Tuesday, July 05, 2011

To say that the drawings which adorn the packaging of this English jigsaw puzzle are surpising would definitely be an understatement.







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3 comments:

ramapith said...

I think the product was CANDY cigarettes... still, not a product I've seen Mickey and Donald endorse in my lifetime.

10:53 AM
Peter said...

Ramapith is quite correct. Barratts & Co opened their sweet factory ('sweets' being what candy is called in the UK) in Wood Green, London, in 1880 and produced sweets there until the mid 1970s, when they moved out of London.

Sweet cigarettes were produced from the 1930s until the mid '70s - when the red coloured ends disappeared and they were renamed candy sticks.

I don't know when this Mickey Mouse pack dates from - I think the 30s style of Disney illustration was still being used in the late 40s.

The cigarette pack design references the real Players cigarette packs with their 'Navy Cut' logo featuring a sailor framed by a lifebelt, which dates back to 1914. Players originated the practice of putting collectable illustrated 'cigarette cards' in their packs, and Barratts had similar cards in their sweet cigarette packets in the 50s and 60s - perhaps the jigsaw was an earlier novelty.

9:55 AM
Unknown said...

It's always interesting to look back at artifacts of yesteryear like these, just so see how much things have changed.

While they are candy cigarettes, it still reminds me of the cigarette commercial featuring the Flintstones.

9:23 AM

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