1914-1924 Churchman / W.T. Davies / Ogden / Franklyn Davey / W. Williams Boxing Set and Checklist

Posted on November 8, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Boxing
Year	1914-24
Size	1 3/8″ x 2 5/8″
Images	Color
Type	Tobacco
Number in Set	25

1914-1924 Churchman / W.T. Davies / Ogden / Franklyn Davey / W. Williams Boxing Set Overview

1924 W.T. Davies Boxing This was one of many instructional sets released in the pre-war era for the sport of boxing. The issue was distributed by at least five cigarette brands – Churchman, Davies’ Cigarettes, Ogden’s Cigarettes, Franklyn Davey, and W. Williams Company.

The Ogden set is believed to have been issued first, in 1914, and then reprinted in later years for use by the other brands. Churchman cards are usually listed as 1922 while W. Williams cards are cited as 1923. The other two sets are most commonly cited as 1924 issues.

The sets all utilized the same pictures and titles. However, the fronts differed slightly as each printed their own name at the top. While the cards depict boxing techniques, the set is merely called ‘Boxing’ on the back. Of the four sets, the W. Williams edition is the one I have seen the least. However, because so few are familiar with these series’, earning much of a premium for them among non-boxing enthusiasts would be difficult as the cards all look the same.

Cards gave collectors insight on how to perform various boxing techniques. Color pictures were presented on the front and the back gave a description of what was shown. The name of the specific cigarette brand is the at the top of the cards and a title is at the bottom of each image.

A pair of the same boxers is shown on each card, though they are generic and not meant to depict specific fighters. The lone exception to that is the first card which merely shows one boxer in the proper fighting stance. Of note is that some of the cards depict an incorrect way to fight, thus showing collectors actual flaws instead of merely just all correct techniques.

The set is somewhat rare and collectors pursuing it will generally be better off buying an entire set than trying to accumulate all of the singles.