Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Wills Physical Culture
Year	1914
Size	1 3/8″ x 2 5/8″
Images	Color
Type	Tobacco
Number in Set	50

1914 Wills Physical Culture Set Overview

This international tobacco card set was issued by Wills 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.

These cards are among the more common of the exercise issues. Some of the exercises depicted are in conjunction with equipment and the set can even be considered a gymnastics set of sorts.

Collectors looking for that sport, in fact, are often drawn to this set as one of the few pre-war releases to cover gymnastics. The cards are arranged by type with general exercising and fitness covered in the first 25 cards. Save for cards featuring club swinging and climbing rope, the remaining 17 cards, roughly 1/3 of the set, are devoted to gymnastics, including the parallel bar, horizonal bar, vaulting bar, and rings.

The set is titled Physical Culture. True to the name, the fronts of these cards depict a subject performing numerous exercises. The exercises were performed by generic, unnamed subjects. Like some other exercise subjects depicting motion, these cards included a full color image along with line drawings of the subject along with it to show the movement of the actual exercise. Backgrounds are complete white and the fronts also include the Wills Cigarettes name along with the title of the card.

Backs of the cards display the Physical Culture name at the top. The backs state there are a total of 50 cards in the set and include a card number with a short description of the exercise being performed on the front. The W.D. & H.O. Wills tobacco company name is at the bottom as well as a mention that the cards were issued by parent Imperial Tobacco Company.

While not expensive, as an earlier Wills set, this one is a bit more expensive than the majority of the later 1930s Wills cards for sale.

1914 Wills Physical Culture Set Checklist

1. Home Exercises
2. Home Exercises
3. Home Exercises
4. Home Exercises
5. Home Exercises
6. Home Exercises
7. Home Exercises
8. Home Exercises
9. Home Exercises
10. Home Exercises
11. Home Exercises
12. Home Exercises
13. Scarf or Towel Exercises
14. Scarf or Towel Exercises
15. Scarf or Towel Exercises
16. Scarf or Towel Exercises
17. Scarf or Towel Exercises
18. Dumb-bell Exercises
19. Dumb-bell Exercises
20. Dumb-bell Exercises
21. Dumb-bell Exercises
22. Dumb-bell Exercises
23. Dumb-bell Exercises
24. Dumb-bell Exercises
25. Dumb-bell Exercises
26. Indian Club Exercises
27. Indian Club Exercises
28. Indian Club Exercises
29. Indian Club Exercises
30. Indian Club Exercises
31. Indian Club Exercises
32. Vaulting-bar Exercises
33. Vaulting-bar Exercises
34. Vaulting-bar Exercises
35. Horizontal Bar Exercises
36. Horizontal Bar Exercises
37. Horizontal Bar Exercises
38. Horizontal Bar Exercises
39. Parallel Bar Exercises
40. Parallel Bar Exercises
41. Parallel Bar Exercises
42. Rope-Climbing Exercises
43. Rope-Climbing Exercises
44. Ring Exercises
45. Ring Exercises
46. Ring Exercises
47. Ring Exercises
48. Ring Exercises
49. Ring Exercises
50. Ring Exercises

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