Cpt. R. Johnston VC, Taddy cigarette card, by Paul Warden

Great ! this is the first contribution that I have received. Thank you Paul !

Paul is an "Englishman in Paris" . That was his previous nickname on eBay... (now "rugbyfootballcards"). Actually, we don't know each "in real life" but I "met" Paul for the first time back in December 2002 when I bought this nice rugby trade card from him on eBay... and it was the very very start of my collection (my second eBay purchase out of 470 today... but a nice card which is framed at home...)

Paul, the floor is yours... :

I'm a tobacco card collector.  One hundred years ago, cigarette packets were made of paper and so a piece of card was inserted to stiffen the packet and protect the cigarettes.  From the early 1880's, it became the fashion to produce a picture on the card and in fact, a series of pictures to encourage smokers to buy the same brand of cigarettes so as to collect the set of 25 or 50 cards.  Some say that the idea for this early form of marketing has its roots in the decorative cards issued in the nineteenth century by Au Bon Marché in Paris.  Certainly, millions of cigarette cards were produced throughout the English-speaking World but surprisingly and to my knowledge, not a single cigarette card was produced in France.

Between 1885 and 1954 around 2,600 cards were produced on a theme related to rugby.  Many of these show the pioneers of rugby and I have so far collected around 2,100 of them.  The most rare can reach as much as €500 each at auction although many are available for just a few euro.  I have several favourites amongst my collection and will share these with you over the coming months.

The first is related not only to rugby.  Let me explain.  Britain's highest award for bravery is the Victoria Cross.  First given in 1854, only 1,354 have ever been awarded.

Four of these were awarded to International rugby footballers:

• Captain Robert Johnston VC (2 caps for Ireland, 1893) of the Imperial Light Horse in Elandslaagte, South Africa on 21 October 1899
• Surgeon Captain Tom Crean VC (9 caps for Ireland, 1894-96), 1st Imperial Light Horse, Tygerkloof Spruit, South Africa on 18 December 1901
• Lieutenant Frederick Harvey VC (2 caps for Ireland, 1907-11), Lord Strathcona's Horse, Canadian Expeditionary Force, Guyencourt, France on 27 March 1917
• Lieutenant Commander Arthur Harrison VC (2 caps for England, 1914), the Royal Navy, Zeebrugge, Belgium 22&23 April 1918

Interestingly, three of these players all played their club rugby for The Wanderers Club in Dublin; there must be something in the water!

The scans shown below are of both the front and the back of a card commemorating the Victoria Cross awarded to Robert Johnston.  Part of a sub-set of 20 cards and of a larger set of 125 card Victoria Cross Winners issued in the UK by Bristol-based cigarette company James Taddy, it indicates that Johnston "is famous in the world of football".

To my knowledge, although the French rugby team appear on several tobacco cards from Germany, only two British cigarette cards depict a French rugby theme.  One shows a lineout during a match between Blackheath and Racing Club de France in 1923 but who is the famous French player shown on the other?  A clue?  The card was produced in 1931.  Answer (and a picture) in the next instalment.  A+.  Paul   

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