1927 British American Tobacco / Lambert & Butler / Wills Homeland Events Set and Checklist

Posted on November 1, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Homeland Events
Year	1927 (Wills) and 1928 (Lambert and Butler) (British American Tobacco)
Size	1 3/8″ x 2 1/2″
Images	Black and White
Type	Tobacco
Number in Set	50

1927/1928 British American Tobacco / Lambert & Butler / Wills Homeland Events Overview

1927 Homeland Events Tennis 1927 Homeland Events Boxing This set was distributed by tobacco companies Wills, British American Tobacco, and Lambert & Butler. While it is similar to a later 1932 set issued by Wills, it is also different. Even though the set is mostly a non-sports issue, it does include a few sports cards from tennis, boxing, soccer, and golf. The cards feature real events in the UK.

The cards were printed in 1927 and 1928 in a total of three different sets. The Wills set appears to have been issued in 1927 while the British American Tobacco and Lambert & Butler cards came a year later.

The Wills cards are easily the most seen and were actually distributed in New Zealand. British American Tobacco and Lambert & Butler cards are much rarer, as the London Cigarette and Trade Card Catalogue prices them at about four times the value of the Wills cards. Wills and Lambert & Butler have their names printed at the bottom of the back while the British American Tobacco cards simply have no maker printed. Shown here is a picture of all three types of backs courtesy of Alan Jenkins’ fantastic Football Cartophilic Info Exchange site.

The cards are slightly smaller than your standard tobacco card issues from that time period. They feature real black and white images and are also somewhat different in that they have a glossy finish. A small caption of each scene is on the front and a longer description is provided on the back.

Some events are featured on more than one card. However, while the captions are the same, a number in parentheses is printed after the caption for each different card – i.e. Foxhunting (1), Foxhunting (2), etc.

Golf and Bobby Jones

The boxing card features a match (the fighters are not identified) while the tennis card features a match at Wimbledon. Other sports represented include soccer. However, most collector interest is generated around the golf card.

Of note is that the set has a St. Andrews card where Hall of Famer Bobby Jones is identified on the card. The Jones golf card is easily the most sought after in the entire set.

The back of the card mentions Jones is putting during the final round of the Open Championship, which he won. That would mean the image was taken from the 1927 Open since that was the only one he won at St. Andrews.

Issued in 1927, it is actually a legitimate second-year card of Jones, as the star’s rookie card came in a 1926 set.

The card remains one of Jones’ best bargains, starting around $20-$30 for an example in decent raw condition.

Confusion with Other Homeland Events Sets

Many collectors are unaware that there are actually more than one of these Homeland Events sets. This one was printed in 1927 and 1928, but a later one was issued in 1932 by Wills.

The cards are nearly identical to these and many of the same subjects appear. However, the card numbers are different and other cards are introduced in those sets as well. One difference is that the 1932 set included 54 cards while these have only 50. A quick glance at the back (which states the number in the set) will help you differentiate between the sets.

That card also has a golf card of Jones, though with a different image and playing in the British Amateur championship.