1925 Carreras Happy Families Set and Checklist

Posted on November 2, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Carreras Happy Families
Year	1925
Size	1 7/16″ x 2 11/16″ and 2 1/2″ x 3″
Images	Color
Type	Tobacco / Game
Number in Set	48

1925 Carreras Happy Families Set Overview

1925 Carreras Happy Families Golf Card Mrs Lucky This interesting issue featured a total of 48 playing cards. These were issued by Carreras and while they are mostly commonly considered a tobacco issue, could also be counted as a game card set.

Fronts of the cards have full color cartoon images of the people. Many, though not all, of the people depicted show them smoking a cigarette. The backs have a standard blue-ink playing card design. Backs also carry the ‘Happy Families’ name and indicate there are 48 cards in the set.

The set is similar to the 1939 Wills Happy Families set. Cards are divided into families with each family consisting of four cards – a father, mother, son, and daughter. An occupation is featured in each family with the father as the focal point. The mother and father are Mrs. and Mr., respectively. Sons are called ‘Master’ and daughters are called ‘Miss.’

Most of the cards are non-sports issues. However, a couple of sports cards are in the set, including a female golfer named, “Mrs. Lucky.” Soccer, as you might expect in an international issue, is also a focal point. One of the occupations spotlighted is that of a footballer (or in America, a soccer player). A second soccer card is also included as the man’s son, the master, is also a youth soccer player.

In all, a total of 12 different occupations were used:

Undertaker
Tobacconist
Dustman (Garbage Man)
Policeman
Schoolmaster
Judge
Butler
Butcher
Plumber
Jeweler
Sweep (Chimney Sweep)
Footballer

The set is also easily identifiable as a Carreras set as some collectors of UK cards might notice. They have generally the same design as Carreras’ 1927 Nose Game cards, which were printed two years later.

Larger Variation

1925 Carreras Happy Families Golf Card Mrs Lucky Large In addition, like many UK sets, a second, larger variation of these cards exist. That was a popular theme found in UK cigarette sets so it is not unexpected to see it here, though it certainly is a cause for confusion among American collectors.

Shown here is an image of the larger golf card.

The larger cards are virtually the same as the smaller ones. Same pictures, same families, same designs. The primary difference is on the backs. Backs of smaller cards are in blue ink while these larger ones have a red-ink design. Even the card numbers are the same, which is not always a given in these types of UK variations. UK sets that have larger variations are not always exactly the same as several of the larger issues include a smaller number of cards. However, that is not the case here.

The larger cards are also more like our traditional American cards, measuring only slightly smaller at about 2 1/2″ x 3″. They look much more like a square card than the smaller rectangular shape of the others.

Finally, as is the case with most larger variations, the bigger ones are more much tougher to find and were not likely printed in the same quantities as their smaller counterparts.