Football Cigarette Cards
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In 1871 the American company of
Allen and Ginter began inserting pieces of card to protect the
cigarettes from being damaged. It was not long before tobacco companies
had the idea of printing advertisements on these cards, or "stiffeners"
as they were called in the trade. In about 1876 companies began
producing a series of cards that the smoker could collect. It was
believed that this would encourage the smoker to continue using that
particular brand.
The first British company to issue cigarette cards was W.D. & H.O.
Wills. The first card appeared in 1887 and were at first used to
advertise its products. Ogdens, a company based in Liverpool, introduced
the first series of cigarette cards in 1894. This series of photographic
cards became known as "Guinea Golds".
As Gordon Howsden points out in his book, Collecting Cigarette and Trade
Cards: "At a time when the average family could not afford books, and
with the technique of reproducing photographs in newspapers still some
years away, these cards could inform and amuse, and bring a little bit
of color into what were all too often very drab lives."
Arnold Bennett once remarked that "some boys will grow up with cigarette
cards as their sole education". Another writer, Clifford Hough, pointed
out that cigarette cards were dubbed "The Working Man's Encyclopedia"
because "they brought pictures of famous faces and fascinating places to
the attention" of the masses. Hough adds that on "the reverse side the
captions contained many interesting facts and pieces of information that
often sunk into a boy's mind to a greater extent than any dull textbook
from schooldays."
In 1896 the first set with a sporting theme appeared. This was a series
by W.D. & H.O. Wills of 50 cricketers.
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Cricketers, W.D. & H.O. Wills (1896) |
The tobacco companies discovered that these sporting cards were a great
way to obtain brand loyalty. In 1896 the first football set appeared.
Footballers & Club Colours was published by Marcus & Company, a small
firm in Manchester. These cards are extremely rare and individual cards
are valued at £170. This is true of all the early football sets that
were issued at this time: Footballers & Club Colours (Kinner, 1898);
Footballers (J. F. Bell, 1902); Footballers (F. J. Smith, 1902) and
Footballers (Percy E. Cadle, 1904). The cost of individual cards of
these sets vary from £40 to £160.
In 1902 W.D. & H.O. Wills published a set of 66 football cards. This
included George Clawley (Tottenham Hotspur), Matt Kingsley (Newcastle
United), George Hedley (Sheffield United), Jimmy Crabtree (Aston Villa),
Ernest Needham (Sheffield United) and Fred Spiksley (Sheffield
Wednesday). Interestingly, most of the players were photographed in
suits.
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| Matt Kingsley |
Fred Spiksley |
George Hedley |
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Footballers, W. D. & H. O. Wills (1902) |
In 1905 Singleton & Cole of Shrewsbury published a black and white
series of photographs called "Footballers". These now sell for £120 a
card but the series was reprinted in 2001 and can now be obtained for a
reasonable price from dealers. The series included Billy Meredith, John
Doig, William Balmer and Fred Blackburn.
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Footballers, Singleton & Cole (1905) |
In 1906 Ogdens produced an attractive set of Football Club Colours.
These cards showed the club's star player in his full kit. This was one
of the first sets of cards in full colour. The set featured Everton,
Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanders, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers,
Middlesbrough, Tottenham Hotspur, Sheffield United and Arsenal.
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Football Club Colours, Ogdens (1906) |
The following year, Cohen Weenen published a similar series entitled
Football Club Captains. This included captains in Division 1, Division 2
and the Southern League. These are valued at £13 each card. However, the
reprinted set (1998) can be purchased for around £10.
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| Sheffield United |
Birmingham City |
Bradford City |
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Football Club Captains, Cohen Weenen (1907) |
One of the most prolific producers of football cards was Taddy &
Company. In 1907 the company issued a set of 595 cards entitled
"Prominent Footballers". The oval shaped images were in black and white.
Further sets were followed in 1908 (403) and 1913 (406).
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In 1909 Churchman published "Football Club
Colors".
The following year saw the publication of "Footballers Portraits".
In 1914 it published a series that was very different from what had previously appeared.
These were coloured action pictures with individual portraits as insets. |
The tobacco companies discovered that these sporting cards were a great
way to obtain brand loyalty. In 1896 the first football set appeared.
Footballers & Club Colours was published by Marcus & Company, a small
firm in Manchester. These cards are extremely rare and individual cards
are valued at £170. This is true of all the early football sets that
were issued at this time: Footballers & Club Colours (Kinner, 1898);
Footballers (J. F. Bell, 1902); Footballers (F. J. Smith, 1902) and
Footballers (Percy E. Cadle, 1904). The cost of individual cards of
these sets vary from £40 to £160.
In 1902 W.D. & H.O. Wills published a set of 66 football cards. This
included George Clawley (Tottenham Hotspur), Matt Kingsley (Newcastle
United), George Hedley (Sheffield United), Jimmy Crabtree (Aston Villa),
Ernest Needham (Sheffield United) and Fred Spiksley (Sheffield
Wednesday). Interestingly, most of the players were photographed in
suits.
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Churchman, Footballers (1914) |
Pinnace, a company based at 112, Commercial St, produced cards for
Godfrey Phillips. In 1920 the company issued a series of 1,100 football
cards. This was followed by 2,462 in 1922 and 940 in 1923.
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Godfrey Phillips Pinnace (1920) |
The collecting of football cigarette cards was extremely popular in the
1920s. In 1925 Lacey's produced a series of 50 black and white
photographs. The series included Charlie Buchan, Jack Leslie, Harry
Bedford and Vic Watson.
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Footballers, Lacey (1925) |
After a period of black and white cards, Ogdens returned to using full
colour for their "Captains of Association Football Clubs and Colours"
set in 1926. The series includes paintings of Donald McKinlay
(Liverpool), Henry Healless (Blackburn Rovers), Charlie Parker
(Sunderland), Frank Barson (Manchester United), William Caddick
(Wolves), Frank Moss (Aston Villa), Fred Reed (West Bromwich Albion),
Clem Stephenson (Huddersfield Town), Thomas Hamilton (Preston North End)
and George Kay (West Ham United). They are currently valued at £3.00 a
card and £130 a set.
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Captains of Association Football Clubs and Colours, Ogdens (1926) |
They were followed by Gallaher who produced a set of 50 Famous
Footballers later this year. These cards were produced in large numbers
and individual cards can be obtained from dealers for around £2.20.
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"Rip" (R. P. Hill), John Player and Sons (August, 1926) |
A series of caricatures by "Rip" (R. P. Hill) were published by John
Player and Sons in August, 1926. Another series, this time illustrated
by "Mac" (Douglas Machin) appeared in September, 1927 and featured
players like Jimmy Ruffell and Dixie Dean. Sets of these can be obtained
from dealers for around £65.
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"Mac" (Douglas Machin), John Player and Sons (September, 1927) |
In October 1928 John Player and Sons produced a series of 50 illustrated
action cards. This was followed by another 25 in February, 1929. The
first series included David Jack, Sam Cowan, Tom McDonald and Stanley
Earle.The cards were only available for a limited period and so
collectors would often find themselves with only a part set. They
therefore needed a source from which to obtain the missing numbers. In
1927 the London Cigarette Card Company was formed to acquire, store and
sell individual cards or complete sets.
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John Player and Sons Cigarette Cards (October, 1928) |
In 1928 Gallaher published Footballers in Action. These were painted
scenes from football matches. These cards are in short supply and sets
cost in the region of £130.
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Footballers in Action, Gallaher (1928) |
In September, 1934, John Player and Sons produced a series entitled
Hints on Association Football. It included advice on defensive and
attacking throw-ins, back passes, free kicks, triangular wing movement,
bringing the ball down, heading, passing, corner-kicks, trapping the
ball, etc.
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Hints on Association Football (1934) |
In the 1930s several companies produced painted portraits of football
players. In 1931 Lambert & Butler, produced a series of painted
portraits that included West Ham's star centre-forward, Vic Watson. This
was followed by Carreras in 1934 who produced a series entitled "Famous
Footballers". The set included Thomas Hetherington, Jack Bruton, Dixie
Dean, Robert Kelly, Ted Critchley, Ernie Hine, Jock McDougall and Jim
Barrett. Original sets can be obtained for about £70 but a reprinted set
in 1997 can be purchased for about £13.50.
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Famous Footballers, Carreras (1934) |
Major companies had their own studios devoted entirely to the production
of cigarette cards in the 1930s. The trade was given a further boast by
the decision of the London Cigarette Card Company in 1933 to establish a
magazine for collectors, Cigarette Card News. A series of caricatures by
"Mac" (Douglas Machin) were published by Ogdens in 1935. A set of these
cards are currently valued by the Cigarette Card Catalogue (2007) at
£130. The series included Dai Richards, Alex Stevenson, Dai Richards,
Charlie Phillips, David Martin, Albert Geldard, Henry Hibbs, Bob Gurney,
George Male, Ray Westwood, Jackie Bray, Eric Brook, Cliff Britton, Wilf
Copping, and Eddie Hapgood.
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| Dai Richards |
Alex Stevenson |
Eddie Hapgood |
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"Mac" (Douglas Machin), Ogdens (1935) |
Football cards continued to be popular and it was not uncommon for
print-runs in the millions. To encourage the collecting of a particular
series, the tobacco companies produced special albums that could be
purchased from local tobacconists. The most impressive cards produced
during the 1930s included painted portraits of football stars. These
looked so realistic that they appeared to be painted photographs. The
first company to use this technique was Ardath. Its 1934 series was
entitled Famous Footballers and included portraits of Raich Carter,
Jimmy McGrory, Ray Westwood, Hughie Gallacher, Jimmy Hampson, Robert
Kelly, Eric Brook, Sammy Crooks, Stanley Matthews, Cliff Bastin, Eddie
Hapgood, Sam Cowan, Billy Barraclough, James Allen, Jack Bruton, Alex
James, Gordon Hodgson and Reg Hollingsworth.
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| Reg Hollingsworth |
Sam Cowan |
Gordon Hodgson |
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Famous Footballers, Ardath (1934) |
Carreras also published a set of 48 cards entitled Popular Footballers
in 1936. These painted portraits included Jimmy Hampson, William McKay,
Bryn Jones, Billy Wrigglesworth, Ted Hancock, Percy Grosvenor, John
Thompson and Arnold Whiteside. The scale of collecting cards is shown by
the fact that in 1936 W.D. & H.O. Wills printed 600 million cards for
their series on Railway Engines.
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| Ted Hancock |
Arnold Whiteside |
Percy Grosvenor |
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Popular Footballers, Carreras (1936) |
W.D. & H.O. Wills produced a series of these cards called Association
Footballers in 1935 that contained impressive portraits of Eric Brook,
Stanley Matthews, Raich Carter, Reg Hollingsworth, Eddie Hapgood, Ted
Drake, Jimmy Connor, Bob Pryde, Willie Hall, Ray Westwood, Jimmy Hampson,
John Morton and George Mutch. Thousands of these sets were collected and
as a result they can be obtained from dealers for around £60. However,
they can be purchased via Ebay for about half this price.
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Association Footballers, W.D. & H. O. Wills (1935) |
In 1935 Ogdens produced a new series of Club Captains. This included
portraits of Daniel Blair, Jack Bruton, Sam Cowan, Dai Richards, Dixie
Dean, Tom Cooper and William Tremelling. A set of these cards are
currently valued by the Cigarette Card Catalogue (2007) at £110.
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| Sam Cowan |
Tom Cooper |
Dai Richards |
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Club Captain, Ogdens (1935) |
Godfrey Phillips was also active in this market and produced some very
attractive sets in the 1930s. Soccer Stars in 1936 included Ted Drake,
Charlie Phillips, Alf Young, Bob Gurney, Jimmy Connor, Hughie Gallacher,
Cliff Bastin, Ray Westwood, Raich Carter, Sammy Crooks, George Camsell,
James Marshall, Dixie Dean and Wally Boyes. Famous Footballers also
appeared in 1936 and the following year saw the publication of
International Caps.
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Soccer Stars, Godfrey Phillips (1936) |
In 1938 Churchman moved away from colour portraits by producing a set of
action shots in black and white. The first series featured Stan Cullis,
Peter Doherty, Ted Drake, Harry Goslin, Stanley Matthews, Frank
O'Donnell, George Mutch, Tommy Lawton, Vic Woodley, George Roughton, Bob
Iverson, Len Goulden and John Morton.
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Churchman Association Footballers (1938) |
Churchman produced a second series in 1939. This series included Stan
Foxall, Willie Fagan, Beaumont Asquith, Stanley Matthews, Frank Broome,
Vic Woodley, Tommy Lawton, Stan Cullis and Raich Carter. The first
series can be obtained for only £35. However, the second series was not
produced in such large numbers and you will probably have to pay twice
as much for that set.
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Churchman Association Footballers (1939) |
In 1939 W.D. & H.O. Wills produced another series of Association
Footballers. The set included impressive portraits of Peter Doherty,
Bert Sproston, Ray Westwood, Bob Pryde, James Allen, Andrew Beattie,
Edwin Bowden, Bryn Jones, George Vose, Tom Galley, Tommy Lawton, Raich
Carter, Fred Worrall, Ephraim Dodds, Frank Broome, Len Goulden and Stan
Cullis.
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Association Footballers, W.D. & H. O. Wills (1939) |
The outbreak of the Second World War caused a severe shortage of paper
and tobacco companies were forced to bring an end to the production of
cigarette cards. This shortage remained after the war and it was too
expensive to provide free cards in packets of cigarettes. In 1947
Carreras printed pictures of on the sliding part of the cigarette carton
for collectors to cut out. The following year they issued a set of 50
footballers. These cards are currently valued at £4 each.
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