Year of issue: 1926
Issued by: Comptons Gravy Salt
Trade reference number(s): COM-430-2bb / COV-1-6b
Number of cards in set: 22
Size: standard (approx. 63mm x 35mm)
Approximate value (per card): Murrays £25.00; FCCM £20.00
I have done my homework on this, one of SEVEN such sets from Comptons and it is one of the easier ones to compile. The 22 cards correspond exactly to the teams in the English First Division in 1926-27. Interestingly, teams were numbered alphabetically except for Birmingham, Derby and The Wednesday. The cards looked identical to the previous ‘B’ (B&W) series but this set also featured the words “SEE OTHER SIDE” at the bottom and all had the same back featuring an offer which expired on 30th June 1927.
B.1 Arsenal
B.2 Aston Villa
B.3 Blackburn Rovers
B.4 Bolton Wanderers
B.5 Burnley
B.6 Bury
B.7 Cardiff City
B.8 Everton
B.9 Huddersfield Town
B.10 Leeds United
B.11 Derby County
B.12 Birmingham City
B.13 Liverpool
B.14 Leicester City
B.15 Manchester United
B.16 Newcastle United
B.17 Sheffield United
B.18 Sunderland
B.19 Tottenham Hotspur
B.20 West Bromwich Albion
B.21 West Ham United
B.22 The Wednesday
And then there is this… Mike McIntyre sent in this card which purports to be a B.5 ‘offer’ card of Burnley with a “rubber stamped” verso. You’ll note that the text on the back is very blurred, symptomatic of wet ink ‘moving’, and the front lacks the “SEE OTHER SIDE” text. Mike is worried that it might be a fake rather than a genuine item. 😦
But there are others, so perhaps it’s not a fake…
All in all, I have now seen examples of this “rubber-stamped” back for cards of Arsenal, Burnley, Liverpool, Manchester United and West Ham United, so it’s looking less and less likely that they are fakes.
And then there’s this one which looks like it has a printed back but has no “SEE OTHER SIDE” text on the front…
I am still short of several images here – can YOU help, please?
