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 749273.4.25
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, 'BRITISH HONDURAS.' The central coat of arms consists of a shield split into three sections, the top left showing crossed tools on a silver background, the top right showing crossed tools on a gold background, and the bottom section showing a sailing ship at sea on a blue background. The tools in the top left corner are partially obscured by a small union jack hanging down the top of the shield. The tools featured include axes and saws, relating to the mahogany trade, also represented by the mahogany tree pictured above the shield. The shield is supported by two men, the one on the left holding an axe, the one on the right a paddle. They stand on a banner reading 'SUB UMBRA FLOREO.' On the rear of the card is decorative scrolling and the text at the top reads 'No. 25 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 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, assigned by Royal Warrant in 1907, chiefly bear reference to the important mahogany trade. The crest is a mahogany tree; and a squaring axe, a beating axe, and a saw all figure in the arms, the allusion being carried further in the motto. Of the supporting figures, one bears a beating axe, the other a paddle.'