AND WHAT'S MORE, HE DOESN'T SMOKE!

New Zealand Listener, Volume 11, Issue 283, 24 November 1944, Page 14

AND WHAT'S MORE, HE DOESN'T SMOKE!

Meet The Complete Cartophilist

ANY have saved cigarette Mi cards to the extent of collecting a set or two, but it is doubtful if anyone else in New Zealand, or Australia for that matter, has gone as far as Jack Murtagh, of Hastings. He began his interesting cartophily (cigarette-card collecting, to you) when he was a lad of 11, got a few together, lost interest as most do, then later became inspired to carry on from where he left off. Scores of cards grew to hundreds, hundreds to thousands, and thousands to millions-at least to 1,000,000. For that is the extent of Mr. Murtagh’s collection to-day: some 20,000 or 30,000 over the million mark, As this is a collection impossible for the average person to conceive in terms of thought some other form of comparison is called for. These 1,000,000 cards weigh about 14cwt., occupy at present 700 albums and 300 large boxes, while some 120,000 picked up on a recent visit to the South Island are stowed away in travelling casés..To accommodate his enormous collection Mr, Murtagh had to build a special room on to his house, and the whole is neatly indexed, facilitating immediate reference to any one set or subject. The collection lines shelves running from floor to ceiling. It is insured with Lloyd’s of London for £450. While cartophilists are not by any | means as numerous as philatelists-Mr. Murtagh says that the genuine collectors in New Zealand can be counted on the fingers of one hand-there are a great number in the world. They have their societies and clubs through which they correspond with one another and make exchanges. Several small magazines dealing with cards and markets have survived the war’s newsprint rationing demands. A Multitude of Subjects As most smokers ‘are aware, cigarette cards cover a multitude of subjects, but it is only when one comes in contact with a collection of this magnitude that one realises how very few subjects in~ deed have not formed the bases of sets: the range, in fact, is encyclopaedic. Mr. Murtagh’s "little lot" is also in

a variety of languages, for, before the war interfered with his overseas sources of supplies, he obtained sets from Britain, United States, Australia, South Africa, Canada, Cuba, China, Egypt, Holland, Norway, Siam, Greece, and Germany. Many of the cards from the last-named country are among the finest Mr. Murtagh has, and they include long sets of the 1936 Olympic Games in

postcard size, and a full sequence dealing with the military progress of Germany and the rise of Hitler, a series which later was prohibited from being, sent out of Germany under threat of severe punishments. The Original "Pin-up" Girls It is impossible in this article to list the great range of cards which have so roused Mr. Murtagh’s enthusiasm-and I must add the enthusiasm of all who are privileged to see them-but it can be said that the "cards" are of a wide variety in themselves, embracing stereoscopics, cut-outs, metal plaques, sectional cards with which to build large pictures, luminous cards, and a parficularly fine set of large and small floral motifs woven in coloured silks on a silk background. How these were admired when exhibited, in conjunction with hundreds of others, at the Hastings Show three years_ago, and how many women desired them to put on their nighties, petticoats, or other garments, only Mr. Murtagh himself fully knows. He has also a set of the original "pin(continued on next page)

‘"" (continued from "previous page) up" girls, semi-undressed beauties included in packages of cigarettes issued only to the men of the Royal Navy a few years ago. When The Listener saw him, Mr. Murtagh said that cigarette card collecting is a really valuable hobby. "Nearly every card teaches some lesson; items of geographical or historical interest, botany, sport, travel, animal or bird life, astronomy, science are among. the thousand and one topics included. The inforthation printed on the backs is concise and reliable and often culled from remote sources." Why Some Are So Rare Asked if there were anything in the frequently-expressed theory that some cards in a series were sent out fewer in numbers than others in order to make a set difficult to fill and thereby keep up sales, Mr. Murtagh said the question was one that had for long attracted the attention of cartophilists. After considerable investigation they had decided there was nothing in it. "Cards are usually printed in sets on sheets and the same number of each is printed. Later they are inserted ‘into the packets by machinery and the whole process of printing and packing is -carried out straightforwardly. That certain cards do become harder to obtain than others is true, but this might be attributable to the sudden popularity of one particular card. In one set of motion picture stars, for instance, a very fine photograph of Jean Harlow was included. This set appeared at the time of Jean Harlow’s death, and for sentimental reasons or mere curiosity this card was not discarded by most smokers, with the. result that it did not get into the usual channels of circulation." At other times full sets were sought by interested sections of the community. A noteworthy instance was one of the last sets printed before the war. caused a suspension in publication. This set, Rare and Interesting," was in great demand by stamp-collec-tors, and their interest had a marked effect on the numbers of cards generally available. To round off this story of New Zealand’s "ace" cigarette card collector, it should be stated that Mr. Murtagh is a non-smoker.

C.H.

F.