I do not believe that A&BC Chewing Gum issued 'multi-card' packs |
The image of the footballer heading the ball on these wrappers
has become known as the 'Feyenoord-style' player image, due to the
colours of the shirt. The blue wrappers have the A&BC Chewing Gum
address as London, again pre-dating the move to Essex. There is
mention of the licence agreement with Topps Chewing Gum Inc.,
believed to date from 1959, and the four card wrapper has an
advertisement for Bazooka Joe Gum. |
The assignment of the green wrappers to the 1960/61 set is not
certain. The green wrappers have the A&BC Chewing Gum address as
Harold Hill, Romford, Essex a move understood to have occurred in
late 1959. It seems strange, and unusual, that A&BC would use the
same wrapper image over two years but it is important to remember
that A&BC moved partly because they had a fire at their London
premises. Is it possible that after the fire it was easiest to just
use the previous year's wrapper and change the colours while they
concentrated on re-establishing their business? |
This wrapper has the Essex address, and mentions the licence
agreement with Topps, dating the wrapper to post-1959 on both
counts. It is a return to the Topstars name, using the same
footballer image from the 1958/59 set though with a white rather
than orange shirt. The clue to this assignment is the mention of
'Autographed!' cards, with the 1961/62 set being the only set of
autographed photo cards from this period. |
While it is thought that there may be one
or two wrappers for this set (one card for 1d and three cards for
2d) there are few known images of these wrappers, making them
extremely rare. I'm very greatful to Graham for providing this
image. Still not sure whether there ever was a 3 cards for 2d
wrapper. |
The 1963/64 set of 110 was issued in two Series. There are
believed to be two options for purchasing these cards, one card for
1d or three cards for 2d. The 1d wrapper mentions the fact that you
could also buy the cards in 2d packs, stating 'Extra card free with
2d Footballer'. |
The 1964/65 set of 149 cards was issued in three Series. The pack
costing 2d contained two cards. It is not known whether a 1 card for
1d pack was also available. It is possible that this was the first
year when A&BC only offered one option for you to buy your cards.
|
Although the wrapper says six cards, each card had two photos, so
the purchaser was actually getting three cards for 3d. |
For the first time A&BC do not tell you how many cards you got
for your 3d, although the wrapper does advertise the fact that you
got a 'pin-up' as an extra. |
A set of 110 cards issued in two Series. I'm not sure how many
cards you got with each 3d pack, but with Series 1 you automatically
got a nice paper pennant in each pack, and with Series 2 a nice
metalised team emblem. |
The wrappers from the following years are fairly easy to identify
and well accepted by collectors. Links to images and the 'special
offers' from each year are shown below: |