Year of issue: 1928 & 1929
Issued by: Barratt & Co. Ltd.
Trade reference number(s): BAR-430 / BAR-34A / BAR-34Ab / BAR-34Ba / BAR-34Bb
Number of cards in set: 100 (2 series of 50 cards in each)
Size: 61mm x 35mm
Approximate value (per card): Murrays £27.00; FCCM £60.00
These extremely rare unnumbered trade cards are usually wrongly dated as 1930; Carl Wilkes has carried out in-depth research on them and has concluded – based upon players and their clubs over the series – that there were, in fact, TWO issues in 1928 and 1929. I’ll let Carl explain…
“The inclusion of Jack Hill, for Burnley, dates the [first] set to before 1929. Hill moved to Newcastle in November 1928. Further, Frank Barson played for Watford from springtime 1928 until April 1929. There are two Football “Stars” cards showing him at both Watford and Hartlepools, so one will have been from this autumnal set, and the other from series two, issued in 1929. Series two consisted of a further 50 cards. The Jack Hill card in this set has his team and colours amended appropriately to Newcastle United. Also, Billy Blyth has moved from Arsenal to Birmingham and Frank Barson shows him in Hartlepools livery. David Jack also appears here, as an Arsenal player, a year after moving to Highbury in October 1928, which was a little too late for the first series of the Football “Stars” – an autumnal release – which had him with Bolton.”
Prices for these usually start at around £30.00 each (I paid £50-£60 for each of mine) but have been known to sell beyond £300.00!* They are invariably creased or tatty-edged, appear with four different backs and no-one seems to know which player appeared in which set, so I will simply display them here in alphabetical order. Note also that there are a few cards here without colour or have slightly different colours – a misprint or a printer’s proof? You can read more about these cards on Alan Jenkins’ website HERE. In addition, these cards were reprinted anonymously in the mid 1970s; you can see examples HERE.
*This price has since been upped to £500.00! A card featuring Dixie Dean sold for that price in early 2020.
BAR-430 / BAR-34A “Barratt’s Xmas Club Boxes are the Best. Order Yours Early”
BAR-430 / BAR-34Ab “Tarrab Brand Rock is the Best”
- H. Adcock (Leicester City)
- T. Avey (Fulham)
- A. Barrett (Fulham)
- T. Bradshaw (Bury)
- W. Brae (Ayr United)
- Jack Cock (Millwall)
- J. Cookson (West Bromwich)
- A. Cunningham (Glasgow Rgrs)
- Len Davies (Cardiff City)
- W. Davies (Notts County)
- Dixie Dean (Everton)
- W. Gillespie (Sheffield Wed.)
- G. Goddard (Queens Pk Rangers)
- S. Haden (Notts County)
- W. Haines (Southampton)
- D. Halliday (Sunderland)
- N. Harris (Oldham Athletic)
- Fred Hopkin (Liverpool)
- R. Irving (Portsmouth)
- A. Jackson (Huddersfield) – also in plain white kit
- Alec. James (Arsenal)
- J. Jenkins (Brighton & Hove)
- R.F. John (Arsenal)
- Fred Keenor (Cardiff City)
- W. Kirkham (Port Vale)
- J. Landells (Millwall)
- A. Lockhead (Leicester City)
- R. McDonald (Clapton Orient)
- A. McGlory (Motherwell)
- P. Maddison (Hull City)
- A.L. Messer (Reading)
- J. Murdock (Airdrieonians)
- L. Murphy (Bolton Wanderers)
- Reg Osborne (Leicester City)
- Tom Parker (Arsenal)
- W. Pease (Middlesbro)
- F. Roberts (Manchester City)
- J. Seddon (Bolton Wanderers)
- Joe Smith (Wigan & Stockport County)
- Joe Spence (Manchester United)
- Clem. Stevenson [sic] (Huddersfield)
- N. Storer (Derby County) [sic – surely this should be H. “Harry” Storer?)
- A. Thain (Chelsea)
- J. Townrow (Chelsea)
- J. Trotter (Wednesday)
- Fred Tunstall (Sheffield Wed.)
- T. Vizard (Bolton Wanderers)
- Victor Watson (West Ham United)
- Jesse Whatley (Bristol Rovers)
- Owen Williams (Middlesbro)
- A. Wilson (Chelsea)
BAR-430 / BAR-34Ba “Barratt & Co’s Sweets are Pure”
BAR-430 / BAR-34Bb “Buy Barratt & Co’s Sherbert Novelties”
- S.W. Austin (Manchester City)
- F. Barson (Watford & Hartlepools)
- M. Bell (Hull City)
- Syd Bishop (Chelsea)
- A. Black (Millwall)
- B. Blair (Clyde)
- W. Blyth (Arsenal & Birmingham)
- J. Bradford (Birmingham)
- Norman Bullock (Bury)
- G. Camsell (Middlesboro)
- H. Chambers (West Bromwich)
- J. Collins (Swansea Town)
- W. Cresswell (Everton)
- Jim Dimmock (Spurs)
- J. Elkes (Spurs)
- J. Fort (Millwall)
- Hugh Gallacher (Newcastle Utd.)
- Vivian Gibbons (West Ham)
- J. Gibson (Aston Villa)
- A. Grimsdell (Spurs)
- W. Hardy (Cardiff City)
- J.H. Hill (Burnley & Newcastle United)
- J.H. Hulme (Arsenal)
- David Jack (Bolton Wanderers & Arsenal)
- Alec. James (Preston North End)
- Sam Jennings (Leeds United)
- J. Johnson (Sheffield Utd.)
- H. Jones (Blackburn Rovers)
- P. McCloy (Manchester City)
- D. McKinlay (Liverpool)
- J. McMullen (Manchester City)
- F. Morgan (Notts Forest)
- D.H. Morris (Swindon)
- Alan Morton (Glasgow Rangers)
- E. O’Callaghan (Spurs)
- Syd Puddefoot (Blackburn Rovers)
- Alf. Quantrill (Bradford)
- J. Ruffell (West Ham)
- Jimmy Seed (The Wednesday)
- S. Seymour (Newcastle Utd.)
- H. Skitt (Spurs)
- T. Smart (Aston Villa)
- W.H. Smith (Huddersfield)
- J. Sykes (Swansea Town)
- S. Wadsworth (Huddersfield & Bolton)
- W. Walker (Aston Villa)
- Charlie Wilson (Stoke)
- G. Wilson (Nelson)
- T. Yews (West Ham)
- R. York (Aston Villa)
I am short of several images here – can YOU help, please?
1920s Heaven 