1938 Wills Speed Set and Checklist

Posted on September 28, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Wills Speed
Year	1938
Size	1 3/8″ x 2 5/8″
Images	Color
Type	Tobacco
Number in Set	50

1938 Wills Speed Set Overview

This international tobacco card set was issued by Wills Tobacco for their cigarettes. Wills issued a variety of tobacco card sets in the 1930s, including other sports releases. This particular series, like many, includes a total of 50 cards.

Eight years prior to this set, Wills created another set, also titled Speed. That set was very similar to this, only with many different subjects

The set is simply titled, Speed. The set includes automobiles, airplanes, ships/boats, motorcycles, and trains. It does not merely picture vehicles. Rather, the backs reference specific operators of those crafts. Additionally, several of the auto racing cards, in particular, mention specific races in which the cars appeared. Famous race car driver, Captain George E.T. Eyston, is included, for example, as is auto racer and Sir Malcolm Campbell, who set several land and water speed records and appears with his Bluebird motor boat.

A total of 22 cards feature airplanes and flying craft, eight picture trains, 11 feature automobiles/motorcycles, and nine feature ships/boats. The boating subset include a range of types, including large ships and smaller motor boats.

Fronts of the cards include color pictures and the title of the craft pictured. The back has a brief description of the craft, as well as a card number, the title of the set, and indicates they were issued by the Imperial Tobacco Company of Great Britain & Ireland, Ltd. with Wills Cigarettes.

Backs also included a separate mention that collector albums for the cards could be purchased from tobacconists for one penny. These albums, true to the price, were inexpensively made with paper covers and interior pages.

The cards are a bit rarer than many other Wills sets of the later 1930s.