Country of Issue: England
Year of Issue: 1955
Color/B&W: Color
Number of Cards in Set: 48
Card Size: 2 5/8" x 3 3/4"
Issued as insert with what product: Bubble Gum
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Issuing Company: A&BC Country of Issue: England Year of Issue: 1955 Color/B&W: Color Number of Cards in Set: 48 Card Size: 2 5/8" x 3 3/4" Issued as insert with what product: Bubble Gum |
Notes: Blank-backed. A&BC was the British arm of Topps in the 1950s and 1960s. These cards were apparently issued in small groups. The first group of 12 cards were reported as showing up in December 1955. The first 12 cards can be found with or without a stand-up strip in the back to allow the cards to be stood up. The rest of the cards cannot be found with that strip.
Though the backs are blank, this set can be found with four different backs, one with the stand-up strip on white cardboard, another without the standup strip with white cardboard, another with very dark grey cardboard, and a much scarcer back with more beige/tan cardboard. The white backs always seem to have a gum stain on the back, indicating there was only one card in the pack when issued with a piece of gum behind it, while the dark grey cards do not show the gum stain, so those packs may not have contained gum.
Date info: The Cameric Cigarette Card Club "Notes and News" magazine mentions this set as a new issue in its February 1956 issue and that the first 12 cards only appeared in December 1955. The Nov-Dec issue of "Notes and News" states that all 48 cards have been issued. So, it looks like the set began in late 1955, with the first 12 cards appearing then, with the rest of the set appearing later on into 1956.
Thanks to Lonnie Cummins and Matthew Zubrot for helping with this checklist.
1. Dirk Bogarde
2. Diana Dors in "An Alligator Named Daisy"
3. Richard Burton in "The Rains of Ranchipur"
4. Janet Leigh in "Jet Pilot"
5. Dale Robertson in "Son of Sinbad"
6. Rita Moreno in "Seven Cities of Gold"
7. Johnnie Ray in "There's No Business Like Show Business"
8. Richard Todd in "The Virgin Queen"
9. Joan Collins in "The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing"
10. Gene Tierney in "The Left Hand of God"
11. Robert Ryan in "The Tall Men"
12. Gregory Peck in "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit"
13. Terry Moore in "Daddy Long Legs"
14. Norman Wisdom
15. Marilyn Monroe in "The Seven Year Itch"
16. Michael Rennie in "Seven Cities of Gold"
17. Rhonda Fleming in "Tennessee's Partner"
18. Jack Hawkins in "Touch and Go"
19. Belinda Lee in "Who Done It"
20. John Payne in "Tennessee's Partner"
21. Vivien Leigh in "The Deep Blue Sea"
22. John Gregson in "The Battle of the River Plate"
23. Clark Gable in "The Tall Men"
24. Sheree North in "How to be Very Very Popular"
25. Rex Allen
26. Jane Russell
27. Rod Cameron
28. Ruth Roman
29. Frank Sinatra
30. Brigitte Bardot
31. Wendell Corey
32. Gina Lollobrigida
33. Sterling Hayden
34. Rita Gam
35. Sophia Loren
36. Roy Rogers
37. Susan Hayward
38. Dana Andrews
39. Debbie Reynolds
40. Richard Egan
41. Yvonne De Carlo
42. David Farrar
43. Joan Fontaine
44. Virginia Mayo
45. Robert Stack
46. Faith Domergue
47. Mari Blanchard
48. Lili St. Cyr
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