Newsletter - 2025-07-19

Saturday, 12th July 2025

Here we have H. Woods, which ought to have suggested Henry Wood, or, more correctly, Sir Henry Joseph Wood, who conducted the Promenade Concerts for almost half a century, starting on the 10th of August 1895, and ending in 1944. He was so associated with them that after his death. later that year, they were officially renamed in his honour as the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts.

As for our man, Harry Woods, he was born in 1890 at St. Helens in Merseyside, and his first football team was the local one, St Helens Recreation. He trained as "a glass worker", which needs more investigation. He played for a couple more local sides and then, in 1911, was signed by Norwich City, where he played until the start of the First World War. 

He must have had some mechanical experience as it is said he served in the Tank Corps; though he must have done something before that, as the first use of a tank was in September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme, and only then did the Tank Corps begin, as the Royal Tank Regiment which was, at first, joined in as part of the Machine Gun Corps. This suggests he may have started his career in an artillery unit, as it was primarily from those that the crews were selected.

When he was demobbed, and football had resumed, he moved to South Shields, which is the team he represents on this card. His first match for them was in August 1919. However, he did not stay there long, and in January 1922 he was bought by Newcastle United. This means that we can tie this card down to having been issued some time in 1921. He also did not settle at Newcastle, and joined Arsenal in August 1923. He fared better there, but was overshadowed a bit by younger, fitter, players - and in 1923 he was thirty-three years old. He then shifted to Luton Town, where his experience counted for more, but ended his career in 1930 with North Shields. 

There is no record of what he did in the Second World War, all I have discovered is that he died in 1956, in his mid sixties. 

This is the home page for the large sized "Pinnace" footballer photo cards. (You will find the home page for the smaller sets elsewhere, once I have written it). 

Briefly "Pinnace" was a brand name, and it started including small photos of footballers, measuring about 45 x 35 m/m, in 1922, which could be exchanged for “a cabinet sized photograph" of players or teams. For a while it was thought that these larger cards may have been what that meant, but if you look at our card it is running the same offer, to swap five of these for a "cabinet sized photograph". 

The larger, or “premium” cards are described in our original Godfrey Phillips reference book (RB.13, published in 1949), as :

• 81.B. Large Cards, size 83 x 59 m/m. Number issued unknown. 
  
  1. "Oval" design back, in black
  
  2. "Single lined oblong" back, address "PINNACE" PHOTOS, in black. Fronts : -
        (a) Player`s name at head, team at base
        (b) Player`s name at base, no name of team, Some cards have printed slips surcharged on back with name of team.
        (c) Player`s name and team at base

By the time of our World Tobacco Issues Index, this has been altered, to : 

• FOOTBALLERS (A). Lg. Selected numbers only issued.  ...P50-46
  
  1. Back style 1, in black
  2. Back with "Double-lined Oblong", address "PHOTO" or "PINNACE" PHOTOS.
  3. Back with "Single-lined Oblong"

In the updated version of this volume, there is some additional information, namely :

• FOOTBALLERS (A). Skipped numbers in most printings. ... P521-290.
  
  B. Large Size. All believed to be skipped numbers.
  
      1. Back 1 - "Oval" design, in black.(?514)
      2. Back with "Double-lined Oblong", address "PHOTO". (?852)
      3. Back with "Double-lined Oblong", address "PINNACE" PHOTOS. (?2461). Some with player`s name only at base, or player`s name and team reversed. 

Not sure what happened to the "Single-Lined Oblong" in this volume? Any ideas..? 

Sunday, 13th July 2025

This card is included not for the person on the front, but for the "Rule Britannia" on the reverse, for that, for many years, was the song which was most connected with the Promenade Concerts.

And despite some controversy, it remains so to this day. 

Strange then that it did not start its life as music at all, but as a poem, written in 1740 by James Thomson. However it was soon set to music, by Thomas Arne, to serve as the closing refrain in his theatrical production of "Alfred". This, a musical comedy about Alfred the Great,  seems an odd idea, but it seems to have been much enjoyed by George I, to whom it was first performed, at his son`s home, Cliveden, in Berkshire.

The version which was performed at the Proms was actually arranged by Sir Malcolm Sargent. However, as times have changed it has fallen into disrepute, for its links with the Far Right, and also its celebration of colonialism and slavery. There have been many calls to remove it from the schedule, and actually it was removed in 1969, along with "Land of Hope and Glory". But it was reinstated the following year. And in 2020 it was only played as an orchestral piece, not sung. 

Anyway, to our card, and here we have Field Marshal Philip Walhouse Chetwode, or 1st Baron Chetwode, or even Field Marshal the Right Honourable the Lord Chetwode. 

He is shown here in 1915, but his military career was much longer than just the First World War, at which time he was almost fifty, for he was born on the 21st of September, 1869. His first overseas actions came in Burma, in the early 1890s. and he fought during the Second Boer War, being present at the Siege of Ladysmith, as well as many other strategic battles, and winning the Distinguished Service Order, one of his many medals. 

During the First World War he found himself on the Western Front, and then sent to Palestine, from where he fought throughout the region, ending up at the Battle of Jerusalem in November 1917. After that, he was still in demand, and, after a spell in Aldershot, which did not really suit him, he was transferred to India, where he ended up as Commander in Chief. 

He stayed there until the mid 1930s, then returned to England. For a short while he was even in charge of the Tower of London. He died, aged eighty-one, on the 6th of July, 1950.

Sadly his son had been killed in action in August 1940. Whilst his daughter, as those readers with an interest in poetry may already know, had married John Betjeman. 

Our original British Trade Index lists this set as :

• RULE BRITANNIA ! Sm. 65 x 36. Steel blue. Great War Leaders and Warships. Nd. (25)  … FRY-13

Whilst our updated version adds the date, and reads : 

• RULE BRITANNIA ! 1915. 65 x 36. Steel blue. Great War Leaders and Warships. Nd. (25)  … FRY-320

I am not entirely sure whether that is the title, or just an exhortation on what was intended to be perhaps just a military series. And I am curious as to the fact that it comprises leaders and warships. However I have not seen enough of the set to offer any opinions yet. 

Monday, 14th July 2025

Here we have what most people regard as the permanent home of the Promenade Concerts.

But, as we will reveal, it was not always so.

When they began, they took place at Queen`s Hall, Langham Place, and even then they were but a development of the earlier concerts which had been regularly staged in several London parks and gardens for over a hundred years. In fact the name "promenade" refers to the idea that whilst the general public could sit and listen, they could also casually stroll about the park, with the music in the background. 

The concerts at Queen`s Hall changed this, in many ways. For one thing, the audience had to pay to go in,  a shilling for each concert, or you could pay a guinea and attend as many nights of the season of forty-nine concerts as you liked. You could not walk past and listen without paying. And it was also felt that if people paid, they would be more attentive, or less likely to interrupt the proceedings by chattering to their friends.

The Promenade Concerts stayed at Queen`s Hall until the Second World War. Then on the first of September 1939, Beethoven`s Second Piano Concerto was abruptly halted and the audience were informed that Poland had just been invaded. That may have been the end of the season for that year, as the BBC stepped down from supporting it - but Henry Wood was made of sterner stuff and he continued the run with the help of private backers, as well as some of his own money. And he also continued to play through an air raid on several occasions, even, on the 26th of August, 1940, extending the performance, for some while, until the "All Clear" was sounded and the audience were allowed to leave, which was not until the following morning. In fact this was the first time that the audience were encouraged to sing along with all their might. But that season was eventually abandoned when the raids became too intense. 

The end of Queen`s Hall also came by bomb, on the 10th of May, 1941. That was when the concerts relocated to the Royal Albert Hall. They did move out, briefly, to the Bedford Corn Exchange in 1944, but when hostilities ceased they returned to the Royal Albert Hall, where they are still going strong today.

Its first appearance on cards is often said to be part of the 1902 Ogden`s "General Interest" series E, card 75, because it is billed as simply "Albert Hall". However Cohen, Weenen & Co`s "Interesting Buildings and Views", which also uses that title, was issued in the very same year - and, even if not the first card, it is definitely the first card to show the building in colour. 

This picture is almost identical to the one used by R. J. Lea in their "Famous Views", issued in 1936, except that you can see more of the steps in the Lea version, for it is a bigger format card. 

Westminster is a strange issuer. They were associated with both the Imperial Tobacco Company and British American Tobacco, which is how the first appearance of this set comes in our B.A.T. booklet, where it says they are in two formats, one being unnumbered with no descriptive text, and the other being numbered with a descriptive text. There was also some connection with the South African triumvirate of African Tobacco Manufacturers, United Tobacco Companies, and Policansky Bros.

Also, though their first cards were issued in 1914, they did not issue cards in the United Kingdom until 1925, which is why in our original World Tobacco Index they are not listed until part 4 of the Westminster section. In fact, by that time, they were not really Westminster cards at all, for, in the heading to that section, they are described as : "4. UNITED KINGDOM ISSUES. Inscribed "Issued by the successors in the United Kingdom to the Westminster Tobacco Co., Ltd. Co. London."  Whilst the text for our set reads : 

• BRITISH ROYAL AND ANCIENT BUILDINGS. See RB.21/200-159 ... W42-56.
  
  1. First 48 subjects - (B) Numbered (C) Unnumbered.
  
  2. Second 48 subjects, inscribed "A Second series". Nd.

In our updated version, the text reads : 

• BRITISH ROYAL AND ANCIENT BUILDINGS. See RB.21/200-159 ... W430-840
  
  1. First 48 subjects - (B) Numbered (C) Unnumbered.
  
  2. Second 48 subjects, inscribed "A Second series". Nd.

I glossed over the "See RB.21/200-159" with good reason, as it turns out this set is more complex than I had imagined. The text there also reveals that there is a reason why there is no (A) above and the numbered is logged as (B) with the un-numbered version as (C).

The full entry reads : 

• 200-159. BRITISH ROYAL AND ANCIENT BUILDINGS. The Wills printing only of this series is recorded in W/159. All the printings are detailed below, and the five different backs are illustrated at Fig.200-159 :-
  
                                         I - First 48 subjects  
  
  A. Wills` Overseas issue. Back A
  B. Westminster issue. Back B. Numbered, inscribed "Issued by the successors.....". Not inscribed "A Series of 48"
  C. Westminster issue. Back C. Unnumbered, see listing below
  
  
                                         II - Second 48 subjects  
  
  X. Westminster issue. Back X. Numbered, inscribed "A Series of 48", not inscribed "Issued by the successors.....". 
  Y. Westminster issue. Back Y. Inscribed "A Second Series"

As far as the Wills version, that was an overseas issue, and is detailed in part four of our Wills reference book as : 

• 159. BRITISH ROYAL AND ANCIENT BUILDINGS. Fronts : Photoprints in black and white. Backs in black, with descriptive text. Issued in New Zealand between 1925-30. Similar series issued by Westminster (1st Series)

Then there is a list of the unnumbered cards which may be pertinent to our set but which i will have to delay adding for now.

Later on, in 1936, as part of the Wills "Works Magazine" it was revealed that this set was actually printed in the United Kingdom and shipped to New Zealand, where it was issued in packets from August 1925. 

And if you want to see the second series of this set, nip along to our Card of the Day for the 15th of September, 2023
 

Tuesday, 15th July 2025

Here we have another card showing "Rule Britannia", and giving the music and lyrics. It also mentions the writer, Dr. Arne, or Thomas Augustine Arne, who was born in 1710.  And J. Thomson, who is James Thomson, who was co-writer of "Alfred", the musical comedy about Alfred the Great that we spoke of yesterday. 

The strange thing is that this set is universally regarded as being National Anthems. Even the title of our version of the set, which is in French, is titled as "Chants Nationaux de Differents Pays" - or National Songs of Different Countries". Whilst the German version is "Nationalhymnen Verschiedener Volker" - or National Anthems of Different Peoples.

Yet our anthem, at the time this set was issued, and as far back, perhaps, as the seventeenth century, is "God Save The King", not "Rule Britannia". Though it had neither words nor a Kingly connotation until 1745, and it was not called the National Anthem until the early 1800s.

Even more curious is that it is not our official National Anthem, because in legal documentation we do not actually have one. This is why there has been several occasions where either William Blake`s "Jerusalem" or Edward Elgar`s "Land of Hope and Glory" have been suggested as becoming the National Anthem. And both of these tunes also have a long association with the Proms. 

This set is actually often referred to as "National Anthems II", which set me off on a quest to find the first series. And I think it is set 90, but that was issued some time earlier, between 1878 and 1883. It comprises eight cards, and was published in French, as "Chants Nationaux",, or in Italian, as "Inni Nazionali". The countries there are : Austria, Belgium, England, France, Italy, Russia, Spain, and USA. And in that set the England National Anthem is actually given as "God Save The Queen". 

The list of countries in our set are as follows : 

And if you look closely at the card, there is also a sporting connotation as the female figure has a tennis racquet and the male figure a ball, which looks more like a rugby ball than a football. However I wonder how many tennis and rugby collectors have this card in their collections - yet.....

Wednesday, 16th July 2025

This may seem a very unmusical subject for this week`s theme, but wait, for this is Fingal`s Cave. And that is not just a sea cave on the Island of Staffa, Scotland, but a concert overture by Felix Mendelssohn, written between 1830 and 1832, and published to great acclaim the year after. Most of all it is a piece of music which is usually performed on the last night of the Proms. 

The music was inspired by a visit that Mendelssohn made to Scotland, and to Fingal`s Cave,  in 1829. He loved it there, the grandeur, and the crashing of the waves. It is said that he had composed most of it before he left Scotland, so eager was he to immortalise his feelings. At first, he called it "Zur einsamen Insel", or "To The Lonely Island" - which begs the question as to whether this was meant as a depiction of his trip, going to the island, or as a tribute, a poem written to the Island with fond remembrance.

As for the title though, the music was not intended to be called Fingal`s Cave at all. For that name, we must blame a German publisher, who produced a slightly later edition of the music and titled it "Fingalshohle" or "Fingal`s Cave". Though, actually, Mendelssohn did use that title on the musical score, so it may have just been a bit of a misunderstanding. 

The actual Fingal's Cave is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland, and is part of a nature reserve. It is formed from hexagonal basalt columns and is similar to the Giant`s Causeway.

You can see it on other cards, including card 4 of Cohen, Weenen & Co`s "Wonders of the World" (1923 - gold border, and grey border), where it tells us that  "Hundreds of tourists visit this wonderful cave annually, access being from the sea at low tide by boat".

It is also on card 37 of R. J. Lea`s "Wonders of the World (1938), where we are told that "This famous basaltic grotto was discovered by Sir Joseph Banks in the seventeenth century. It is situated on the island of Staffa in the Hebrides and is 230 feet long. Famous for its stalactites the rush of wind through the cave produces a weird musical sound". 

And, whilst on the subject of stalagmites, you will also reportedly find it on card 39 of the second series of W.D. & H.O. Wills "Do You Know", though it is not named as Fingal`s Cave, it simply titles the card "Stalactites and Stalagmites". But everyone I have spoken to is certain that this is inside Fingal`s Cave, so it deserves a mention. And more investigation. Given time. 

As for why it is called Fingal`s Cave, we can blame the Scottish poet James Macpherson, who created this grandiose legend about a King who lived in a castle that fell through the rock into the sea, and that the columns were all that was left of its construction. I expect that appealed to Mendelssohn too. 

To our set, this is part of group 33, which covers series 491 to 495, and this set is the last of those series, 495. The card also tells us that these fit in Album 17. The title "Verschiedene Hohlenformen" actually means "different cave formations" , and it is a very atmospheric set. Oddly, as I translated them, two turned out to be actual caves, so I will have to find out if the others are of actual places too. Ours may actually be Fingal`s Cave.

Anyway the cards in the set, as I now know them, are :

1. Die Adelsberger Grotte [an actual cave not a formation - Postojna Cave, Slovenia]
2. Krystallhohle [crystal cave]
3. Cova des Coloms [an actual cave not a formation - in Mallorca. Spain]
4. Eishohle [ice cave]
5. Gewolbehohle [vaulted cave]
6. Basalthohle [basalt cave]

Thursday, 17th July 2025

I have been unable to find out when the first Union Jack was waved at the Promenade concerts, but it is a long standing tradition. However, more recently, there have been other flags flown too, most notably that of the European Union, and Ukraine. And, at times, the flag waving gets rather frenetic. 

This young lady may be waving a flag, but she looks way too refined to leap in the air - though, if you take a second look, she is only raising the flag in one hand, the other is raising her skirt to show a shapely ankle. In 1900, when this set was issued, this was pretty shocking.... 

First of all, you can read lots more about Rutter and its story elsewhere on this website - with our card of the day for the 16th of March, 2022. 

As for this set it is listed in our original World Tobacco Issues Index as ; 

• GIRLS, FLAGS & ARMS OF COUNTRIES (A). Sm. 66 x 36. Unnd. (24). See H.383 ... R66-6

that same text appears in our updated version, but there is a new card code, of R980-400. 

As far as the H code, that from the original version of the World Tobacco Issues Index leads you to the handbook published by the London Cigarette Card Company in 1950, where the text reads ; 

• H.383. GIRLS, FLAGS & ARMS OF COUNTRIES (adopted title). Fronts per Fig.383 in colour, blue background. Unnumbered series of 24.
  
  Pre-1919 -
                     Anonymous - plain back
                     Rutter - dark blue printed back
  
  
    1. Austria Hungary
    2. Belgium
    3. Canada
    4. China
    5. Cuba
    6. Denmark
    7. France
    8. Germany
    9. Great Britain
  10. Greece
  11. Holland
  12. Ireland
  13. Italy
  14. Japan
  15. Mexico
  16. Norway
  17. Portugal
  18. Russia
  19. Scotland
  20. Spain
  21. Sweden
  22. Switzerland
  23. Turkey
  24. United States of America.

As far as the retail prices of these cards in 1950, they appear in the catalogue, which is uniform with the handbook, listed as : 

24. * Girls, Flags & Arms of Countries ; - H.383

• A. Blue back ... as odds 25/- to 75/- each
• B. Plain back ... no odds available. 

It is entirely possible that the plain back version was either a remainder or cards cut down from a printer`s proof sheet, and today you will often see them listed in auctions as "Plain Back Proof"s. It seems to never be suggested, anywhere, that it was an anonymous version issued by another manufacturer, or in another country. And, tellingly, it is tied to Rutter in the London Cigarette Card Company Catalogue. 

Friday, 18th July 2025

I close the week with a little tale from a reader, who got in touch and told me that his wife's Uncle Will, who sadly died three years ago, at the grand age of a hundred and six (!), actually used to attend the Promenade concerts, with a little group of eight friends. More than that, he started going when they were still at Queens Hall, in the 1930's, and they continued to attend them at the Royal Albert Hall.

He enjoyed them immensely and had a wealth of little anecdotes. One of his favourites concerned Sir Henry Wood, who was famous for leaving the stage and then coming back for an encore, several times. But those in the know would always know that he would be back again, because only on the final performance of the night would he come out wearing his top hat and cloak. After that it was safe to go home yourself in the certain knowledge he would not return for more. 

And my correspondent wondered, if somewhere, out there , is a card that shows him so attired ? 

He also tells me another tale, and that is that on the 5th of October, 1938, a special jubilee concert was held at the Royal Albert Hall to celebrate Sir Henry Wood's fifty years as a conductor. Sergei Rachmaninoff agreed to attend, and he performed his Second Piano Concerto. And Uncle Will was there too - he often remembered, and commented on Rachmaninoff being "a tall, thin man who made the piano sing".

My correspondent also wondered if there was any cards of Rachmaninoff. Sadly, though I looked, I only found one, and it is a bit borderline - it is a playing card, issued by Thurston Moore Country Ltd as part of a set called "Composers" in 1982. But he is the Jack of Hearts, which I think would have pleased him.

And when I saw this card, with a very excited piano player, I thought it would appeal to both musicians` obvious sense of humour. Another thing I like about it is that it shows children, and these days the Proms have attempted to attract a more youthful audience, with modern singers and bands, and also involving films and TV.

Doctor Who has been there, several times, in 2008, 2010, 2013, and 2024 - and this year, on the 9th of August, Star Wars will be celebrated - but they have a longer connection with the Proms than that, and first appeared in 1999.  I have not yet found an X Files reference, but I really enjoyed the trying to....

Back to cards.

These are a mixture of a black silhouette, to the top, and a coloured artwork beneath. They have a two part title, one below the silhouette and one below the colour picture. And they didn`t make a lot of sense until I realised that the first part of the words beneath the silhouette, namely "Si vous revez..." translated to "if you dream of...." whatever is pictured, the action in the coloured picture will occur. That also saved me typing it out every time, or, more correctly, allowed me to delete the over half of those I had typed. Then I found one which was slight

So far I know of the following, which I am numbering just so that I can close the book when I get eighty four of them. Which I may have done if I had not veered off on the tangent..... 

1. achat de tableau - vous ferez de la peinture (P)(V)
2. autruche - ostrich - le plumes vous couteront cher (G)
3. balances - scales - justice vous sera rendu (V)
4. chardons - thistles - vous serez vainqueur dans les courses d`anes (G)(V) 
5. chasse a l`ours - hunt a bear - on vous fera cadeau d`une fourrure (V)
6. cheveaux de bois - wooden horse - vous serez incorpore dans la cavalerie (G)
7. cheveaux de courses - race horses - vous appendrez la victoire d`une cheval Francaise (L)
8. chevres - goats - vous serez une grande excursion en montagne (G)
9. ciseaux - scissors - vous plaiderez en divorce (G)
10. corbeaux - crows - les gens de votre quartier feront des cancans (G)
11. courses de taureaux - bull fighting - vous aurez des demeles avec la justice (G)(L) 
12. de cartes - playing cards - vous perdrez aux courses (B)
13. de piano - piano - vous aurez une vieagreable et animee (G)
14. scie - wood saw - vous irez au cafe-concert (G)
15. trapeze - trapeze - vous serez doue d`une grande agilitie (G)
16. victoire - victory - votre fils deviendra General (V)

Since starting this we have discovered that they were also issued by other companies, so now we have initials added, namely 

• (B) - Chocolat de Bretagne
• (G) - Guerin-Boutron
• (L) - Chocolat Louit 
• (P) - Cacao Payraud 
• (V) - Eau de Vichy