Looking for info on UK issues

Penno

I have been collecting cards in the UK for sometime now and thought I might be able to pass on the knowledge I have acquired over the years to those out there that may have strayed in to collecting our Tobacco and Trade cards be it sport or non sport, vintage or modern. I do have some spare cards which I would part with although graded cards are not my thing...so far anyways..but that could change going forward.
The next big event in the UK is the National Cigarette Card Convention which is 26th/27th April. It is a great couple of days out, but not on the same level as the US National - I went to the 95 National in St Louis,first and only time so far. Anyway let me have your questions and I will do my best to answer them. I intend to scan some of my collection in due course so hopefully someone will find them of interest.

Nascar360

Welcome!!

You have any info around the 1987 Topps AmericanUK Football release?

Penno

miklia

Welcome to the Boards, and thanks for such an interesting first post! I had no idea that this existed, but I'll actually be in the UK at the time. Will you be setting up there?

I'm sure many of us would love to see your collection. Boxing and wrestling cigarette cards from the UK in particular are getting some good attention at the moment.

Penno

Yes, I have some info on that. There were 2 issues, one which was a boxed set (yellow) of I believe 33 cards and also what you would class as a mini set. They were manufactured in Ireland by Topps and distrubuted by shops and news agents in 1987. The boxed sets I believe were issued by the Topps sales reps but I am not 100% sure on that. From memory I have some boxes of the 33 and maybe some sets of the smaller cards. Hope that helps a little.

Penno

I will be at the Convention but I will not have a booth (as you call it). It is a 2 day show and this year it is in a town called Woking - just outside London towards Heathrow Airport. I have some wrestling cards vintage and modern. I reckon I have some Parkhurst odds from memory dont they have the number in a red box on the front ? I also have a set of Somportex wrestling cards issued in the UK in the 1950's. Anyone special you are after old or new ?

MrKnowthanx

Awesome!!!!!!!! I am a very big fan of hearing new finds and stories of/from England and the Europe. Looking forward to picking your brain and seeing your side of the collecting world.

GeneralJim

Welcome to the Boards Penno , What Uk issues do you know of for Jesse Owens or Roger Bannister . I`m always looking for oddball Foreign issued cards i may not have . best regards . Jim

miklia

Great! Will definitely try to make it. I'd be looking for boxing in particular, from the early 20th century mostly.

Penno

Hi Jim

Just from memory Jesse Owens is in the following: Ogdens:Champions 1936, British Automatic: Sportsmen, Brooke Bond: Olympic Champions. I think he also appears in a couple of Clevedon Confectionery sets namely Sporting Celebrities and also Olympic greats. There are others so I will try and get a fuller list for you. Of course he is also in the Churchmans Kings of Speed..
Regarding Roger Bannister that is more of a challenge for me so I will need some time on that one - do you have any cards already ?

Do you have your cards graded ?

Penno

There will be plenty of boxing cards available but UK collectors and dealers have recognised the prices being paid for top condition stars however you can find mid grade stars and plenty of top grade commons to semi stars.

Have you been before ?

nonpareil

Hello,
I am thinking about completing a high grade c1950 Clifford Series Footballers set of 50. Any info on the set? Hard to find in high grade?

Penno

Regarding the Clifford football series these cards are hard to find and often come with staple holes in due to how they were issued. They often come miscut and hence have the appearance of being hand cut. It was a set of fifty cards issued in the 1950s. They are grey half-tones of footballers. I believe you could purchase them at retail outlets such as Woolworths in the UK.
A great challenge to put a set together in any condition...

nonpareil

<< <i>Regarding the Clifford football series these cards are hard to find and often come with staple holes in due to how they were issued. They often come miscut and hence have the appearance of being hand cut. It was a set of fifty cards issued in the 1950s. They are grey half-tones of footballers. I believe you could purchase them at retail outlets such as Woolworths in the UK.
A great challenge to put a set together in any condition... >>



Great information. Thanks! Any idea what kind of company Clifford was?

Penno

To my understanding they were a commercial company issuing playing cards and the like. It would appear that the cards were not issued with a product e.g. Cereals,gum,cigarettes but could be bought over the counter in small packs very similar to the Donaldson and Junior Passtimes issues. Both of these companies cards were issued in a similar format e.g. Stapled together in packs with an outside cover.
Hope that helps

GeneralJim

Thanks for the reply , yes my cards are graded check out my Jesse owens player set on PSA registry . I do have many including Ogdens , churchmans , Brooke Bond and the British Automatic . etc , etc . I do have 1 Clevedon sporting memories i believe it is , but would be interested in any other issues that come to mind . As far as Roger Bannister I also have have a set listed on the registry for him also . check it out if you have time . Pretty much anything i dont have listed for Owens or Bannister i would be interested in and would appreciate any help you might be able to give . thanks for the time . best regards ... Jim

CollectorAtWork

Have you seen or picked up any T215 Pirate Cigarette backs with baseball players on the front?

Penno

Just took a sneak preview at your master sets as suggested. Got my thinking cap on for Jesse issues but seems you have got the lot covered but you never know. Regarding the Bannister issues I have the Barkers card and the Cadet card but I think they are both locked up in sets. By the way the Barkers card is the same as the Lyons Maid but a larger size but guess you already know that. I will be looking to come with an Owens card you don't have. By the way the Clevedon Sporting Memories comes with a Blue back and Black back. I have a full set of the blue backs which includes Louis and Hogan and some great UK sportsmen,and Owens of course.Dont be mistaken they are really really tough to come by over here.

Penno

I have only ever heard of 1 in the past 30 odd years witha baseball player to the front. This was in the cartophilic society auction some years ago. Believe there are less than 100 known to exist. I think there were one or two in the Edgar Wharton Tigard collection which since his death his collection is now housed in a museum in London which includes all T206's. The collection can be viewed by prior arrangement. I understand it to be the most complete collection known.

Autos4Alex

I'm interested in Tennis cards.

I'm looking for these in particular, do you know if they are common issues or somewhere I could acquire them?
1959 Barratt Giants in Sports - #45 Haydon
1960 Clevedon Confectionary - #17 Mortimer

I'm also interested in cards other than sportscaster or rockwell cards of the players below. Are you aware of any UK trade cards where they may have been featured?
Art Larsen
Gardnar Mulloy
Alex Olmedo
Budge Patty
Mervyn Rose
Dick Savitt
Frank Sedgman
Pancho Segura
Vic Seixas
Fred Stolle
Tony Trabert

Also, do you know where I might find a list of all early sets that featured tennis players? I have a list of quite a few UK issues from the 20s & 30s but not much from the 40s/50s/60s/70s

Penno

The Giants in Sport by Barratts are reasonable to get hold of and to be perfectly honest there doesnt seem to be a big demand for relatively unknown Tennis players so I think they should be comfortable to pick up. The other player list you put forward I havent heard of many of those players let alone aware of sets they are in. Typically the majority of cards issued Post War in the UK are Non - Tobacco and are mainly confectionery cards or tea cards. Therefore what you are looking for will be with companies such as cadet, Sweetule, Barratt,Donaldsons,Junior Passtimes,Panini and the likes of these. There is also a set of Top Trumps which is all tennis players - set of 30 I think. They are the size of playing cards with rounded corners I think issued in the 70's. Are these of interest ?

The are some Australian issues by Hoadley which include tennis players etc

I will try and get the 2 cards you mentioned specifically but if you acquire them meantime, please let me know. Presume you want exc or better condition?

I will also check some of my sports sets to see what other tennis players I can find...

GeneralJim

Great information thanks . I do have the Barkers card , just havent gotten around to grading it yet . Also do have the cadet sweets card but i think my card has the wrong date on it so i have to send back to have that fixed . Didnt know about the different backs on the Clevedon cards will have to check to see which back i have . Is Owens in the Olympic greats set ? havent heard of that one .

Autos4Alex

Thanks for the info, I'll try to look around for checklists of some of those cards you suggest from the 70's. As for the top trumps, they sound interesting. I'm not a set collector so much as player collector, so I may be interested in particular top trumps if you have a checklist?

The 2 cards listed are the top of my list, but I have others I'm interested in as well depending on the price. Do you have an email that I could send you the full list too and maybe discuss price? As for condition, I'm mostly interested in about excellent. I don't need cards that are perfect but I don't want beaters either.

Let me know what else you dig up. Thanks!