The most valuable lot comes early in the sale, at lot 18. It is 48 out of 52 Wills' Actresses grey scroll back without playing card inset dating from 1897 with superb colour lithographs of leading female stage artistes such as Constance Collier and Marie Lloyd (estimate £700). An even earlier issue is at lot 78, Liebig's set of The Chimneysweeps and the Pastry Cook (F99) issued in 1878 (estimate £125). At lot 201 is Hignett's set of 50 Interesting Buildings (the White House, Kremlin, Pisa etc) £270, whilst Ogden's 50 Orders of Chivalry comprises awards, mostly initiated in the reign of Queen Victoria, for meritorious civil or military conduct (lot 366, £160). A classic Lambert & Butler set, 50 Birds and Eggs, features at lot 290 (£180), and, perhaps surprisingly, birds also turn up in Morris's 25 Marvels of the Universe (lot 289, £90), which despite its title contains only two planetary subjects. We have to look to Cadbury's to take us beyond the Solar System with their constellation Series at lot 108 (£80). That series dates from 1912. Just three years later, man was lighting up the sky with star shells turning night into day in the killing fields of France, as we see in Gallaher's 100 The Great War 1st Series (lot 112 £240) showing equipment, bombs, mines, trenches and medals.

Lot 18

Lot 112

One of the few military series to appear in the 1920s is Player's overseas issue 50 Arms and Armour (lot 282, £150), but this is a re-run of the firm's 1909 UK issue. Other than that, manufacturers distanced themselves from war with a variety of subjects, hence Moustafa's 40 Leo Chambers Dogs Heads (lot 94, £120), U.T.C. 50 Cinema Stars ‘Flag' Cigarettes with Chaplin, Coogan, Fairbanks and Pickford (lot 400, £105), Churchman's 25 Railway Working 2nd Series (lot 402, £62), Gallaher's 1926 set of 50 Famous Footballers brown back (lot 301, £100) with some fascinating facts like Charles Buchan's record £2,000 transfer from Sunderland to Arsenal (plus £100 for each of the 19 goals he scored in his first season for the Gunners). Moving on to the 1930s, we have several scarce film star sets such as Carreras (Australia) 72 Personality Series Film Stars with Gracie Fields, Spencer Tracy and Edward G Robinson (lot 19, £90), Jackson's L28 Film Series (395, £125) and Bridgewater's K96 Film Stars 2nd Series (368, £100). Finally from this period a couple more sets – Ogden's 50 Racing Pigeons (lot 14, £175) and Wix's Henry 2nd Series, the extra-large version of 25 cards at 315 (£75).

Lots 19 & 282

Lot 301

The earliest post-war set in this auction is Carreras 50 cut Turf Slides of Famous Cricketers (Close, Perkes, Wardle, Washbrook etc) dating from 1950 (lot 203, £130). From 1951 we have Whitbread's 1st Series of 50 Inn Signs (lot 111, £135), from 1954 Sweetule's 18 Aircraft package issue (lot 200, £110) and from 1955 Blue Band's History of London's Transport 2nd Series (118, £60). Lyons Maid Views of London (lot 9, £36) dating from 1967 includes some subjects which don't appear in other sets (Royal Festival Hall, Senate House etc), whilst A & BC's L44 Batman numbered 1B to 44B dating from 1966 is particularly rare these days (lot 392, £180). Trevor Brooking, Ray Wilson, Alex Stepney, Ray Cemence, Johnny Giles and Bobby Tambling, plus 78 more, that's the line-up in A & BC's Footballers 1972 1st Series at lot 34 (£100), but for more recent rare football cards take a look at those by Trade Cards Europe at lot 205 (Chelsea LT3 Masters of The Game 1999, £24), lot 270 (the Arsenal 1999 set with its leather-bound album, £45) and lot 406 (LT3 Arsenal Masters of The Game 1998 silver edge, of which only 400 sets were issued, £30). As always, Brooke Bond collectors have their own section at lots 216 to 245 with scarce sets such as the Rhodesia issue African Birds (£225), albums, order forms, advert cards, Richard Nixon in Place The Face Bingo, 30 Years Tak Tik, rare overseas individual cards and so on.

Lots 392 & 111

Lot 406

The first block of single cards (lots 44 to 77) includes a Barratt 1934 Aston Villa Football Team Folder, an 1895 card of Mrs. George Washington, U.S. 1950s Baseball, Redford Naval and Military and a Wills' Actress Collotype (lot 44, £50). Next, at lots 137 to 168, you will find Pattreiouex Football Team Nottingham Forest plus FB and FC Football Photo Cards, a Phillips large Cricketer, Sinclair silk The Allies, etc. The third group (lots 246 to 265 contains a Hill's 1912 Famous Cricketer, two Ogden's Beauty Series unnumbered, Smith's Battlefields, Orbit USA 1933 Baseball and a Faulkner's Nautical Term. Among lots 329 to 356 is a Smith's 1910 Footballer, two Taddy's, Archer Prince of Wales, Barratt's Prominent London Buildings (lot 335), Faulkner British Royal Family, Joe Louis, A & BC Star Trek and an extra-large Kensitas Flower.

Lot 56

Rounding off the auction is a big selection of items associated with the hobby. At lots 83 to 88 are pre-war cigarette packets and lots 171 to 174 are sweet cigarette packets and waxed wrappers. Inserts and coupons are at lots 153 to 156 with matchbox labels at 296. There's a 12-page booklet ‘The World of Cigarette Cards' (lot 320) and magazines from the 1950s (321), 1970s (322) and 1980s (436). A ‘London' album to house 1,000 cards is a lot 328 and empty special albums for Sanitarium and Panini sets at lots 428 to 432 and 437/8. A & BC's Batman Secret Decoder (354) is followed by eight pairs of unusual error/variety cards, whilst lots 424 to 427 are posters for Inkworks and Rittenhouse issues. Finally at lots 407 to 415 are Autograph cards from Dr. Who, CSI, Family Guy and The Saint (lot 411), plus scarce promo cards. How's that for choice!

Lot 407