One of the earliest card series issued by Players was their 25 Actors & Actresses (lot 23, £300) dating from 1898 and including some of the greatest names in British theatre, the likes of Sarah Bernhardt, Ellen Terry and Henry Irving, pictured in colour with descriptive backs. Staged entertainment takes many forms, and audiences would have been amused by a performer who based his act on Fry’s 50 Tricks and Puzzles (lot 290, £175), the blue back set issued in 1918. The backs explain how it’s done, and proclaim that Fry’s were the recipients of 300 Grands Prix Gold Medals . Alas, their Somerdale factory near Bristol is no more. Bristol was also home to Edwards, Ringer & Bigg whose 1908 set of Dogs (lot 14, £105) with descriptive backs advertising their Klondyke brand disclose some interesting revelations about Edwardian attitudes to hunting. Another member of the Imperial Group, Lambert & Butler, were responsible for the fine set of 50 Birds & Eggs to be found at lot 201 (£125), whilst My Weekly (“The Girls’ Favourite Paper” price 1 penny) gave us the charming Floral Beauties, colour pictures of girls with flowers enhanced by delightful rhymes on the backs (lot 284, £85). More beauties, these without flowers, occupy Godfrey Phillips set of 30 British Beauties oval cards at lot 22 (£90).

Lot 290

Lot 23

A couple of scarce sets from the mid-1920s, from very different issuers, coincidentally feature virtually the same subject. They are Hignett’s 25 Common Objects of The Sea Shore (lot 20, £48) and Cerebos 100 Sea Shells (the rarer grey-back) at lot 112 (£340). From the same period come one of the hobby’s most amusing sets Mitchell’s excellent series of 50 Humorous Drawings (lot 213, £110), one of which features railway travel, the subject of Churchman’s L12 Landmarks In Railway Progress (lot 6, £55). Developments in other forms of transport were quite dramatic in the inter-war years, as we see in two Lambert & Butler sets, Motor Cars 1st Series (lot 94, £65) and the 1936 series of 50 Empire Air Routes at lot 2 (£100). And sport, of course, was a perennial favourite amongst both issuers and collectors, examples in this auction including Churchman’s 50 Lawn Tennis with a host of great Wimbledon champions in action – Rene Lacoste (1925), J. Borotra (1923), Helen Wills (1927) etc. – at lot 102 (£150), Ogden’s 50 Derby Entrants 1929 (lot 299, £105) and Ogden’s 50 Prominent Cricketers of 1938 (lot 379, £110) among whom, needless to say, are Don Bradman and Len Hutton. Finally a couple of large-format sets are worthy of note – Player’s Picturesque London (lot 1919, £90) and Wills’ Old Inns 1st Series (107, £120).

Lot 102

In Canada just a couple of years after the end of the 2nd World War Benson & Hedges issued in 1947 their M48 Ancient & Modern Fire Fighting Equipment (lot 130, £300), a scarce set indeed these days. For some of the greatest names in British sport in the 1950s, look no further than two sets issued by Mitcham Foods – 25 Motor Racing (Mike Hawthorn, Jack Brabham and Stirling Moss) at lot 19 (£50) and 25 Footballers (Nat Lofthouse, Tommy Taylor, Jackie Milburn, Danny Blanchflower etc) at lot 21 (£55). Staying in the 1950s we have 167 cards of Motor Cars Past & Present 3rd Series, a package issue by the United Tobacco Agencies of Holland (lot 271, £150), whilst from the 1960s come Primrose Popeye 2nd Series (lot 368, £275) and several A & BC sets including High Chaparral TV Series (200, £80), Footballers 1969 3rd Series (119, £100) and A & BC Beatles 2nd Series black and white (373, £225). Coming nearer to date, at lot 12, is Bassett’s 1994 set of 48 Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures £100) and Santa Fe Tobacco USA A Tribute To The Endangered Set 2 (2001) at lot 123 (£45). And, as usual, there is an entire section of Brooke Bond items (lots 216 to 249) with scarce sets such as the Canadian issue of Dinosaurs, albums, order forms, U.S.A and other rare individual cards, order forms, advert cards, inserts etc.

Lot 373

Well over a hundred lots are in this category, beginning with nos. 44 to 77 among which are Taddy’s, rare cricket, golf and football cards, three Actresses ANGOOD and several 19th century American cards. The next batch (lots 134 to 166) includes a Smith’s Advertisement Card, Pascall Boy Scout, Wills’ 1896 Cricketer, Barratt’s Pinocchio, 1950s U.S. Baseball, a postcard size Kensitas Flower, Tom Finney and Stanley Matthews. Amongst the cards at lots 250 to 268 are Imperial Tobacco’s Edward VII Coronation Folder, A & BC Elvis Presley, U.S. Presidents, the Lonsdale Belt, Outer Limits and Kitchener Silk. The final group (lots 313 to 341) includes a Robinson & Barnsdale Advertisement Card, Smith Cricketer, Celtic 1909, 1950s Ice Hockey and Clevedon’s Dan Dare.

Lot 119

Among a big selection of unusual items is a Robertson’s Sporting Golly Broach (84), cigarette packets (85 to 90), Bassett’s World Stars packets (171), wrappers (172/4), Playboy Centrefolds (133), Shell Flight Coins (168), collectors’ magazines from the 1940s and 1960s (175/6), a ‘London’ album for 800 medium cards (177), continental weight cards (216), Vortex and Hotshots Premium Cards for Arsenal (211/12) and Manchester United (310/11), tobacco inserts and coupons (328 to 331), groups of errors/varieties (342 to 348), Player’s and Wills’ empty special albums (340 to 363), autograph cards from ‘Dr. Who’ and ‘The Avengers’ (405 to 407) plus rare promo and premium cards (408 to 412). At lots 426 to 428 are A4 Posters for Battlestar Galactica and James Bond 007 Dangerous Liaisons and lot 432 is an actual 45rpm record issued by Marlboro Tobacco UK which actually has four tracks you can play titled Sounds From The Marlboro Country. How’s that for choice!

Lot 408