Newsletter - 2026-04-11

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AMALGAMATED Tobacco Corporation [tobacco : UK and South Africa] "Football Clubs and Badges" (1961) 

You see today in 1885 Luton Town Football Club breathed of its first, but they were rather shallow breaths and in 1900 they left the League due to what are called "financial issues", They did not rejoin it for twenty years, and did not make the First Division for another thirty five.

Strangely, their first appearance on a card came in 1906, as card 17 of Ogden`s "Football Club Colours". The text there tells us a bit more about their beginnings, for it reads "LUTON TOWN A.F.C. Luton Town was formed in 1885 as the result of the amalgamation of the local Wanderers and Excelsiors, and became a fully fledged professional side in 1891-2. Luton were runners up in the Southern League in 1894-5 and 1895-6, and then joined the Second Division of the English League, returning to the Southern League three seasons later. They also belonged, at one time, to the United League." 

A few things there caught my eye.

The "Wanderers", of course, was a team with no home of their own. It turns out that they were formed in September 1880, after a meeting at the Cricketers Arms public house. Their first game, but not until December 1881, (so presumably their first game against a proper side, rather than their first ever), saw them spar with Luton Excelsior - there is a curious footnote to this as it says on a really interesting site, Brian Webb`s "The Straw Plaiters", that it was "played to Association Laws but with fifteen men per side". He goes into much more detail about football in Luton, including the story of both teams on this card, than I am able to, or have time to do. 

The other thing that intrigued me was "The United League". That turns out to have been a separate football league that first operated from 1896 until 1902, and then re-formed in 1905, for another four years. Its sole purpose was to do something that we today take for granted, and that was to allow people to watch football on weekdays, rather than just Saturday. It only covered central and southern England, and London, because the first League Champions were Millwall Athletic, with Luton Town runner up. Millwall also won in 1898, with Southampton second , but 1897 saw Luton Town take home the trophy, with Tottenham Hotspur as runner up. Neither of these teams would win again, and most of the winners are teams long faded away, but in 1905 the trophy went to Watford, in 1906 to Crystal Palace, and to 1907 to Brentford, all of which are still playing strong. The last ever winners were New Brompton, which does make me think that the second incarnation was only for London teams, and perhaps that was a way to keep the League not just more profitable, but more manageable. However in 1909 it folded.

Returning to cards, the next appearance of our club was in 1907, but not in the British Isles, for it was Wills` "Football Club Colours", and that was issued with "Scissors" Cigarettes, in India. Sadly there is no text on this card, just a picture of the packet, and a sign, telling the smoker it was "Special Army Quality"

1908 saw the club immortalised in several sets, with one player, Robert "Bob" Hawkes being shown on both Cohen Weenen`s "Football Captains" and Ogden`s "Famous Footballers". He also appears on a card of Taddy`s "Prominent Footballers", series two - along with his brother, Fred.

The Cohen Weenen card has a descriptive back, which puts Luton Town in the Southern League, and continues with "R.M. HAWKES, Luton Town, (Left half-back). Is an amateur. Has also Captained Hertfordshire. An International, playing against Ireland 1906-7, and also against France and Holland. Photo by Cox, Luton"

As far as the Ogden`s card, it adds more about his younger days, telling us : "Bob Hawkes, the amateur auburn-haired half, who plays for Luton, went to that town as a boy, playing first for the Higher Grade School, then the Stanley, and later for the Victoria. He then played for Luton Town Reserves, and since has regularly assisted Luton. After several trials in International trial games, he was given his first cap for England v. Ireland in 1907.

Our set comes from much later than this, but it is, surprisingly, a set I have not used before. and what is odder is that it was issued by so many other companies - 

• Assembly House
• A.C.W. Francis - Grenada (West Indies)
• Amalgamated Tobacco Corp. Ltd. (Mills Filtertips)
• Anonymous - Plain grey back -
• Anonymous - Text on back -
• Assembly House
• Johnny Bunny (Medicines) - Malta
• Horsley's Stores
• Stamp Corner, Doncaster
• Universal Cigarette Card Co.  - with  "Ideal Home Show" reference
• Universal Cigarette Card Co.  - without "Ideal Home Show" reference

And what that means is that you will get to see a lot more of this set in newsletters to come! But I ran out of time to discuss this at length, so I will do that over the weekend. 

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ACHERON Mint [trade/commercial : O/S - Australia] "Legends of League Picture Cards" (2016) 11/18

From one sort of football to another, for we move on to Herbert Henry "Dally" Messenger, who was born, today, in 1883, at Balmain, New South Wales. 

He played both rugby league and rugby union and is stlll regarded as one of the best ever players, of both. However, his father probably thought that when he interested his son in sport, he would choose his own, which was rowing. This was not to be, for the son`s first love was Aussie Rules, and from there he shifted into rugby. And it does not look as if any of the other children, of which there were seven, had much interest in rowing either.

As for that nickname, "Dally", it seems to have come from the Attorney General of the state, William Dalley, who was known for many things, but mainly for the rotundity of his stomach, a trait that young Herbert also shared. However the more he trained for sport, the smaller the circumference became, until the point that none of the excess remained. I am on the fence with this explanation though, mainly over the missing e in the "Dalley"/"Dally", but also because most children tend to a little potting of the belly. 

It was the arrival of rugby league that really kickstarted his interest, and he turned professional in 1907. This ought to have been a good thing, but it appalled rugby union, who removed his name and all his details from their records. And they were not restored until 2007. Perhaps that was not just due to his changing codes though, because we know that in 1907 he toured England with a rebel, unauthorised team, most of whom were from New Zealand.

After that tour ended, he returned to Australia and joined a club called Eastern Suburbs, part of the newly formed NSW Rugby League. He did not play for them much, as he was a wanderer, playing for any team, in any game, that made him an offer, or that he thought he would like to be part of. That was how he ended up on a team called the Kangaroos, again touring England, with Australian team mates this time. During this team he attracted a firm fan following - and was given the offer of contracts from several leading football teams, which he turned down. 

In 1911 he was newly married, so turned down the chance to tour England once more, and in 1914 he retired, on which he was given Life Membership of the New South Wales Rugby League. He kept an interest in sport, but seldom played. For a time he was involved with running hotels, and at one point he ran a banana plantation, but none of these seemed to last very long, and he ended up taking a job as a carpenter. Eventually we find him living in a room at the NSW Rugby League`s club, with no mention of a wife or family. Then, in 1959, he died, of a heart attack, aged seventy-six. 

It seems that after his death was announced his fame became restored, and he was buried in Sydney, with hordes of people watching, in a grave which would later be topped with a statue atop a large black plinth with details of his life incised thereupon. The Sydney Cricket Ground named a gate after him, and a statue was erected outside the football stadium. And he was also admitted to the Rugby League of Fame, and chosen for the Australian and New South Wales "teams of the century".But you can`t help wondering whether this all ought to have come earlier, when he could have done with a few friends and a bit of support. 

Now we featured another set by Acheron Mint in last week`s newsletter, dated for the 4th of April 2026 - but you have to scroll right down to Friday the 10th of April to see that. However there is the start of a biography of the issuer, who is to be much congratulated for producing such super cards. Though I have to say it is curious that there are no biographies, only a checklist, and if you cut that, as it shows, you ruin the card, for the front has left no additional white space which alone would have been removed with the cutting

The eighteen players featured in this set will be added over the weekend as time has caught me out tonight. So pop back tomorrow night! 

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INKWORKS [trade/ commercial : OS : Raleigh, North Carolina, USA] "TVs Coolest Classics - Volume one" - promo card (December 1997) 1/3

This will surprise some of you, but today in 1923, Donald James Yarmy was born, in New York. If that name dies not ring a bell, well we have featured his feisty female friend before, but not him, so I am delighted to be able to do so now. 

He went from school, which he freely admitted he did not enjoy, into being an usher in a theatre, which he liked a lot better. Then, in 1941, he joined the Marine Corps. That took him overseas and got him embroiled in the Battle of Guadalcanal, where he ended up with blackwater fever, a deadly serious disease that saw him, luckily evacuated - most other soldiers were not so lucky, and succumbed before they could get out to get treatment. Even better, he found himself in New Zealand, at a US Naval hospital, though it still took a year before he was released, and he was not allowed back to the front. Instead of that, he went back to America, rejoined the marines as an active serviceman, and became a drill instructor. 

He was demobbed in 1945, and moved to Florida, where he started doing stand up comedy. In 1947 he was married, to a singer, Adelaide Adams, and, unusually for the time, he took her surname, though it was actually an alias, her real name was Adelaide Efantis. He then worked in restaurants and on several odd jobs trying to make enough for his family, because he had three daughters. 

In 1954, he saw an advert for a television talent show. Originally this had been a radio show, and it made stars of many people, including Patsy Cline, Connie Francis and Eddie Fisher. However some people were rejected, including Elvis Presley, and Buddy Holly. Most people who appeared were singers, which could have been what clinched the deal as our man returned to stand up comedy. And he not only got through the auditions to the main show, but he won. That brought him several guest appearances on other shows, and a contract with NBC. 

In the 1960s there was a rash of spy thrillers, including James Bond, whose first official appearance came in Dr. No, released in 1962. This, and the release of a semi-humorous film called "The Pink Panther" prompted Mel Brooks and Buck Henry to ponder on an alternative, for television. They created a character called Maxwell Smart, and tried to sell it. This proved harder than they thought, and they were knocked back by tv networks as well as everyone they asked to play their title role - until NBC gave it a go. They still had no star, but remembered that talent show, which gave a contract to Donald Adams, and offered it to him. They thought he might turn it down, but he did not. In fact he ran with it, helping to choose his own partner, Barbara Feldon, (whom we featured in our newsletter on the 9th of March 2024, as the diary date for Tuesday, the 12th March) - and he would also go on to write, produce and direct some of the episodes, and he won three Emmys. Then, for some reason, ratings started to drop, and in 1970 the show was cancelled. 

After that he continued in show business, but to less success. He had a game show, and he also tried to remake "Get Smart" to appeal to a new generation of viewers, as well as a movie version. But even he admitted he was doing better on stage and doing stand up in clubs; and he was also bolstered by the fact that he had chosen to take a share of the show as part of his salary, which also covered worldwide re-screenings. 

Most of his later work was voice-overs, at which he was very successful and never more so than with Inspector Gadget, for whom he voiced the leading role. 

He died on September 25th, 2005. He had been married three times and had seven children. 

We were going to have the Canadian O-Pee-Chee "Get Smart" card to match the American Topps one that we used for Barbara Feldon, aka Agent 99 - but when I was offered this I thought it was rather exciting that it mentioned cards. So we have this instead. And who knows, we may yet chat about Agent K-13...

The three promo cards available for this set are : 

• P1 These cards are the grooviest! ("The Brady Bunch")
• P2 Snatch those cards from KAOS? Got it Chief! ("Get Smart") 
• P3 Fröliche Weinachten! ("Hogan`s Heroes")

Each of these shows were featured, along with "The Andy Griffith Show" and "The Beverly Hillbillies". And the base set was of ninety cards. 

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AU Bon Marche [trade : department store : Paris, France] "Les Vacances du Petit Parisien" / the holidays of a little Parisian (1911) Un/6

A bit of fun now, as today is #NationalReachAsHigh AsYouCanDay. That is not, as you may be thinking, nor, really, even, as our card portrays, for the reaching in this case is internal, and encourages of us not to stagnate, but to throw our hearts up high and go after our dreams. 

There are several reasons why we do not do this. Fear of failing, fear of change, fear of being thought a rebel, and yet change is inevitable, for better or worse. Even with the newsletter, for if you look at the early ones there has been much change, in style and length. 

The trick, so I am told, is to start small and build up. It`s not proving that easy, but I live in hope that some day I will get there. 

As far as role models, many cite people who gave up steady jobs to start their own business. Whilst others think immediately of sportsmen and women, especially paralympians. The truth is that we all have struggles and disappointments in our lives, every one of us. The difference is that some allow these things to cloud their judgement whilst others simply cut through country and rejoin the track later on. 

There is actually a proper name for someone who refuses to give up, and that is a dreamchaser. And that`s a very good name indeed, because the chasing is something that not only enhances the hunting, but it suggests obstacles will be there, you just have to keep going. And inevitably it is up to you, not to listen to people who tell you you are doomed to fail, but instead to keep on chasing, even if the outcome eludes you, now or forever. Because at least you tried. And that is all we can ask of ourselves, in this strange life we are given. 

Now I almost changed this day thinking it was rather a waffle, however then I was offered this card, and that made the decision for me. You see there is something that this card, and dreamers, have in common, and that is the need for friendly assistance.

See, this young lady, being hauled up the mountain, would never make to the top all on her own, she needs a bit of encouragement, and the occasional hand to tug her out of her standstill.

Likewise, if you have a good and supportive friend, who knows of your dreams, and is willing to forgive the fact that yours may be on the extraordinarily foolish side, they will still help, as much as they can. But the things they will not let you do are give up, fall, or fail. 

These cards are larger than normal, and they cover holidays, in as much as they show

• La Campagne - the countryside (riding a donkey)
• La Mer - the sea (boating)
• La Montagne - the mountains (alpine climbing)
• La Plage - the beach (paddling in the sea)
• La Riviere - the river (pestering a sleeping angler)
• Le Retour - coming home

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spc ARDMONA [trade : fruit and vegetables : O/S - Australia and New Zealand] "Collector Cards" - Series III" / "International Cricket" (1980) Un/50

I struggled a bit with this date, then discovered, with assistance, that John Garry Bracewell was born today, in 1958, in Auckland, New Zealand - which makes another Antipodean entry in this week`s newsletter.

We don`t seem to know much about his early life, only that he played cricket to a high standard at Tauranga Boys College, and made his Test debut in November 1980. 

His first card was this one, issued in 1980 by spc Ardmona, whose trade is fruit and vegetables, in a wallet with forty-nine other portraits of cricketers - as series III. That tells us that he had only been in first class cricket since 1977. 

Scanlens picked him up in 1985, and featured him right through to 1991. However there is not a lot of biographical text on these cards, not until the 1995 set by The Topp Promotions Company, which, despite popular belief, is nothing to do with the Topps we all know so well. In fact the cards were sold on the understanding that proceeds would help fund the New Zealand Cricket Academy. Our man is card 26, which reads "An extremely competitive all-rounder, John Bracewell is one of four brothers to have played first class cricket. He is the only New Zealand player apart from Richard Hadlee to achieve the test double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets - the milestone being reached in England in 1990 in his last test appearance. Bracewell scored 1001 runs at 20.42  in his 41 tests while his off-spinners brought him 102 wicket at 35.81. He is the only New Zealand slow bowler to have taken 100 wickets in test cricket."

He left cricket as a player in 1990, and then went into coaching, rising to become the coach of New Zealand from 2003 to 2008, and then Ireland, from 2015 to 2017. 

His brothers, who also played cricket to a very high standard, were Brendon, Douglas and Mark. And the line has continued with his two nephews, Doug and Michael.

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LIEBIG [trade : meat extract : O/S : South America] /exotic birds and flowers (1897) F.540 : S.540

So we had two possibles for this day. I liked the first, regarding Harriet Quimby, who, today in 1912, flew the English Channel, becoming the first female flier to do so. But sadly, though she appears on a stamp, the 1991 fifty cent American Airmail one, she never seems to have made it on to a cigarette or trade card. 

So instead we ended up with #NationalOrchidDay which takes place every year on this date, or at least has done so since 2015, and for a very sad reason, for the couple who began the day did so to remember their daughter, called Orchid, who died in 2014. 

Sets of cards on orchids are rare, but we do know of two, which each have more than one variety. First up is the home grown Carreras "Orchids", which was issued in 1925 as a set of standard sized cards and a set of large sized ones. Moving a little further afield we have a set issued in 1937 by Liebig in French/Belgian as "Orchidees", in Dutch/German as "Orchideen", and in Italian as "Orchidacee ou Orchidee". 

Our card comes from a set which includes a couple of orchids, along with tropical birds, rather than orchids, alone, as the main subject. It was available in French/Belgian, German, and Italian, and the cards are : 

• bird of paradise / clematis
        French - Oiseau de Paradis / Clemalites
        German - Paradiesvogel / Clematis
        Italian - Uccello del Paradiso / Clematiti
   
• cockatoo / African grey / Catleya Orchid
        French - Cacatoes ???  / Jaco ou Perroquet Cendre / Orchidees
        German - Jako Kakadu / Jaco oder Graupapagei / Catleys (Orchideen)
        Italian - Kakatoa Jnka / Jako o Papagallo grigio / Catleya Orchidee
   
• humming bird / waterlily
        French - Colibris / Nenuphar 
        German - Kolibris / Nimphale
        Italian - Colibri / Ninfee
   
• macaw / passion flower
        French - Perroquets Araras / Fleur de la Passion
        German - Araras / Passionsblume
        Italian - Araras /Fiore della Passione
   
• quetzal / toucan / Ontoglossum orchid
       French - Quasal / Tukan / Orchidees
       German - Quasal (Prachtsuruku) / Tukan {Pfefferpresser) / Orchideen
       Italian - Quasal (uruku magnifico) / Tukan (Mangia pepe) / Odontoglossum (Orchidee)
   
• tanager / bluebird / queen of the night / red cactus
       French - Tangara quadricolore / Guit-Guit bleu ou Sucrier / Cactees
       German - Goldnacken Tangare / Turkisvogel ober Sai / Konigin der Nacht / Rotherkaktus
       Italian - Collare d`Oro / Uccello turchino o Sai / Regina della notte / Cactus rosso

The only one I have not got here is the French cockatoo, because the second word is buried in the foliage.

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Willi STUNINGS [trade : motor parts : OS - Krefeld, Germany] "Das Kraftfahrzeug" / "The Motor Car" (1950) Serie F Gruppe 1 No. 425/1500? 

And so we end with the ultimate horse-power, the birth of the Ford Mustang, which makes it reason enough that today is #NationalFordMustangDay. You may be wondering why on earth we have a truck, but bear with me, there is very good reason. 

Actually the Ford Mustang wasn`t literally born today, this date marks the first time that it went on public show, at the New York World`s Fair of 1964. But it had already been tested, around the track at the US Grand Prix on October the 7th, 1962, as a demonstration/sideshow, a little extra something for the fans.

As for the name, that comes from the stylist, John Najjar, who was actually a machinist, who was once asked, by Henry Ford himself, if he liked working at the factory, and Mr. Najjar said he would rather be drawing them. Giving such a quirky answer led to him being approached, after the visit, and offered a job in design.

The odd thing is that he also drew aeroplanes, and his favourite was the Second World War fighter, the P-51 Mustang, so when he suggested naming the new car after the aeroplane, everyone loved it, thinking of the speed.

However, Mr. Najjar may also have been thinking of another similarity, for the aeroplane had a long nose and tiny cockpit, and this is very true of the Ford Mustang car, which, take it from me, you cannot have much fun inside.

That brings us to our truck, which has lots of room in the flat bed, and to the fact that the only place that did not use the name of Mustang was Germany. As to why, well that was because the name of Mustang was already owned, and in use, by Krupp, who are better known as a manufacturer of armaments. Krupp did try to strike a deal, and offered to sell Ford the name, but Ford balked at the cost.

And that means everyone in Germany knew a truck as a Mustang and a little sporty Ford number as a T-5.