Memories of Douglas Number 2

Cartophilist - a collector of cigarette cards.

My late husband Douglas collected cigarette cards. It started when he was a young lad - swapping cards in the playground etc. Obviously he didn't smoke - he never smoked - but he would get them from adults who didn't collect them.

Today's blip shows a cutting from the Ponteland Edition of The Northumberland Gazetter dated Friday October 11th 1974 (Price 4p). Douglas appears to be front page news showing off his collection of over 25,000 cigarette cards.

When I married Douglas in 1982 I also got the cards.... and still have them.

Douglas was editor of a cigarette card magazine " Cartophilic Notes and News " and he also contributed articles in his own name. However if they were ever short of material he used to write under the pseudonym " Coffee Johnny " to fill up the issue.

Geordies amongst us will know that Coffee Johnny was a local character mentioned in the song " The Blaydon Races". It was also the name of a pub in The Bigg market where Douglas often enjoyed a lunchtime drink with his work colleagues. ( Pub is still there but name has changed - why do they keep changing the names of pubs)

Douglas was born and bred in London and lived there till the 1970's but when he moved " up North " he became interested in the local area.

He was particularly interested in the cards and history of the brothers John and Robert Sinclair who were in competition with each other as tobacco manufacturers in Newcastle until the 2nd World War.

Well I wonder what I can find for tomorrow's blip??