Cigarette card
Category
Ephemera
Date
Unknown
Materials
card
Measurements
35 mm (Width) x 0.5 mm (Depth); 68 mm (Length)
Order this imageCollection
Mr Straw's House, Nottinghamshire
NT 749273.4.23
Summary
One of a set of 50 of Will's Cigarette cards 'Arms of the British Empire'. The first of three partail sets of cigarette cards kept in a wooden box with two compartments, a metal hinged lid painted red with a yellow / orange flower and card suit design. On the front of the card, at the top, is the title 'ARMS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE.' To the left of the central coat of arms image it reads 'WILLS's, and then to the right 'CIGARETTES.' Beneath the image is the location the arms originate from, 'JAMAICA.' The central coat of arms consists of a shield featuring St. George's Cross in red and silver with five gold pineapples, one in the centre, and one on each of the arms of the cross. Above the shield is a gold helmet with stylized plumes, topped by a gold crocodile on a log. The shield is supported by a native woman with a basket of fruit on the left, and a native man with bow on the right, each of them naked but for a skirt of feathers and a feather headdress. Beneath the shield a banner reads 'INDUS UTERO SERVIET UNI.' On the rear of the card is decorative scrolling and the text at the top reads 'No23 ARMS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE, 'WILLS'S CIGARETTES. The text at the base reads 'W.D. & H.O. WILLS.' BRISTOL & LONDON. ISSUED BY THE IMPERIAL TOBACCO Co. (OF GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND)Ltd' Down either side of the card there is text running vertically which in its entirety reads 'ALBUMS FOR THESE PICTURE CARDS CAN BE OBTAINED AT 1/- EACH FROM ALL TOBACCONISTS.' In the centre of the rear of the card the decoration creates a box for information specific to the location portrayed on the card. In this instance it reads 'The arms of this colony date from the 17th century, and show the cross of St George, charged with five pine-apples. The supporters are two Indians, each wearing an apron of feathers, the female holding a basket of fruit and the male a bow. The crest is a crocodile on a log. This is the only instance of a colony using a sovereign's helmet with its arms.'