1932 Player and Sons Dandies Set and Checklist

‘It’s In The Details’

Title Player and Sons Dandies
Year 1932
Size 1 3/8″ x 2 5/8″
Images Color
Type Tobacco
Number in Set
50

1932 Player and Sons Dandies Set Overview

1932 Player and Sons Dandies Jim Corbett BoxingThis interesting set featured gentlemen that were dressed up. Titled ‘Dandies’, it was issued by UK tobacco manufacturer Player & Sons for their Player’s Cigarettes product.

Almost all of the cards in the set are non-sports cards. However, one features former boxing champion James Corbett. Corbett, known for his style of dress was nicknamed Gentleman Jim, as indicated on the card. His card is No. 49 in the set and is the most popular one in the entire release.

Cards featured color pictures on the fronts and a biography of who was depicted was on the back. The cards featured lithographs with paintings by an artist named Christopher Clark.

Corbett’s was titled ‘Pompadour’ on his card. His biography reads as follows:

“The first dandy of the modern prize ring was an American bank-clerk who forsook his counter to become one of the most respected and popular of great boxers. He was Heavyweight Champion of the World from 1892 to 1897. Endured with superb physique and standing over six feet in height, Corbett brought brains as well as brawn to the practice of his profession. 

An original thinker, he devoted much careful thought to boxing and ringcraft. Corbett’s pleasing appearance and charm of manner earned him the nicknames of Gentlemen Jim and Pompadour – the later because of the arrangement of his hair.”

While Corbett’s card is the highlight for most sports collectors, there are some other key cards in the series. Cards of Julius Caesar, Charles Dickens, and Sir Walter Raleigh, for example, are desirable.

In addition to this regular-sized issue, like other Player’s sets, a larger-sized, 25-card issue was also presented. Corbett, however, is not found in that issue.

Benjamin Disraeli Error Card

One card that flies under the radar in this set is No. 43 for Benjamin Disraeli, a Prime Minister of the UK.

Many do not pay much attention to his card. However, it is notable because an error was made in its production. When the card was initially printed, it pictured Disraeli at the age of 22 in 1826. The problem is that Big Ben, the famous clock tower, was in the background. That monument was not constructed until more than 30 years later in 1858.

At some point, this fact was pointed out by someone because the card was later corrected with the tower removed. That still was not ideal as the background was colored oddly from the removal. So a third card was actually printed, removing the majority of the background to create a more appealing, albeit, oddly blank, background.

To date, I have not observed much of a price difference between the variations.

1932 Player and Sons Dandies Set Checklist

  1. Narcissus
  2. Sardanapalus
  3. Alcibiades
  4. Julius Caesar
  5. The Norman Conqueror
  6. King Richard the Second
  7. A 15th Century Dandy
  8. Sir Walter Raleigh
  9. The Duke of Buckingham
  10. A Young Gallant of 1640-50
  11. Samuel Pepys
  12. Robert Fielding
  13. Claude Duval
  14. Count von Konigsmarck
  15. Richard Nash
  16. Michel Baron
  17. John Baskerville
  18. Topham Beauclerk
  19. A Dandy to the Last
  20. A Gunner of the R.H.A., 1793
  21. Lord Llandaff & His Brotheres
  22. A Member of the Watiers Club
  23. Murat King of Naples
  24. Mr. Romeo Coates
  25. Officer 4th Dragoons
  26. Sir Stapleton Cotton
  27. Colonel Daniel Mackinnon
  28. Old Mr. Turveydrop
  29. King George the Fourth
  30. George Bryan Brummell
  31. Lord Alvanley
  32. Captain Gronow
  33. Viscount Allen
  34. Lieutenant Colonel Kelly
  35. Sir Lumley Skeffington
  36. Lord Petersham
  37. Count Dorsay
  38. The 19th Lancers, 1820
  39. The Persian Ambassador, 1819
  40. A Fashion of 1822
  41. Lord Byron
  42. Edward Hughes Ball Hughes
  43. Benjamin Disraeli
  44. Prince Puckler Muskau
  45. Charles Dickens
  46. Officers, 11th Hussars
  47. Lord Dundreary
  48. James McNeill Whistler
  49. James Corbett
  50. A London Coster

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