Encyclopedia of British Football
~ William Day & Henery Overton Wills Football Cigarette Cards ~
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Henry Overton Wills founded the
tobacco company in Bristol in 1786. When he died 40 years later, his two
sons, William Day Wills and Henery Overton Wills, took over the
management of the company. Despite being non-smokers, W.D. & H.O. Wills
became one of the leading tobacco companies in Britain.
Wills was the first British company to issue cigarette cards. The first
card appeared in 1887 and were at first used to advertise its products.
The first series of cards appeared in 1895 and that was a set of 25
ships. 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.
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| Joseph McCall |
Thomas Roberts |
Billy Mercer |
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| K J Key |
Attewell W. |
Flowers |
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In 1902 W.D. & H.O. Wills
published a set of 66 football cards. This included George Clawley (Tottenham
Hotspur), Matt Kingsley (Newcastle United), George Hedley (Sheffield
United), Jimmy Crabtree (Aston Villa), Ernest Needham (Sheffield United)
and Fred Spiksley (Sheffield Wednesday).
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| Matt Kingsley |
George Clawley |
George Hedley |
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| Jimmy Crabtree |
Fred Spiksley |
Ernest Needham |
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Footballers, W. D. & H. O. Wills (1902)
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The most impressive cards
produced during the 1930s included painted portraits of football stars.
These looked so realistic that they appeared to be painted photographs.
The first company to use this technique was Ardath in 1934.
The following year, W.D. & H.O. Wills produced a series of these cards
called Association Footballers. The set contained impressive portraits
of John Beattie, John Morton, Jimmy Hampson and George Mutch. 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.
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| Jimmy Hampson |
George Mutch |
John Morton |
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Association Footballers, W.D. & H. O. Wills (1935)
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In 1939 W.D. & H.O. Wills
produced another series of Association Footballers. The set included
impressive portraits of Peter Doherty, Bert Sproston, Ray Westwood, Bob
Pryde, James Allen, Andrew Beattie, Edwin Bowden, Bryn Jones, George
Vose, Tom Galley, Tommy Lawton, Raich Carter, Fred Worrall, Ephraim
Dodds, Frank Broome, Len Goulden and Stan Cullis.
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| Peter Doherty |
Ray Westwood |
Bert Sproston |
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| Stan Cullis |
Frank Broome |
George Vose
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Association Footballers, W.D. & H. O. Wills (1939)
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