1938 W.D. & H.O Wills Speed set identification help
VoteDizzy
Posts: 128 ✭✭✭
Can anyone tell, or show, me the difference in the English, Irish and Channel Islands editions of the 1938 Will's Speed set? I've looked for information and pictures, but have come up empty-handed.
Pictured are my three copies of the Santa Fe Super Chief. I believe the one on the left is the English (or "Home Issue" as PSA labels them), the middle one has missing text from the album blurb at the top and a name only sponsor/manufacture badge at the bottom and the one on the right was purchased as "1938 Imperial Tobacco Speed" and has no album blurb text or sponsor badge. Any help identifying what I actually have will be appreciated.
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Interesting. I'll have to pull out my set and check the backs. I know the '38 Churchman boxing set was released over multiple years and I would be surprised if this set wasn't, as well.
Arthur
Salt Peanuts Salt Peanuts
Unable to help with the question, but still feel the need to acknowledge Dizzy
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
I'm pretty experienced with pre-war foreign tobacco sets, especially the Footballers. The unbranded anonymous one on the right is British American Tobacco (B.A.T.) As for the other two, the way you tell the difference is that the England/UK (Home) version of the Wills late 1930's sets have an adhesive coating on the back to assist in album placement. Depending on the specific set, you'll notice variations between the UK vs. Ireland ones as far as the listed address, among other text differences. The Irish issue should have a relatively matte back compared to the Home one. Sometimes you can't quite tell due to surface wear on the cards since they are quite old and often handled quite a bit. The one on the left in your photo with reference to the "penny each" is the Home issue.
Thanks @miwlvrn
Wrestling - Danielson - Storm - Tajiri
As a comparison, here is an example of the 1939 Stanley Matthews difference. The first one is the Home / UK version w/ adhesive back. The second one is the Irish version.
A lot of the British cigarette cards were issued with multiple brandings over different years. For example, a very popular one that was reissued a couple times is 1929 Churchman Sports & Games in Many Lands, which was reissued by B.A.T. in 1930 and then again in 1935 by Edwards, Ringer & Bigg. B.A.T. had a history of reissuing quite a lot of different sets over the 1920's and 1930's. For Wills, the few sets they made in both a Home and Irish version were always issued in the same year as each other. In the case of this Speed set, all 3 were issued in 1938.