). Nd. (50). See RB.115/49 ... O100-482
Tuesday, 13th May 2025
Here is, most obviously, some kind of parrot, but we do not know which species. There is also no title, so it was given the title of "Birds of the East" by early researchers, most probably because `Ruby Queen` Cigarettes were issued in China, India, and the East.
If we look in to these areas, China records parrots, though most, today, would be considered parakeets. The earliest record of these birds comes in The Book of Rites, by Confucius, who was born in 551 B.C. We also know that they were natives, and that they were later exported, most usually as gifts to visiting dignitaries. India also has way more parakeets than parrots, in fact only one true parrot, the Vernal hanging parrot. The rather generic term "The East" could be anywhere. The continents with the most parrots are South America and Australasia, but this was outside the area of the `Ruby Queen` brand.
This set waits right until our Wills reference book part five, or, more correctly, "RB.19 – The Cigarette Card Issues of W.D. & H.O. Wills Parts I to IV (revised) and Part V", published in 1951. It makes up for it with a lengthy description though, which reads :
- BIRDS OF THE EAST (adopted title). Size 63 x 35 m/m. Unnumbered. Artists impressions of Birds of the East, a few being identifiable with actual avicultural species. Fronts lithographed in colour, borders in different colours. Backs in red, with illustration of closed "Ruby Queen" packet. 50 subjects illustrated in Figs.95 and 96. "Ruby Queen" issues - item 355 in May 1912, and the whole 50 subjects (items 355 and 356) in
January, 1927.
355. 25 1st Series of 25. Nos 1-25 in Fig.95. Similar series issued by B.A.T. ("Eagle Bird" Cigarettes) and Peninsular Tobacco Co. ("Hawagharri" Cigarettes)
356. 25 2nd Series of 25. Nos 26-50 in Fig.96. Similar series issued by Peninsular Tobacco Co. ("Hawagharri" Cigarettes)
Each series, as issued, is believed to have been made up with six cards with three colours of border, seven cards with the fourth colour of border. The basic border colours were (a) pink (b) green (c) blue (d) mauve, but over twenty different shadings, some falling directly between the above, are known. Backs very from red to rose-pink, and several printings can be detected. Cards are found with backs reversed in relation to fronts.
The colour differences in the printing are strange, as the printing date, of May 1912, appears in the Wills Works Magazine, and that means they were printed in this country and exported to be circulated. However some Wills collectors believe that once the cards ran out they were reprinted locally. And this is also supported by the fact that the next `Ruby Queen` set on that list of printing dates is "Chinese Transport", but not until February 1914. And after that there is an even longer gap, until our set, but marked as "Birds of the East, reissue", and dated January 1927.
By the time of our original World Tobacco Issues Index, the set appears in the Wills listings under section 4 for "Export issues quoting certain brands", and sub-section "F", under which the header reads : "Ruby Queen". Issued in China, India, and the East, 1911-1928. Backs with illustration of closed "Ruby Queen" packet in various shades of red or pinkish red, seven minor back variations (backs 1-7) differing in Trade Mark panel on packet. See C.N.N. Vol.21, page 204. Small size, 63 x 36 m/m." The set is catalogued as :
- BIRDS OF THE EAST (A). Sm. Unnd. (50). Borders in pink, green, blue or mauve. See W/355-6. Backs 2, 4, 5, 6 seen ... W62-327
The only change to this in the updated World Tobacco Issues Index is the fact that they appear in section 5F, and to the card code, which is now W675-468.
Now remember that there were two other issuers mentioned in the Wills book. These also appear in our original World Tobacco Issues Index, as :
British-American Tobacco Co.
2. Issues quoting brand names.2.J "Eagle Bird" Cigarettes. Cards with name of firm, issued 1908-1929 in China, India, Malaya and Siam, All small size and unnumbered, unless stated
- BIRDS OF THE EAST (A). (25) See W/355 ... B116-153
and
Peninsular Tobacco Co. Ltd., India
Associate of B.A.T. Cards issued 1908-16. Small size 63-65 x 35-37 m/m.
- BIRDS OF THE EAST (A). Sm. Unnd. ... P22-3
1. Back "Monchyr, Bengal, India". (25) See W/355
2. Back "Monchyr, India (25) See W/356
Both these entries remain the same in the updated World Tobacco Issues Index, again save the card codes, which alter to and P321-100 respectively.
Now if we return to our issue, and turn to our updated Wills book, that lists both versions, and gives us yet another issuer - the full text on there is :
- 355. BIRDS OF THE EAST 1st Series (A). "Ruby Queen Cigarettes" packet backs 2, 4, 5 and 6 in pink. Unnd. (25). Issued in the Far East, May, 1912, re-issued Jan., 1927. Similar series issued by B. A. T. (Eagle Bird) and Peninsular Tobacco Co. (India).
- 356. BIRDS OF THE EAST 2nd Series (A). "Ruby Queen Cigarettes" packet back 2, 4, 5 and 6 in pink. Unnd. (25) Issued in the Far East, Jan., 1927. Similar series issued by Peninsular T. C. (India). The two series of Birds of the East were issued in a combined numbered version by Rich's (Denmark).
This new issuer leads us to Caspar Friedrich Paulus Rich, who bought a factory and shop that was already producing a coffee substitute made of dandelion roots. He bought the factory off of a man called Jacob Luders von Hoyer, who had previously been a military man, and the factory also seems to have had an added bonus, some kind of licence to collect the dandelions from the ramparts of the town walls of Copenhagen.
In 1874 Caspar Friedrich Paulus Rich died, and his sons took over the business, at which time they renamed it to C. F. Rich & Sonner's Kaffe-surrogat-fabrik. One of the sons, Georg, left in 1889, and it seems related to the sale of part of the company to another firm, a grocers. Georg died in 1916, and the other son in 1923.
Shortly after that, cards began to be inserted in the packets. This included our set, listed as "Birds of China", a set of fifty cards issued in 1926. The bulk of the issues were between 1925 and 1930. And I will tell you more when I discover it!
Wednesday, 14th May 2025
This is probably not the back you were expecting, for it is one of the scarcer Australian versions.
In fact this set was issued six times, and is first described in our original reference book RB.11 – The Cigarette Card Issues of W.D. & H.O. Wills Part I (revised) and Part II, which was published in 1948, as :
- 97. 50 SIGNALLING SERIES. Fronts lithographed in colour; backs with descriptive text.
HOME ISSUE, 1911 :-
A. Backs in blue-grey
AUSTRALIAN ISSUES, 1913 :-
B. With "Capstan" advertisement
C. With "Havelock" advertisement
D. With "Vice Regal" advertisement
E. No brand advertised (anonymous issue)
Similar series issued by Player.
However in our original World Tobacco Issues Index this listing is no more, for the parts have been scattered. First up is the home issue, listed in section 2.A, as
- SIGNALLING SERIES. Sm. Nd. (50). See W/97.A ... W62-102
And next, three of the Australian issues, under section 3.A, where they are recorded as :
- SIGNALLING SERIES. Sm. Nd. (50). See W/97 ... W62-236
A. "Capstan" back. Numbered
B. "Havelock" back. Brand issue.
C. "Vice Regal" back.
The problem with this is that it has changed the prefixes, so our set suddenly becomes "A" not "B". As for the anonymous version, that is shunted to the back of the book, with the "Z" numbers, where it appears under "Anonymous Issues (1) - With Letterpress on Back" and sub section 1.B.b, for "Australian Issues. Inscribed with album wording "... at 1/- each through all tobacconists", except ZA3-7 inscribed "Presented to Smokers of these Cigarettes". Small size 67 x 36 m/m, unless stated. Issued through B.A.T." . The description reads :
- SIGNALLING SERIES. Sm. Nd. (50). See W/97.E ... ZA3-6
Lastly, the Player version is recorded under their section 3.B, for "Issues 1923-30. Chiefly in New Zealand, Malaya and Siam. Small size 67-68 x 35-36 m/m unless stated." The description there reads :
- SIGNALLING SERIES. Sm. Nd. (50). See RB.17/179 ... P72-202
Thursday, 15th May 2025
Now to chicken-fanciers, this is quite an unusual bird, the most common leghorn being white.
The name is nothing to do with any markings or protrusions on its legs, the birds come from Tuscany, from the city of Livorno, in Italy, and when they were first shipped to America, in the 1820s, they were, at first, just called Italian birds. Then, by the 1870s they have been renamed to Leghorns, this seemingly to be Livorno, turned into American, by a mixture of gradual mispronounciation and misspelling. They first turn up in Britain in 1870, with some excitement, as the first two birds in Britain were a pair which had won the top prize at the 1868 New York Show.
This colour is one of several bred in America, who also started to experiment by breeding the white birds with native dark, and brown, species, then to add in more colourful combinations, which eventually added the pink to the comb (which is the structure on top of the head).
This is yet another variation of a very intriguing set - and you can see just how many of those there are with our Card of the Day for the 27th of October 2023.
Today we tackle the Smith version, which first appears in the London Cigarette Card Handbook of 1950, described as :
- H.64. FOWLS, PIGEONS & DOGS or DOGS AND FOWLS, or DOGS SERIES. (titled, except Edwards, Ringer & Bigg). Fronts in colour, illustrated in Notes & News, Vol.1. No,4.
Pre-1919
- Churchman - Titled "Dogs & Fowls". Series of 38 (April 1908)
- Edwards, Ringer & Bigg - Untitled series of 23. Dogs only (March 1908)
- Ogden - Titled "Fowls, Pigeons & Dogs". Series of 50 (3 variations No.12) Illustrated in "Notes & News Vol.1 No.6 (May 1904)
- Smith - Titled "Fowls, Pigeons & Dogs"..Series of 50 (May 1908)
Their next appearance comes in our original World Tobacco Issues Index, as :
- FOWLS, PIGEONS & DOGS. Sm. Back with I.T.C. Clause. Nd. (50). See H.64 ... S84-10
And this text is identical in the updated World Tobacco Issues Index, save the card code, which is now S548-240.
The one thing which is curious is that it is one of the few sets which was not vari-backed, in other words it was only issued with one brand, "Studio", you cannot collect a set in any other form. Smith`s were renowned for vari-backs, and plenty of them, "Battlefields of Great Britain" having fifteen different printings, "Races of Mankind" having thirty, and "Medals", if you count the pre Imperial Tobacco Company printing and the two versions after it, tops that with forty different backs available!
Now do note that this set was reprinted by the Card Collectors Society in the year 2000. The reprints are very easy to spot though, firstly the reverses are printed in mauve, and secondly, they only have F. & J. Smith`s name at the bottom, where our card says "Branch of the Imperial Tobacco Co. / (Of Great Britain & Ireland), Ltd", the reprint says, in very small letters, "Reproduction Authorised by Imperial Tobacco Ltd. (C) 2000. / Issued by Card Collectors Society". I will show the two backs together one of these years!
Friday, 16th May 2025
Our man to close this week is Kenneth Farnes, and he was born on the 11th of July, 1911, in Leytonstone, Essex.
He was discovered, rather by chance, in his late teens, in 1930, and was signed up by Essex County Cricket Club. He had been playing cricket at Cambridge University, where he was training to become a teacher, and he did do just that, at Worksop College, and he was a dedicated teacher, his work always came before his sport.
In 1934, the year this card was issued, he played in the first Test against Australia, though England lost. He is not on this card just for that though, because also in 1934 he took eleven wickets for a hundred and thirty one against Yorkshire, the first time Essex had ever beaten mighty Yorkshire.
When the Second World War came, he signed up with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, and was sent to Canada for training. He was commissioned as a Pilot Officer on the 1st of September, 1941, and sent back home to England. He could have just become a pilot, but he had a bit of a dream, and wanted to fly the more dangerous night raids, which needed extra training. Therefore he was assigned to the 12th Operational Training Unit. based at Chipping Warden.
Then, on the 20th of October, 1941, he was killed, when the Vickers Wellington, tail number R1037, he was piloting on a night flying training exercise crashed, into a house in Chipping Warden, Northamptonshire, shortly after taking off. Though there is another report which says the aeroplane overshot the runway and was returning to have another attempt.
His trainer, another Pilot officer, Cecil Hayes, was also seriously injured, and died the following day, whilst Sergeants Brumby (a New Zealander) and Ralph were also injured, but survived. Mr. Farnes is buried at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in Surrey, whilst Mr. Hayes is buried at St. John the Baptist in Malden, Essex.
This set first appears in our original reference book RB.17, to the issues of John Player, which was published in 1950. It is described as :
- 61. CRICKETERS, 1934. Small cards. Fronts in colour, pebble surfaced card. Backs in grey, with descriptive text. Home issue, May 1934.
Error card - No.35. Initials on front (a) B.J. (b) B.A. Barnett (correct).
Like its predecessor, "Cricketers, 1930", it was only issued within the United Kingdom. However its follow-up, "Cricketers, 1938" had two versions, a home issue, with Imperial Tobacco and album clauses, and a Channel Islands issue, with neither of these things.
By the time of our World Tobacco Issues Index, in 1956, the listing was shortened, to :
- CRICKETERS, 1934. Sm. Nd. (50) ... P72-82
And this wording is identical in the updated version, save the card code, which is now P644-172
And with that I have run out of time (and into sleepiness). Over the weekend I will add in all the card information for the newsletter cards, so watch the banner on the front, on which I will notify my progress.
Have a great weekend - and a profitable one if you are out hunting for cards or any other collectables.
By the way, if you are off to Woking next weekend I will see you there, at least on the Friday, all being well.