Vintage Non-Sports Cards Chat Board: British Consols airplane card questions

I haven't surfed around the site in a while, but noticed a topic that I've got quite a lot of information on right off the bat.

I got "hooked" on these cards a few years back and set to trying to figure out just how many sets were actually issued and their checklists. Working with Terry Mitchell, Alan Miley and the late Dick Dahlquist, we came up with enough information to fill more than ten pages of the guide. I'm not sure how well the formatting will come out on the included checklists (remember that this is only a very small introductory portion of the total listing), but here is the intro and outlines of the different set listings. You'll have to obtain a copy of the NSB, if you want all of the individual set checklists, relative scarcity info, etc.

BRITISH CONSOLS - AEROPLANES AND WARSHIPS

‘40-48 - (W.C. MacDonald), 41 x 60 mm
Canada, [42K series]

With more than forty known series issued over nearly a decade, this set ranks as the most complex title listed in this guide. Issued by W. C. MacDonald in packs of British Consols Cigarettes over most of the 1940s, the fronts of these cards bear blue-tinted photographs of WWII-era airplanes and warships with their names at the bottom in a white border. Cards depicting airplanes are adorned with a colored logo in the picture area that advertises "Daily Mail" (red, white and blue) or “Skyways” (red and white). Cards depicting warships contain no logo. This complex set consists of four distinct print “groups” that initially depicted only “Daily Mail” airplanes (Group I), then “Daily Mail” airplanes and warships (Groups II and III), and finally “Daily Mail” and “Skyways” ariplanes as well as warships (Group IV). Each group depicted a different number of war vehicles, but the general consensus is that the cards bearing identical Group designations were printed on same sheet (otherwise it appears impossible to complete a 53-numbered card run of the Playing Card Backs. However, these cards are often encountered and/or collected by the different logos (i.e “Daily Mail” vs. “Skyways”) or as different topical sets (i.e. airplanes vs warships). The majority of cards are numbered and have a picture of a playing card on the back with an offer to obtain "full-size playing cards" in exchange for a certain number of complete 53 card sets (each corresponding to a deck of playing cards plus one joker); hence the derivation of the name by which this set is known in the ACC - "Playing Cards". A new series was printed every few months as evidenced by specific offer expiration dates also found on the backs. Twenty-three series of these "Playing Card Back" style cards exist with unique serial numbers and expiration dates (see subsequent chart). The card numbering remained consistent throughout all the playing card series with the same card numbers always paired with the same playing card (i.e. #1 is always the ace of hearts). However, airplanes and warships within the same series can sometimes be found paired with more than one number and any one card number may have up to five different vehicles depicted, thus leading to numerous variations. Over time, there were numerous changes in airplane/warship and number combinations and/or the size of the font used for the airplane name. In general, "Playing Card Back" series can be divided into four groups that likely represent a standardized print sheet because the vehicle/number combinations remain the same for all series (i.e. only the serial number, date and number of sets necessary for redemption change). Series A-E comprise Group I, Series F - Group II, Series G & H - Group III, and Series I through W make up Group IV. Group I subjects are found with smaller (1mm) airplane name. Cards of Group II (Series F) can be found with both smaller and larger (1 1/2 mm) captions. Groups III & IV are found only with the larger-sized font. The number of sets required to fulfill the exchange offer gradually increased over time, with only two required for the first three series (A-C), then three needed for Series D through I, and finally four sets needed to get the full-sized playing cards for the later series J through W. The total number of different vehicles depicted varies in each Group designation. All playing card series are found with white card stock backs except for Series D which is found with a light turquoise back. Unnumbered variations of "Non-Playing Card Backs" (i.e. something other than the playing card offer printed on back) are also recognized. It appears that the vehicles depicted on each "Non-Playing Card Back" series correspond to one of the four "print" groups above. As a general rule, the “Playing Card Backs” are more commonly encountered than those not depicting playing cards - probably due to the impetus to save them. The two original ACC designations (C166 & C167) have been combined, given the high likelihood that some issues depicted both aeroplanes and warships.
(ACC# C166)

KNOWN BACK VARIATION CHECKLIST:
GROUP I (WTI Front Design 24 = 54 airplanes)
Playing Card Backs Serial # (expiration date)` Set Offer
(A) 26079-14; 31 MAR., 1940 2 sets
(B) 26364-15; 30 SEPT., 1940 2 sets
(C) 26648-16; 30 DEC., 1940 2 sets
(D) 27059-17; 31 MAR., 1941 3 sets
(E) 27393-18; 30 JUNE, 1941 3 sets

Non-Playing Card Backs
(AA) Smokes for Canadian Troops Overseas
(BB) Overseas - “British Consols” - “Export” or “Legion”... 5th/6th line of text reads “...to Canadian Soldiers in Great Britain and any Soldiersin B.E.F (France)”.
(CC) Overseas - “British Consols” - “Export” or “Legion”... 5th/6th line of text reads “...to Canadian Soldiers OVERSEAS in C.A.S.F. units only”.
GROUP II (WTI Front Design 29-1 = 79K airplanes and warships)
Playing Card Backs Serial # (expiration date)` Set Offer
(F) 28927-23; 30 APRIL, 1942 3 sets

Non-Playing Card Backs
(DD) Overseas - $1.00 Sends 300 $2.50 Sends 1,000 “British Comsols”...
10th line reads “Postpaid to Soldiers in CANADIAN ARMY”.Non-(EE) Overseas - $1.00 Sends 300 $2.50 Sends 1,000 “British Comsols”...
10th line reads “Postpaid to Canadian Soldiers OVERSEAS”.
(FF) Overseas - $1.00 Sends 300 “British Consols”... [printed in black ink]

GROUP III (WTI Front Design 29-2 = 103K airplanes and warships)
Playing Card Backs Serial # (expiration date)` Set Offer
(G) 29223-24; 30 JUNE, 1942 3 sets
(H) 29484-25; 31 DEC., 1942 3 sets

Non-Playing Card Backs
(GG) Overseas - $1.00 Sends 300 “British Consols”... [printed in blue ink]
(HH) Due to “Wartime Restrictions”
(II) Convoy [illustration of warship at sea]
(JJ) Their Majesties the King and Queen
(KK) Buy War Savings Certificates - Rt. Hon. Winston Churchill
(LL) Buy War Savings Certificates - Support Our Forces.... [Gen. MacNaughton] (MM) Buy War Savings Certificates [large “V” for victory]

GROUP IV (WTI Front Design 29-3 = 108 airplanes and warships)
Playing Card Backs Serial # (expiration date)` Set Offer
(I) 29898-27; 31 MAR., 1943 3 sets
(J) 30253-28; 30 SEPT., 1943 4 sets
(K) 30732-29; 31 MAR., 1944 4 sets
(L) 30869-30; 30 JUNE, 1944 4 sets
(M) 31208-31; 30 SEPT., 1944 4 sets
(N) 31440-32; 31 DEC., 1944 4 sets
(O) 31851-33; 31 MAR., 1945 4 sets
(P) 32037-34; 30 SEPT., 1945 4 sets
(Q) 32392-35; 31 DEC., 1945 4 sets
(R) 32591-36; 1 JUNE ,1946 4 sets
(S) 32948-37; 31 DEC., 1946 4 sets
(T) 33609-38; 30 JUNE, 1947 4 sets
(U) 33763-39; 30 SEPT., 1947 4 sets
(V) 33923-40; 31 DEC., 1947 4 sets
(W) 34237-41; 30 JUNE, 1948 4 sets

Non-Playing Card Backs
(NN) Unprecedented Demands from the Boys Overseas...
(OO) Everywhere! MacDonald’s Brier...
(PP) MacDonald’s Fine Cut - Supreme Value...
(QQ) Pipe Smokers! Ask for Skyways...
(RR) British Consols - Canada’s Finest Tobacco if You Roll Your Own
(SS) The Fastest Way to Smoking Pleasure - DAILY MAIL [airplane silohuette]

SHAMELESS PLUG....on the last 100 copies of the "Non-Sports Bible" (actually on something like copy #410/500)...contact me if you'd like to purchase.

Chris

British Consols airplane card questions

You;re in need of an NSB....