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W.D. & H.O. Wills, Flag Girls of All Nations, No. 48, Japan. Capstan Navy Cut brand back. Raw and ungraded.
The front is a color lithograph of a woman in a blue floral kimono with a gold obi, holding a folding fan and the Rising Sun flag, with JAPAN printed at the base. The back is printed in dark blue-black and carries the set name and card number at the top, followed by descriptive text on Japan that notes the alliance with the United Kingdom, four large islands and many small ones, an area of 162,000 square miles, a population of 45 million, a capital of Tokio with a population of one and a half million, agriculture as the chief occupation, and an army on a peace footing of about 160,000. The Capstan Navy Cut advertising panel runs across the lower third, with the album line down the left border and the tobacconist line down the right. The back text is written in the language and attitudes of 1908 and is presented here as an artifact of the period.
Flag Girls of All Nations was issued by W.D. & H.O. Wills in both a 25-card and a 50-card version, with each card showing a woman in national dress alongside her country\'s flag. Wills, based in Bristol, was the British pioneer of the cigarette card, beginning the practice around 1887 and adding descriptive text to the backs in 1897. The same series was distributed under several different brand backs, including Capstan Navy Cut, United Service and Vice Regal, with the Vice Regal and Capstan versions circulating in Australia.
This card is over a century old. Please review all photos closely, as they are of the actual card you will receive and are part of the description.
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