West Ham Cigarette Cards
In 1871 the American company of Allen and Ginter began inserting pieces of card to protect the cigarettes from being damaged. It was not long before tobacco companies had the idea of printing advertisements on these cards, or "stiffeners" as they were called in the trade. In about 1876 companies began producing a series of cards that the smoker could collect. It was believed that this would encourage the smoker to continue using that particular brand.
The first British company to issue cigarette cards was W.D. & H.O. Wills. The first card appeared in 1887 and were at first used to advertise its products. Ogdens, a company based in Liverpool, introduced the first series of cigarette cards in 1894. This series of photographic cards became known as "Guinea Golds".
As Gordon Howsden points out in his book, Collecting Cigarette and Trade Cards: "At a time when the average family could not afford books, and with the technique of reproducing photographs in newspapers still some years away, these cards could inform and amuse, and bring a little bit of colour into what were all too often very drab lives."
Arnold Bennett once remarked that "some boys will grow up with cigarette cards as their sole education". Another writer, Clifford Hough, pointed out that cigarette cards were dubbed "The Working Man's Encyclopedia" because "they brought pictures of famous faces and fascinating places to the attention" of the masses. Hough adds that on "the reverse side the captions contained many interesting facts and pieces of information that often sunk into a boy's mind to a greater extent than any dull textbook from schooldays."
Subjects were chosen to appeal to their male customers. In 1896 the first set with a sporting theme appeared. This was a series of 50 cricketers. The tobacco companies discovered that these sporting cards were a great way to obtain brand loyalty. Later that year the first football set appeared. Footballers & Club Colours was published by Marcus & Company, a small firm in Manchester. These cards are extremely rare and individual cards are valued at £170.
At the beginning of the 20th century companies began publishing postcards of famous footballers. The first postcard of a West Ham United player appeared in 1903. Fosters, a company based in Brighton issued 74 postcards of West Ham footballers. William Barnes, Billy Bridgeman, David Gardner, Billy Grassam, Len Jarvis and Frank Piercy were some of those featured in this series.
The tobacco companies discovered that these sporting cards were a great way to obtain brand loyalty. In 1902 W.D. & H.O. Wills published a set of 66 football cards. The photographs were of men playing in the First Division of the Football League. This included Matt Kingsley who played in goal for Newcastle United and England. Two years later he joined West Ham and is therefore probably the first player from the club to appear on a cigarette card.
In 1905 Singleton & Cole of Shrewsbury published a black and white series of photographs called "Footballers". These now sell for £120 a card but the series was reprinted in 2001 and can now be obtained for a reasonable price from dealers. These cards concentrated on footballers playing in the Football League. At the time West Ham United were in the Southern League. However, Fred Blackburn, who was playing for Blackburn Rovers at the time, was included and joined the Hammers at the end of that season.
In 1906 Ogdens produced an attractive set of Football Club Colours. These cards showed the club's star player in his full kit. This was one of the first sets of cards in full colour. The following year, Cohen Weenen published a similar series entitled Football Club Captains. This included captains in Division 1, Division 2 and the Southern League. West Ham United was represented by George Kitchen. These are valued at £13 each card. However, the reprinted set (1998) can be purchased for around £10.
One of the most prolific producers of football cards was Taddy & Company. In 1907 the issued a set entitled "Prominent Footballers". The oval shaped images were in black and white. The series included sixteen West Ham players: Tommy Allison, Billy Grassam, Thomas Lee, Bill Wildman, David Clark, Alfred Harwood, James Lindsay, Arthur Featherstone, Len Jarvis, Robert Young, Frank Piercy, Harry Stapley, George Kitchen, Fred Blackburn and Archie Taylor.
Pinnace, a company based at 112, Commercial St, produced cards for Godfrey Phillips. In 1920 the company issued a series of 1,100 football cards. This was followed by 2,462 in 1922 and 940 in 1923. West Ham players featured in this series included Syd Bishop, George Kay, Edward Hufton, William Henderson and Richard Leafe.
The collecting of football cigarette cards was extremely popular in the 1920s.In 1925 Lacey's produced a series of 50 black and white photographs. West Ham players featured included George Kay, Syd Puddefoot and Vic Watson.
After a period of black and white cards, Ogdens returned to using full colour for their "Captains of Association Football Clubs and Colours" set in 1926. The series includes a painting of George Kay. They are currently valued at £3.00 a card and £130 a set. They were followed by Gallaher who produced a set of 50 Famous Footballers later this year. This included a picture of West Ham's veteran goalkeeper, Edward Hufton. These cards were produced in large numbers and individual cards can be obtained from dealers for around £2.20.
A series of caricatures by "Rip" (R. P. Hill) were published by John Player and Sons in August, 1926. Another series, this time illustrated by "Mac" (Douglas Machin) appeared in September, 1927, and featured Jimmy Ruffell.
In October 1928 John Player and Sons produced a series of 50 illustrated action cards. This was followed by another 25 in February, 1929. Two West Ham United players appeared in these two sets: Tommy Yews (1928) and Stanley Earle (1929).
In the 1930s several companies produced painted portraits of football players. In 1931 Lambert & Butler, produced a series of painted portraits that included West Ham's star centre-forward, Vic Watson. This was followed by Carreras in 1934 who produced a series entitled "Famous Footballers". The set included Jim Barrett. Original sets can be obtained for about £70 but a reprinted set in 1997 can be purchased for about £13.50.
The most impressive cards produced during the 1930s included painted portraits of football stars. Carreras also published a set of 48 cards entitled Popular Footballers in 1936. These painted portraits included Joe Cockroft.
W.D. & H.O. Wills produced a series of these cards called Association Footballers in 1935 that contained an impressive portrait of John Morton. Thousands of these sets were collected and as a result they can be obtained from dealers for around £60. However, they can be purchased via Ebay for about half this price.
Major companies had their own studios devoted entirely to the production of cigarette cards. Football cards were especially popular and it was not uncommon for print-runs in the millions. Godfrey Phillips was also active in this market and produced some very attractive sets in the 1930s. Soccer Stars in 1936 included West Ham's James Marshall, who won three international caps for Scotland. Carreras also published a set of 48 cards entitled Popular Footballers in 1936. These painted portraits included Joe Cockroft.
In 1938 Churchman moved away from colour portraits by producing a set of action shots in black and white. The first series featured West Ham stars, Len Goulden and John Morton. Churchman produced a second series in 1939. This series included Stan Foxall. The first series can be obtained for only £35. However, the second series was not produced in such large numbers and you will probably have to pay twice as much for that set.
In 1939 W.D. & H.O. Wills produced another series of Association Footballers. The set included a great portrait of Len Goulden.
The outbreak of the Second World War caused a severe shortage of paper and tobacco companies were forced to bring an end to the production of cigarette cards.