Card of the Day: HRH The Prince of Wales

When you're bored with yourself, marry and be bored with someone else. 

King Edward VIII 

I’ve often written of my dislike for the briefly-reigning King Edward VIII, the one-time Prince of Wales, and later Duke of Windsor. I tend to side with Queen Mary in matters regarding the Royal Family (not that my opinion really matters at all) and tend to keenly feel her disappointment in her eldest son.

But, to be fair, just for a moment, let’s examine the Prince of Wales who is seen here in this 1935 Silver Jubilee card by the Godfrey Phillips Company.

“David,” as he was known within the family was always restless. This was a state of mind which never made sense to his parents—King George V and Queen Mary. The King and Queen were anything but restless. They had their duties, they had each other, they had the empire and they had their family and that was quite enough. Sure, the King and Queen each had their hobbies, shooting and shopping respectively, but at the end of the day, it was a quiet supper en famille which most appealed to them. Prince Edward, on the other hand, yearned for adventure. He was considered quite good looking. Though Mary wasn’t eager to share this with her son, she often wrote to King George just how handsome she thought her fair-haired eldest boy was and that she was pleased that he physically favored, “The old Royal Family.” 

Young Prince Edward
The Royal Collection

David didn’t need his mother to tell him that he was attractive. Everyone else told him. He liked to be told. He liked praise and attention and enjoyed going places where he’d be get both. Sitting at home while his mother sat cataloging her jewels (and truly, this was how Queen Mary spent her evenings) and his father sat smoking and growling to himself about the Empire (which, indeed, is how George spent his evenings), was not appealing. The King was often very vocal (quite violently at times) about his displeasure with his hard-living eldest boy. And, the more the King ranted, the more Prince Edward wanted to be out of the house—typical teenager stuff, but heartily magnified when you’re the Prince of Wales and your dad is the King. What Edward didn’t know was that his mother—though she never said it aloud—often wrote long letters to her husband pleasing with him to be gentler with their son. It didn’t work, but she tried.

Mary, for her part, had no ability to communicate on a personal level with anyone. She was quite shy and inhibited. While she was able to make small talk at parties and while she had no trouble running her myriad charities and talking with her subjects, when it came to talking with her family, she was crippled. This owed a lot to her tumultuous childhood with her egotistical mother and her father, the Duke of Teck, who was, at best, something of a nut. The Queen was very sensitive and loving, but had no means of communicating that. And, so, he children were often left wondering what she was thinking and, when alone with her, would despair that they only talked about vague subjects. Mary’s few attempts to have real conversations with her children were such failures that they would leave her rooms wondering just what had happened.

After the close of the Great War, Mary hoped that “David” would settle down. She had planned to find a way to start to mold him into a proper heir presumptive, but then, her youngest son—Prince John—died during an epileptic seizure. The Queen sank into a private depression. She never spoke of her son’s death. In fact, she rarely ever mentioned him again, but she privately wrote of her secret, deep despair and how it prevented further closeness to her other children.

Meanwhile, the King and Queen couldn’t understand why Britain was so uneasy when they finally had achieved peace. The Prince of Wales began to represent the new sensibilities of the 1920’s—glamour, adventure and excitement. George V and Mary never could understand their son’s sense of boredom. The Queen was the first to point out that she was “never bored.” Yet, “David” was always bored. Always. And, much of the Empire was bored, too.

And so, disappointment built on disappointment. The more the King ranted, the more “David” became bored. He kept questionable company—company which ultimately led to his abdication, and he was, notably, Queen Mary’s deepest disappointment of all.

Object of the Day: A Westie Cigarette Card from Player’s Cigarettes

Click image to enlarge.

In 1875, the Allen and Ginter Tobacco Company started producing cigarette cards. These chromolithographs, printed on card stock, depicted a wide range of subjects from celebrities and historical figures to animals and plants. By 1877, the phenomenon had come to the U.K. when W.D. and H.O. Wills began printing similar collectible cards. These precursors to “bubble gum” and “baseball cards” were a nifty marketing gimmick, and, soon, people all over the world were collecting them.

In the last year, I’ve amassed a rather sizeable collection of antique cigarette cards—most of which you’ve seen on this site, and mostly relating to the British Royal Family. However, every now and then, there’s one which just stands out. For obvious reasons, this Player’s Cigarette card is a favorite.

The front of the card depicts a jaunty West Highland White Terrier—some ancestor of my Bertie. He is labeled as what he is, and, is engaged in the sort of earth sport which terriers enjoy.

The reverse of the card, from a series showcasing handsome canines, reads:

DOGS 

A SERIES OF 50

----------------

47 

West Highland White 

Terrier. 

White Scottish Terriers have 

Been carefully bred by the 

Malcolm family at Poltalloch 

for a hundred years or more, 

and the modern West Highland 

White Terrier has been evolved 

from that game and “varmint” 

old stock. They are very closely 

related to the Cairn Terrier, 

differing only in colour and 

being slightly larger. They 

should have harsh coats about 

2 ins. Long and be pure white in 

colour, any other colour being 

strongly objected to. Weight: 

dogs, 17 lbs., bitches, 16 lbs. 

Height at shoulder 9 to 11 ins. 

ISSUED BY 

JOHN PLAYER & SONS 

BRANCH OF THE IMPERIAL TOBACCO Co. 

(OF GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND) Ltd.

Object of the Day: A Cigarette Card of Joan Crawford

Billie Cassin, Lucille Le Seur, Joan Crawford, Mrs. Fairbanks, Mrs. Franchot Tone, Mrs. Alfred Steele or Queen Bitch—no matter what you called her, she was a star, and she knew it. Joan Crawford remains a star to this day despite the scandalous and scurrilous (and questionable) tome written by her eldest adopted child. She will always be remembered for the dozens of fine, brilliant, stunning and, in some cases, bizarre performances she gave us over the years.

Miss Crawford knew what being a star truly meant. Even as a young player in silent films, she knew how to make sure that the spotlight shined favorably down upon her. She was also one of the first stars to know the power of her own face. Crawford’s image changed over the years, adapting to the times and to what she thought her public wanted from her. This English cigarette card from my collection was from a series of 72 cards depicting both American and English film stars, produced by Carrera’s Fine Quality Cigarettes. I like that her biography states that it is “unnecessary to give details, as she has achieved worldwide fame.”

Object of the Day: A Westie Cigarette Card from Player’s Cigarettes

Click image to enlarge.

In 1875, the Allen and Ginter Tobacco Company started producing cigarette cards. These chromolithographs, printed on card stock, depicted a wide range of subjects from celebrities and historical figures to animals and plants. By 1877, the phenomenon had come to the U.K. when W.D. and H.O. Wills began printing similar collectible cards. These precursors to “bubble gum” and “baseball cards” were a nifty marketing gimmick, and, soon, people all over the world were collecting them.

In the last year, I’ve amassed a rather sizeable collection of antique cigarette cards—most of which you’ve seen on this site, and mostly relating to the British Royal Family. However, every now and then, there’s one which just stands out. For obvious reasons, this Player’s Cigarette card is a favorite.

The front of the card depicts a jaunty West Highland White Terrier—some ancestor of my Bertie. He is labeled as what he is, and, is engaged in the sort of earth sport which terriers enjoy.

The reverse of the card, from a series showcasing handsome canines, reads:

DOGS 

A SERIES OF 50

----------------

47 

West Highland White 

Terrier. 

White Scottish Terriers have 

Been carefully bred by the 

Malcolm family at Poltalloch 

for a hundred years or more, 

and the modern West Highland 

White Terrier has been evolved 

from that game and “varmint” 

old stock. They are very closely 

related to the Cairn Terrier, 

differing only in colour and 

being slightly larger. They 

should have harsh coats about 

2 ins. Long and be pure white in 

colour, any other colour being 

strongly objected to. Weight: 

dogs, 17 lbs., bitches, 16 lbs. 

Height at shoulder 9 to 11 ins. 

ISSUED BY 

JOHN PLAYER & SONS 

BRANCH OF THE IMPERIAL TOBACCO Co. 

(OF GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND) Ltd.

Object of the Day: King George V Tobacco Silk

 

In the early 1900s Britain’s Godfrey Philips Ltd., a major cigarette concern, introduced B.D.V Cigarettes.  The brand was very popular in fashionable society until it was dropped in 1948.

B.D.V stood for “Boyd & Dibrell Virginia”—the U.S. suppliers of the tobacco used in the cigarettes.  According to legend, a member of the Philips Family once claimed that B.D.V. was an abbreviation for  “Benedictus dominus vobiscum" meaning, in latin, “the pipe of peace.”

In addition to “cigarette cards,” B.D.V. employed the marketing scheme of including in their packaging silks and leathers printed with popular images which could be collected.  Like the tobacco silk of Queen Mary that I showed you yesterday (which could, in fact, have been produced by the same company), this example depicts King George V in uniform with his garter stars.  It dates to the time of his coronation—1911.

Object of the Day: A Tobacco Silk of Queen Mary

Much like Cigarette Cards, “tobacco silks” were premium items which were inserted into packages of cigarettes as “freebies.”  Meant to be collected, these silks were either hand-colored or color-printed and depicted fashionable scenes or portraits of popular people of the era.  These items flourished from about 1908 to 1916 and were joined by tobacco flannels and leathers as well.

This tobacco silk was produced in Britain between 1910 and 1911 for the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary.  Here, we see H.M. Queen Mary dressed exquisitely in the sort of pale gown for which she became famous.  She wears, in addition to some of her favorite jewelry and her garter badges, the Russian Fringe Tiara.

I don’t know which tobacco company produced this item, but it’s a lovely addition to the many other images of Queen Mary which pepper my home.  

Do you want to see Mary of Teck's noble visage in your daily life?  You can.  Take a look at our "Teck Support" designs in our online store.  

Object of the Day: An Album of Cigarette Cards from the Silver Jubilee of King George V

Yesterday, I showed you an album of cigarette cards from 1935 which was sent to me by a friend in England.  Here’s the other album that he sent.  I thought that on this Mardi Gras, we should take a look at a vintage collectible associated with one of the habits people most often give up for Lent.

This album was produced by the W.D. and H.O. Wills Cigarette Company for the 1935 Silver Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary—my favorite deceased Royals.  Now, the cards shown in the pages that I’ll post here may look familiar to you.  They should.  For several weeks, each day, I shared one of these cards with you.  I have collected these cards individually as part of my enormous assortment of objects related to King George V and Queen Mary.  However, much like the Players cards I posted yesterday, it’s extremely rare to find the whole set mounted in an album, and, it’s rarer still to find them in such perfect condition.  It’s as if they’ve been untouched since they were preserved in this album seventy-seven years ago. 

I also was pleased to discover that on the last page of the album—the page featuring the portraits of King George V and Mary of Teck—the original owner of the album has taken the time to preserve the assorted postage stamps which were printed for the Silver Jubilee.  This is especially amusing inasmuch as George V was an avid collector of stamps himself.  Obviously, the person who kept this album in 1935 was as much of a fan of the George and Mary as I.

Let’s take a look inside, shall we?

Do you love King George V and his beautiful queen?  If so, you might like our "Teck Support" designs--available only in our online store.  

Object of the Day: An Album of Players Club Cigarette Cards, 1935

Major cigarette companies such as Players Club often produced trading cards which they’d tuck into each pack of cigarettes.  These popular little collectible cards were meant to add an element of bubble-gum like fun to the smoking experience.  The companies often manufactured albums into which these cards could be placed as they were collected.  Subjects ranged from film stars and sports figures to royalty and flowers and everything else in between.

As you’ve seen, I have amassed a rather nifty collection of cigarette cards focused on the British Royal Family, especially about King George V and Queen Mary.  Recently, a friend of mine in England, sent me two complete albums of royalty-themed cards which I was happy to discover are in nearly pristine condition.

Here’s one of them.  This album was produced in 1935 for the Silver Jubilee of King George V by John Player & Sons Cigarettes and is entitled “The Kings and Queens of England: 1066-1935.”  Each card features a beautifully rendered illustration of each King and Queen.  The cards have been pasted onto each page into lovely little frames.  Since pasting them in the album obscures the text on the back—describing each monarch—the copy from the reverse of each card has been conveniently printed on each frame.  To find a complete set of cards in an album is extremely rare, but to find one in such fine condition is the Holy Grail of collecting these fun little items.  So, I’m especially thrilled.

I've selected a few pages to show you, so, let's take a look inside:

Card of the Day: Queen Elizabeth I's Salt Cellar

One of the more obscure and little-known objects of the Coronation Regalia is pictured in the fiftieth and final card of the Churchman Cigarette Company’s 1935 Silver Jubilee Series. Here, we see “Queen Elizabeth’s Salt,” which is also known as “The Great Salt” and is believed to have been a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I. This is actually one of nearly a dozen such “salts” which are housed along with the Crown Jewels. However, this one, due to its unique shape, is thought to be the most magnificent.


The oldest salt cellar of the eleven in the Jewel Tower at the Tower of Londo, “The Great Salt” certainly dates from the reign of Elizabeth I. It is thought to be a model of the White Tower. It has been used at the coronation banquets of most monarchs from the time of King Charles II.

Now, that’s it for our “Card of the Day” feature. For awhile, anyway. I’ve got my eyes open for more monarchy-related cigarette cards, but, to be honest, I already own and have shared with you most of the sets that were produced. Can you believe that we’ve already looked at 120 of them? Still, if I find more, I’ll snatch them up.

In the meantime, I’ve got some new nifty things in queue waiting to take the place of the cards. So, tomorrow, we begin our “Obscure Book of the Day” feature. This feature will take you through my collection of odd Royalty-related ephemera from actual historical Coronation and Jubilee Celebration Programs to vintage children’s books about various monarchs from the past, to, even, strange magazines about the love lives of Britain’s Royal Family. There’s a lot of this stuff on my shelves and it’s all very interesting. So, get ready for a few weeks of fun ahead.

Card of the Day: The Coronation Book of Henry I

This took some considerable effort. But, I’ve managed to get the correct information about this image for you. The forty-ninth card (one to go!) in the 1935 Churchman Cigarette Company’s Silver Jubilee series, shows an image of “The Coronation Book of Henry I.”
What exactly is this? Well, first of all, it’s just what it says it is inasmuch as it was the book upon which King Henry I laid his hand when he took his coronation oath on August 5, 1100. Henry I was an unusual King. He was educated and a book-reader. This made him slightly dangerous, actually. Well, dangerous to his brothers from whom he kind of sneakily seized the throne (after one of them was “accidentally” shot by an arrow). You see, Henry—being the baby of the family—was not meant to be King before his two older brothers. It was thought that Henry would become a bishop, so his family made sure he had a good education. But, it was that education that gave Henry the means to be sneaky.

Henry I
who, I'm sure looked exactly like this.
People in the Twelfth Century were,
as you know, flat and outlined in black.
No, I'm kidding.  But, look, he's holding his book!
And a building.  He was very strong.  And, huge!

But, back to the book. I was surprised that so little information could be found about this book. Seems to me that it’s a rather important bit of history, but, I could find nothing. Finally, I came across a history called, “The book, Its History and Development” which was written by Cyril Davenport in 1908. And, so, I quote directly from this tome…

Another very early English binding, covering a Latin Psalter of the early twelfth century with interlinear Saxon version, is now kept in the British Museum among the Stowe collection.


It is bound in oaken boards nearly an inch thick, the central portion of which is hollowed into a rectangular depression. On the lower board is a bronze figure of our Lord in the attitude of the Crucifixion. The figure has been gilded, but most of the gold has now worn off. The corners have small bosses set in triangular pieces of thin metal, which are impressed with a design of a flew-de-lys [sic] in outline within a circle. The boards are covered with brown leather, much worn and faded, probably deer skin, and the brass fastenings for a clasp still remain in situ.


The history of the book is as curious as the book itself;


It appears to be the original book on which our sovereigns took their coronation oath, and it seems to have been so used from the coronation of Henry I. to that of Henry VII.


Powell in his Repertory of Records mentions this as a fact, and it was repeated by Thos. Madox, historiographer, and also by Thos. Astle, Keeper of the Records in the Tower of London, to whom it belonged, and it is believed to have been written and bound for the coronation of Henry I.


From the library of Thomas Astle the little book passed into the possession of the Marquis of Buckingham, and was kept at Stowe in a beautiful Gothic room built for a library. In June, 1849, the Stowe library changed hands and became the property of Lord Ashburnham, and in 1883 it was acquired by the Trustees of the British Museum.


So the coronation book is now the property of the nation, and in company with the greater part of the Stowe library, but the Irish MSS., some of them in beautiful bindings, went to Ireland, where they are now safely kept in the library of the Royal Irish Academy.

Card of the Day: Buckingham Palace

The official seat of the British Monarch since Queen Victoria’s accession in 1837, Buckingham Palace is pictured in the forty-eighth card of the Churchman Cigarette Company’s 1935 Silver Jubilee Series.


Since Victoria and Albert were the first Royal couple to live in full-time in Buckingham Palace, Albert found that the building was uncomfortable and poorly suited to their growing family. Prince Albert began a campaign to improve the workings of the palace, instituting improvements which can still be seen today. While the façade of the building and many of the interior spaces have changed over the years, in many ways, it is still much as it was when Victoria lived there.

For more about Buckingham Palace, take a look at an article I wrote about it last year.

Card of the Day: The Royal State Barge

We’re almost out of Cigarette Cards. I didn’t think I’d ever run out. But, there are only three more after this. Not to worry, however, I’ve got something nifty in the works to take the place of the “Card of the Day” feature (until I find some more cards). I think you’ll be surprised.
Nevertheless, let’s continue our look at the Churchman Cigarette Co.’s 1935 Silver Jubilee series with this card depicting the Royal State Barge. This particular vessel is not in use anymore. So, it may seem a bit strange to us. In short, a royal barge is a ceremonial barge that is employed by the monarch for processions and transport on the Thames.

The Thames was a regular thoroughfare for the Monarch until the middle of the Nineteenth Century, especially on state occasions or between the Royal Palaces of Windsor, Westminster, Hampton Court, Greenwich and the Tower of London.

In case you can’t picture Queen Elizabeth II sailing down the Thames clutching her ubiquitous blue handbag, not to worry. You won’t see her in such a barge. There is currently no State Barge, but the Royal Nore, which is owned and maintained by the Port of London Authority, is used whenever a member of the Royal Family travels on the river Thames for an official event. This is not something that happens too often.

When the Queen is onboard a barge or Nore, the Royal Standard and Regalia are displayed. Her Majesty is accompanied by her Bargemaster, along with eight Royal Watermen in full ceremonial dress. That’s got to be cozy. These men are/were known as Royal Watermen. The Queen still retains twenty-four Royal Watermen under The Queen’s Bargemaster, one of the most ancient appointments in the Royal Household.

Card of the Day: The Coronets of a Prince or Duke of the Royal Blood and a Duke

We conclude our look at the coronets of the British peerage with the coronets of a Prince or Duke of the Royal Blood and a Duke.
There’s a distinction to be made in the titles. A Prince, obviously, is a prince and the son of a monarch or a descendant of a person of princely status. A Royal Duke is a duke who is a member of the British Royal Family, and is, therefore, entitled to the style of "His Royal Highness.”

A non-Royal duke (male) or duchess (female) is a member of the nobility. This is historically of the highest rank in the peerage below the monarch. Historically, Dukes or Duchesses control a duchy. For example, in our online novel, Punch’s Cousin, Julian, the Duke of Fallbridge is a non-Royal Duke. His title is inherited, but he is not a member of the Royal Family, and is therefore not entitled to the style, “His Royal Highness.” Subsequently, he is referred to as “Your Grace.”

Coronet of a Duke of the Royal Blood

While non-royal dukes are entitled to a coronet of eight strawberry leaves, to bear at a coronation and on his coat of arms, royal dukes are entitled to princely coronets (four crosses patée alternating with four strawberry leaves). The coronet of a Royal Duke will often bear a fleur-de-lis. A Royal Duke also bears six rows of black dots in the ermine, as opposed to four rows of dots for a duke.

Coronet of a Non-Royal Duke

Coronet of Charles, the Prince of Wales
The Royal Collection