Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Howlers / 1937 cigarette cards

 I've always liked this set of cigarette cards issued by Churchman's (part of Imperial Tobacco) in 1937.  The set of forty cards is called Howlers.  Named after the incredibly lame jokes on the back of each card, this is from the one called Grammar: The plural of forget-me-not is forget-us-not!     
     It's the lovely illustrations by Rene Bull (1872-1942) that make this a set worth owning.  He had a good eye for detail and composition.  Google Images has an interesting selection of his work.
     They were obviously painted quite large and the reduction to cigarette card size makes everything look very precise.  Who has the original painting I wonder?  Sets are still available if you look round the net but you need to check that they are originals and not  reprints. 









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