FREE - Soldier Tradition Print - samples. See below

SOLDIER PRINTS

Just discovered, more than 1000 ex Tradition A4 full colour military prints, 1970's, some 50 different subjects. Would you like one of them FREE? Email me, but PLEASE don't ask me to list them in order to provide you with one of them for nothing.

BRITISH WAR MEDAL

BRITAINS CIRCUS

Britains Circus Ringmaster, good condition, possibly repainted. € 19.00 + pp UK € 4.00, Europe € 4.00, USA € 5.00.

Offers subject to availability. Payments by PayPal to jon@technet.it

Offers subject to availability. Payments by PayPal to jon@technet.it

British WWII, War medal. Awarded for Active Service in a theatre of war,
and issued after 1945. Mint condition, with original envelope and ribbon.
€ 6.00 + pp UK € 3.40, Europe, € 3.40, USA, € 4.30

Two A4 full colour military prints, Royal Artillery and 5th Dragoon Guards. 1850’s / 60’s. Published by Tradition 1970’s. Ideal for office, den, study. Hundreds more available, individual or wholesale. One free sample, + pp UK € 4.40 , Europe, € 4.40, USA, € 5.30.

Danckleman and Schrader cigarette cards, actresses

The cinema was invented in the late 1800’s, and the tremendous interest that it created gave rise to many very early “stars”. Some of these beautiful ladies, then, as now, were seduced by the glamour of the occasion, the attention they attracted from the rich and famous, and, in the terms of the Victorian novelists, often “suffered a fate worse than death”. Because of the reputation of the music halls, any public dancer, including the most famous ballerinas, were often considered to be of a lower moral fibre than the virtuous women, and their equally virtuous husbands, in the audience. Many actresses on the legitimate stage, unless famous, and then approved by society, were also thought of with less than kindness.

The advent of photography, and its ease of reproduction of still images gave rise to the postcards of the end of the nineteenth century, and their proliferation in the fist years of the twentieth. Postcards were printed by the million and distributed to all corners of the world to be sold, and, where postal services existed, sent to friends. About the same time the cigarette card companies began to insert small photographs into their packs, the first cigarette cards, and they chose a wide variety of subjects, many of which had also been previously used by the postcard producers. The printing company had the original art work, sketch, drawing or negative and it was thus a simple matter to reproduce similar cards, but in smaller sizes.

Many of these cards, of which thousands of sets exist and are well documented, fetch, for a complete set, hundreds of pounds, even more Euro and twice as many dollars. There are numerous catalogues and lists which index and describe these cards and also give valuations. But, in all these sites and learned works there is rarely, if ever, a note about Danckleman & Schrader, their company, or their cards, thus establishing their rarity, and with notable famous beauties of their day, desirability..

Danckleman & Schrader was the name given to a cigarette company in Montevideo, Uruguay, who, in the first few years of the 1900’s, as an inducement to purchase their Cigarrillos Londres brand of cigarettes, began to insert small cards into their packaging. Cigarette cards.

Some of their early sets were devoted to Bullfighters, a pastime then popular, and legal in both Uruguay and Argentina, as well as Children and pretty Views. Later sets exploited the lure of sexual attraction. Most smokers were men, and some forty two series included famous beauties of the day.

Most of these girls have been lost to view. Who now remembers pretty Mae Lowery? But some, like Meaty Fleuron; and if ever there was an unfortunate name this must be one of the best; lives on in immortality in Ogden’s Guinea Gold cigarette cards, and also in the D & S card No 7 in the seventh series, VII.

Also in this series were;
Maude Adams, an idol of the American theatre and a book has been written about her.
Amy Busby was a friend of Gertrude Lawrence and appeared also in the Sweet Caporal Cigarette card collection.
Helen Robertson might have written, or appeared in a novel published by the Olympia Press.
Anna Hayes faded from view.
Grace Freeman, a US musical comedy actress, was another of Ogden’s Guinea Gold girls.
Mignon Villars, Ogdens again, and also appeared in the Sweet Caporal Cigarettes series.
Of Annabelle, Mac Bradley and Nellie Nice, from this series, we know no more.

Although of South American origin Danckleman, or Schrader bought in beauties from North America and Europe, no local girls appear to have been used. Someone in the printing business perhaps sold these early images as a job lot, or maybe even did the printing.

The Girls of Series Seven, is an incomplete set of these unique Danckleman & Schrader cigarette cards, eleven cards out of a set of 25, all are in excellent condition and cost £ 20.00 each, postage included, insurance is an extra £4.50.

I'm now starting to examine my large collection of cigarette cards, many of which are in original albums, military uniforms, badges, defeats and victories, and will be listing them on site.

SPYs – Soldiers

Victorian Prints

Not Soldier spies. Spy was the “signature” of Leslie Ward, a commercial artist responsible for many of the Victorian caricatures, or cartoons, known as Spys.
Not a lot to do with soldiers you might think, but the interior “classy” background to stately homes, accountants, solicitors and legal offices often incorporated Victorian prints produced by the Vanity Fair company in England, and there were some fifty or more military figures illustrated.

These prints were produced for about forty years, about one each week, and therefore making a collection of a couple of thousand different subjects.

The prints were of naval and military men of the time, Gordon, Buller, Kitchener, etc., and many members of various royal families also were shown in military costume, all now highly collectable, and many now for sale.

There are many other prints available by Butler, Payne, Burnett, Simkin.

New finds!

Just found a huge box of pre 1939 cigarette cards. All sorts, Players, Wills, Gallagher etc

And, a box full of British royalty, Victoria, Edward, George, Edward, George, Elizabeth.

And some more military and Vanity Fair prints.

And some Italian Art Nouveau, Liberty and advertising post cards.

Do you need any of these?

British Military Tournament, ongoing………..

The Household cavalry was represented by one of Britains’ classic errors, they made two different versions, one of a mounted band of the Blues, and one of the Life Guards, whereas, in fact, there was only one band, that of the Household Brigade. These Britains figures are now for sale. (see Britains), Both regiments were endlessly drawn by the great artists of the day and their photographs often appeared in the magazine The Navy & Army Illustrated , numerous copies of which are also for sale, together with several thousand other military hobby magazines, 1880 – 1980. (see Magazines) The British Military Tournament will have sales booths for memorabilia, military items and maybe Soldiers’ Soldiers.

Lancers in every shape and distinction, including dismounted bands; now there’s a rarity; are in the Soldiers’ Soldiers range, Britains settled for mounted and dismounted figures and buglers and of course the and the famous officer turning in the saddle. Dragoons, Hussars and Scots Greys were created by Soldiers’ Soldiers, marching, at ease and at attention, all with dismounted bands. (see Soldiers’ Soldiers). Harry Payne and Richard Simkin, two of the more famous artists of the day, recorded their uniforms in numerous coloured books, see our prints section. Several of which we have for disposal including a 1914 Lancer belt, yellow and red stripes and brass toggles, (see Militaria). The British Military Tournament will no doubt include various lance carrying troopers.

Piper bands for Highland and Canadian Scottish regiments were made in very small quantities for a minor Italian nobleman, painted in greater detail and of unusual regiments, and some of these boxes of Soldiers’ Soldiers are now coming onto the market. The colourful Highland bands are always popular and the large illustrated books by Colonel Percy Groves and illustrated by Harry Payne show the history of some of these famous regiments ( see Prints). The British Military Tournament and all other military displays are incomplete without the inclusion of the Scots.

Maybe you could become our agent and take a stand at the British Military Tournament. They had 51 000 visitors last year, so you should be able to shift a box or two.

Financial Times Lose the Battle of the Toy Soldiers

In September 2008 the picture desk of the Financial Times contacted John Tunstill, collector of model soldiers at his home in Italy, by email, requesting a series of high resolution photographs of a series of very specific lead-alloy model soldiers for use in the FT weekend magazine “How To Spend It”. Britains, Hanks, Johillco, Soldiers’ Soldiers were all required in specific uniforms and poses. The FT required captions for the photos, offered accreditation for the work and, once Tunstill agreed to provide the photos told him that they wanted them…… “yesterday”.

During the next four days the FT badgered Tunstill on five occasions by email, and about the same number of phone calls were made to determine the speed and progress of Tunstill’s work, and on the fourth day the photos were despatched. No reply or acknowledgement was received from the picture department, despite the picture editor, Susan Barton’s previous urgent requests.

On day six the photos with full captions and copyright notices were again sent to the picture desk. Nothing further was heard from Ms Banton for a couple of days, and then “Yes, pictures received, we’ll be in touch shortly”.

No touch, short, or long, was forthcoming.

27th October 2008 a verification note was received by Tunstill from the FT confirming name address captions etc., etc. And in November 2008, hearing no more, no touch, no thanks and no copy of the promised magazine, Tunstill submitted his invoice, which was un-delivered, lost, mislaid, ignored or whatever, but certainly not paid. In April 2009 Tunstill again asked for settlement, and received a reply from Ms Banton to the effect that as the photos were not used the FT had no intention of paying for them.

It later transpired that Ms Banton claimed that the photos had all been ditched because the article was foreshortened as the FT advertising department had managed to sell two more pages of advertising space, at up to £24.000 per page, so Tunstill’s pics were binned.

Tough said Tunstill, you ordered them, you must pay for them. You can’t take a takeaway meal back to Charlie Chan’s Chop- Suey Emporium just because you didn’t eat it. Tunstill again pressed for payment.

In May, Tunstill received a short response from the legal department of the FT rejecting his claim on the grounds of “not used, therefore no pay”. In June Tunstill, via his legal advisors, again wrote requesting payment, which was rejected on the grounds “that in our industry, if we don’t use the pictures we don’t have to pay for them”. Try using that argument next time you buy a tin of baked beans at Liddle!

In December 2009 Tunstill entered a claim in the small claims court in Lambeth, South East London, situated in the area where the office of the FT is based. The defence put up by the FT legal department stated that the photographs were never published, and that by proceeding with the claim Tunstill was causing severe distress to Ms Banton. Poor Ms Banton. Imagine the distress caused to Tunstill.

The court action was strenuously debated between the parties in the months leading up to the trial date. The FT, in order, solely to “clear the desk of this incident”, made escalating offers of settlement. Finally accepting Tunstill’s original account. But, due to an administrative error, the FT promised to pay the full amount in Pounds instead of, as requested, in Euro, obviously the people in the FT legal department weren’t too good at sums because at that time the Pound was worth about 1.3 Euro.

However this offer of payment was subject to a whole A4 page of terms and conditions, to which Tunstill said, “No”. Ah, they said these are standard terms of settlement, Tunstill said he was non- standard and repeated, “No”. The standard terms were revised, and, as Tunstill’s hand was trembling over the document of acceptance, the good fairy who always looks after toy-soldier collectors arrived with a copy of The Financial Times’ “How To Spend It Magazine”, which contained the truncated article on tin soldiers. Adequate, but nothing special. But, just a moment, that Indian Brave charging onto the page looked strange but familiar. Odd, curious, interesting. Tunstill looked through his vast collection of figures. He eventually found a similar, but different, warrior made in the early 1930’s by a German firm called Elastolin. However Tunstill’s Redskin was turning right in his saddle and the FT’s man was turning left. Curiouser and curiouser as Alice would have said. Tunstill pulled out the photos he has sent to the FT, and yes a very similar man, with the same coloration, and, strangely, even the same fleck of paint missing from his base. Tunstill reversed the photo he had sent in with his photo manipulation programme on the computer and bingo, the FT warrior. So the picture editor of the FT had lied to me! What a little tinker!

So, instead of accepting the FT’s offer of payment with the various strings attached, Tunstill sent them a “Cease and Desist Notice” outlining their infringement of his copyright by using his photograph, denying use, and refusing to pay for the use. What was more Tunstill claimed that the FT had altered the original image, by reversing it without his express authority and thereby had infringed his intellectual property rights. Tunstill required compensation and the return of all unsold copies of the magazine, wherever situated throughout the world, the elimination of all computer records of the offending image and an apology.

This was too much for the legal eagles at the FT and they immediately apologised for their oversight and passed the buck to a City firm, who swiftly negotiated with Tunstill, paid up and brought the whole affair to a close.

Tunstill offered some advice to the legal representatives of the FT, and he informed them that “When I was studying, my Master often used to say to me, “Tunstill, it doesn’t matter if you are acting for the defence or the plaintiff, whenever, in litigation, always check the opposition’s arguments because they can be forgetful, inaccurate and often less than truthful. But, Tunstill, even more, you must check your own witnesses’ statements at least thrice because they will be liars and perjurers, and if you get caught out by their untruths you will look *&%$£çò silly””.

A southern Italian phrase, more or less, “La vendett’ e un’cena miglior mangat’ quando e fredd’” which means, more or less, in English, that “revenge is a meal best eaten cold”.

So, fellow collectors, be warned, if you’re going to play with the big boys, get everything in writing and count your fingers after you have shaken hands with them.

John Tunstill

If you have, or know of a soldier publication please pass this on, it might just protect someone else.


John Tunstill has been a collector and manufacturer of lead-alloy model and toy soldiers for some 65 years, he is an architect, (www.propertiesumbria.com) now living in Umbria, Italy (www.lapreghiera.com) and has a collection of some 30 000 54mm model figures (www.soldierssoldiers.com).