Pre WW1 Army Life: Manned Kite, Hot Air Balloon, Wireless Telegraphy (Early Radio) on Cigarette Cards

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This is one of the few military card sets issued just before WW1. It includes an unusual manned kite, designed by the aviator Mr. SF Cody, and shows a hot air balloon being used for observation. One card features an early Holt Caterpillar steam tractor, which inspired the designs of the first ever standard issue military tanks of WW1. Wireless telegraphy (radio communication) was quite new when this set was issued and one card features a field telegraph office, which looks like a small tent. Several cards show that horses were still widely used, although a motor car makes an appearance on card no. 23.

Army Life, John Player and Sons, 1910, 25 cards

Includes:Bringing in Wounded Man,Field Waggons,War Kite Drill (manned kit or man-lifting kite),Laying a Field Telegraph Line,Firing from a Gun Pit,Pitching Tents,Watering Horses,Filtering Water,Field Telegraph Officer (Radio Communication),Jumping with Led Horses,Bayonet Fighting,Lamp Signalling,Map Reading Class, Picking Up Wounded,Cyclist Scout Section,Unpacking Waggons,Mechanical Transport Section (Caterpillar Steam Tractor (Designed by Benjamin Holt)- Inpspiration for WW1 Tanks),Lance versus Sword,Making Gas for War Baloons,Filling War Baloons,Searchlight Section,Baloon Drill,Starting the Engine,Presentation of Long Service Medals,Flag Signalling

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WW1 Weapons Maxim Machine Gun Howitzer Aviation Armoured Vehicle Cigarette Cards

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WW1 was arguably the most significant war in the history of mankind. As well as wiping 9 million combatants off the face of the earth, it also laid the foundations for future wars. Financial crises and discontentment among Russian and German citizens would trigger the Russian revolution and the rise of the Nazi party in Germany. These would culminate in both the Cold War and WW2.

This set of cards features many powerful weapons used by the British forces in WW1. The British were a bit slow in utilising the machine gun at the beginning of the war but this soon changed when large numbers of their soldiers were slain by this killing machine. In fact the British became so enthusiastic that they created a special Machine Gun Corps in the same year that this set was issued. This could explain why the Maxim machine gun is featured on several cards. The howitzer artillery piece, which appears on several cards, was designed to fire shells at high trajectories over obstacles. A couple of cards show recent WW1 technological developments, including the aeroplane and an armoured car. One card shows that horses were still being used for transporting heavy artillery.

Modern Weapons (WW1), Ogden's, 1915, 50 cards

Includes:12 Pounder Gun on A Destroyer,92 in Gun In Barbette,Torpedo Leaving Ship's Side,47 in Gun Charge And Projectile / Missile,Maxim Gun Drill,Monster Guns of the Royal Garrison Artillery,Torpedo Just Left The Tube,Torpedo Entering The Water,5 in Howitzer Brigade, Infantry Machine Guns,Maxim Gun Drill RN,The New Aerial Missiles,The Forward Four 13.5 in Guns on HMS Monarch,6 in Howitzer Garrison Artillery,12 in Guns In Turrets - H.M.S. Neptune,The Fore Barbette Of HMS Victorious,A Naval 12 Pounder Gun,Inserting The Torpedo In Its Tube,12in Guns HMS Dreadnought,German Mortar Siege Gun,Comparative Sizes of Guns and Projectiles,6 in Gun - Royal Garrison Artillery,British Armoured Motor Car,Laying A Mine,Dropping Bombs From Aeroplane,18 pounder Gun Entrenched RFA, Shells ETC Used In The British Navy,5 in Heavy Field Gun,Maxim Machine Gun In Action,5 in Howitzer Brigade,A Pair of Neptune Fangs,Inside 12in Barbette Loading By Hydraulic Ram,Guns Out HMS Dreadnought,12 in Guns HMS Bellerophon,German Artillery - Observation Ladders and Shields,Latest German Howitzer,A Contact Mine,A Naval Field Gun,German Heavy Gun Used As A Field Weapon,Howitzer Gun Supported On Steel Arms,12.5 in Projectiles On The Deck of A Dreadnough,Torpedo Boats - Showing Deck Tubes,Dreadnought Cleared For Action,The Fore Barbette Of HMS Victorious,Maxim Automatic Machine Gun Under Cover,Whitehead Torpedoes,Maxim Fully Automatic Machine Gun Instruction RN,German Range Finder In Use,13.5 in Guns HMS Royal Sovereign

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1900′s Beauties Edwardian Era Glamour Fashion, Hats and Hairstyles on Cigarette Cards

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Who said card collecting can’t be sexy hey?! Beautiful women appeared on some of the first ever cigarette cards. They were extremely popular with customers, most of whom were men during late 19th century. Those pioneering cards would have been quite shocking for their time. I bet the sanctimonious church-going puritans would have disapproved of the immoral illustrations on these cards . Of course, they are very tame by present day standards but this just shows how times have changed..

Here’s a set of Beauties (Leaf backs with playing card inset fronts), issued by the British American Tobacco Company in 1908. Wow! That’s over a century ago. These Edwardian era cards certainly are beautiful. They have immortalised a vast array of attractive actresses, dancers and music hall artists dressed in colourful and mesmerizing vintage clothing. Unfortunately these bygone personalities are not named, which was quite often the case on these early cards. Who needs Dr Who’s Tardis when we can gaze through these card windows to a world that is almost unrecognizable today. Society’s innocence and simplicity, mirrored on these cards, would vanish in the apocalyptic thunder of WW1 artillery, gas and machine gun fire. The 20th century juggernaut would promise a supposedly utopian modern world.

Is it any wonder that fashion designers and pop stars of today - Katy Perry, Amy Winehouse and Paloma faith to name a few - are turning back the hands of time to recreate the styles of this magical period. Why mimic the diluted interpretations of today’s trend setters when you can draw your own inspiration straight from that breathtaking period with these iconic cards.

These cards have stood the test of time, lasting over a hundred years. How much of today’s throw-away, consumerist society will last as long. Today’s consumables are designed to deteriorate as soon as we buy them to force us into buying infinitely more from a finite planet. We will soon find out how sustainable this way of life really is. I think that collecting antiques is very commendable, since we learn from history and recycle it and preserve it for future generations.

Beauties, Playing Card Inset (Leaf Back), British American Tobacco Company, 52 cards

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1950's and 1940's Pin Up Girls Vintage Erotica Risque Phillip Allman Cigarette Cards

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I’ve decided to take a slight detour from reviewing early 20th century military card sets, but even these pin-up girl cards have links with warfare. Artists decorated American fighter planes with seductive pin-up girls. Perhaps these Sirens distracted the WW2 Luftwaffe as the US gunners took aim.

Pin-up girl art was popular with both servicemen and civilians before colour photography really took hold. A number of artists made names for themselves specialising in this art form: Alberto Vargas, Gil Elvgren and George Petty. With Fashion designers and pop icons, such as Katy Perry and Amy Winehouse, increasingly being influenced by vintage styles, there is currently a resurgence in interest in Pin-up girl art.

This particular pin-up girl cigarette card set was issued by Allman in 1953, more than half a century ago. It is one of the few series of cigarette cards issued after WW2. Cigarette cards became one of the many casualties of the war as British paper rationing took effect. Most of the British tobacco companies came to a gentleman’s agreement not to restart card production after the war. This is despite the fact that these humble cards had helped put them in the powerful, monopolistic positions that they now enjoyed.

Allman bucked the trend by resurrecting cigarette card issues briefly in the early 1950s and looked to the origins of cards for inspiration in choosing a subject for their first set. A high proportion of the early cigarette cards featured pretty girls, indicating that even as early as the 19th century card issuers knew the selling power of sex.

As with the early cigarette cards Allman tragically failed to mention the name of the artist whose illustrations adorn these beautiful cards. I’m a card collector and I’m not an expert on pin-up girl art but I’m sure some of you will know who the artist is. Please leave a comment below. Also, was your great grandma a glamour model? Maybe she is featured on one of these cards. Please feel free to comment if you are related to any of these beauties.

Phillip Allman, Pin-Up Girls (1940s and 1950s), 1953 (12 cards)

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Roaring Twenties: 1920's Glamour and Bathing Costumes Vintage Erotica Risque Photos Cigarette Cards

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Whilst men went off to fight in WW1, women were involved in a more subtle war closer to home. Women filled many of the new job vacancies left by male war recruits. This role changing achieved more than any amount of suffragette campaigning in re-shaping the public attitude towards the female gender. Surely it wasn’t just a coincidence that women from many countries won the right to vote soon after the WW1 ended.

Women’s rebelliousness and new found freedoms dramatically influenced female fashion in the 1920s, taking on a more androgynous look. Their hair became shorter and their clothing much more daring than before WW1.

Luckily, women didn’t desert their femininity completely, as these lovely late 1920’s cigarette

Real Photos (Glamour) (Space on back), RJ Hill, 1930, 42 cards

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WW1 Armoured Cars, WWI Tank Forerunner, Holt Caterpillar Tractor Cigarette Cards

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“Everything that can be invented has been invented”. Those were the famous words allegedly spoken by a commissioner at the US Patent Office, 1899. They couldn’t have been more wrong. The first half of the 20th century spawned more profound inventions than at any other time in the history of mankind. I have the privilege of owning a set of WW1 Military Motor cigarette cards that give us a glimpse of that turbulent time. A time where television hadn’t been invented and radio broadcasting wasn’t mainstream, and colourless newspapers were mainly read by the wealthy, educated elite.

WW1 was one of the most horrific and deadly wars in living history, killing 9 million combatants in less than a decade. What I find amazing about human beings is how, in the face of death, they can transform a bad situation into an opportunity for creating something good. Many wars have provided a springboard for developing new technologies. The internet was conceived during the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union. As we type away at our computers, perhaps we should consider the millions of dead victims without whom we wouldn’t have this technology at our finger tips.

Cigarette cards provide a window to the past and this military motor set is no exception. Military tanks were first used at the battle of Somme in August 1916, just a month before this set of cards was passed by censor. The allies probably wanted the tank to remain a secret at this early stage and that might be why it isn’t featured in this card set. However, the first tank designs were inspired by the armoured military motors shown in this set, such as the caterpillar tractor.

Trench warfare was very dirty, in more ways than one, and one card shows mobile baths for cleaning soldiers and their clothes. WW1 motor mechanics were very resourceful and one card shows that London buses were converted into troop carriers. Another card reveals an ambulance converted from an old French taxi and an ordinary motor car transformed into a railway engine.

Weary soldiers at the front line needed refreshment and one card features a mobile restaurant and another one a Red Cross soup kitchen for the wounded.

A number of different ambulances for wounded soldiers are featured in this set but, unusually, it also reveals a horse ambulance. Horses were still commonly used in WW1 and many were badly injured. An x-ray ambulance is shown towards the end of the card set. One card reveals the importance of studying human diseases in WW1 in the form of a mobile laboratory.

Old and new communication technologies worked side-by-side, as demonstrated by a card featuring a messenger pigeon cote and another card showing a motor vehicle for transporting wireless telegraphy (radio communication) equipment.

Aircraft, like military tanks, were first used for military purposes in World War One. These early military aeroplanes were not totally reliable and one card features a motor car that was used to transport an aviation mechanic and spare parts. Another card shows a motor lorry designed especially for carrying deflated air balloons. Manned balloons were still used for observation purposes in WW1.

Wills, Military Motors, 1916 (50 cards)

Includes:WW1 anti aircraft gun motor,World War One armoured car with grapnel,WWI armoured tricycle,World War 1 caterpillar tractor (Holt Tractor),motor baths,motor buses,motor cycle,motor cycle maxim,motor fortress,motor horse ambulance,motor disease and epedemic laboratory,motor raft,motor restaurant,motor searchlight,motor soup kitchen,officer's side car,wireless motor,motor lorry,motor searchlight,motor ambulance,Motor Ambulance Disguised,Motor Auto Gun,Motor Baloon Lorry,Motor Bus,Motor Cycle Ambulance,motor operating theatre,motor pigeon cote,motor railway engine,motor searchlight,motor tractor,motor wire cutter,king victor's car,motor transports,wireless motor,armoured cars,motor postal car,motor repairing shop,x-ray ambulance,armoured cars,motor ambulance

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Famous Footballers In the 1920s ( Hughie Gallacher ) On Cigarette cards by Gallaher

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Association football (soccer) started in the back yards of Victorian British public schools, but went on to become a global phenomenon for poor and rich alike. This happened in less than 100 years.

The most complete pictorial record of the early 20th century football pioneers can be found on cigarette cards and trading cards. These cards were issued at a time when television and radio were non-existent and colourless newspapers were read by the educated few. Gallaher was one of the firms that produced a number of footballer sets, including “Famous Footballers”, 1926. Although famous in their day, Hughie Gallacher is one of the few from this set to go on to become a timeless legend.

Gallaher, Famous Footballers (Brown Back, 50 cards), 1926

Includes:Josepth Smith of Bolton Wanderers,William Clunas of Sunderland,Harry Healless,Harry Storer Derby County,Fred W Kean of Sheffield Wednesday,John Duncan of Leicester City,Chas M Buchan of Arsenal,Donald McKinlay of Liverpool,John H Hill of Burnley,Hunter, Hart of Everton,Fred WM Reed of West Bromwich Albion,WMH Walker of Aston Villa,William Gillespie of Sheffield United,Francis Womack of Birmingham,Clement Stephenson of Huddersfield Town,William Stage of Bury,Fred C Keenor of Cardiff City,Sydney M Bishop, of Leicester City,Hugh Gallacher of Newcastle United,John E Elkes of Tottenham Hotspurs,Robert S Wallace of Nottingham Forest Notts Forest,John Priestley of Chelsea,James McMullan of Manchester City Leonard F Oliver of Fulham,William Birrell of, Middlesbrough,George C Harkus of Southampton,William Ashurst,John Maddock of Port Vale,Michael Gilhooley of Bradford City,Lawrence H Baker of Barnsley,Thomas Greaves of Darlington,William R Wainscoat of Leeds United,Arthur Wood of Clapton Orient,, John J Hardy of Grimsby Town,Joseph Sykes of Swansea Town,Sydney Binks of Blackpool,Robert M Eggo of Reading,Henry Wilson of South Sheilds,Frank Barson of Manchester United,James Martin of Portsmouth,Samuel Wynne of Oldham Athletic,Matthew Bell of Hull

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