1903 Mitchell’s / Three Bells Cigarettes Scottish Clan Set and Checklist

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Mitchell’s / Three Bells Cigarettes Scottish Clan
Year	1903
Size	1 3/8″ x 2 5/8″
Images	Color
Type	Tobacco
Number in Set	25

1903 Mitchell’s / Three Bells Cigarettes Scottish Clan Set Overview

1903 Scottish Clan Golf Card The 1903 Scottish Clan set is a rare international tobacco issue that was distributed by at least two tobacco companies — Mitchell & Son for their Mitchell’s Cigarettes product and J. & F. Bell, Ltd. for their Three Bells Cigarettes.

The two sets are parallel sets with all 25 card fronts being found in each release.

The cards feature men from different territorial clans in Scotland. Fronts include a color image of a particular member of a clan (as well as their clan’s colors/pattern) and white borders with a card number and the mention that the card is in Series 1 of the Scottish Clan set. Backs have a writeup of the clan, along with the tobacco sponsor name.

The set is almost entirely a non-sports release. However, two golf cards exist — one for the Colquhoun clan and a second for the Grant clan.

Considering the Scottish origins of this set and the fact that golf was first introduced by Scotland, it makes since that the sport would be featured here, even if only in a casual way. The golf cards are generally considered to the be key card in the set. No other sports cards really exist in the set, though, hunting/rifle shooting is depicted.

While the front of these cards advertise that they are part of Series 1, I have not seen any later series’ of this set. Plans for additional ones may have been canceled.

Both sets appear to be quite rare — however, the Three Bells set appears to be the more difficult one to find.