Tea Cards From England (and the World)

Brooke Bond of England was the parent company of Red Rose for all 17 of the card series.  This parent company also issued tea cards in its tea in Ireland, South Africa, Rhodesia and of course, England. In England, fifty-six different sets (along with many variations) were issued.  All of the wonderful, interesting things that can be collected in Red Rose have counterparts in the British series. There are of course, the cards and their variations. Then albums, coupons, uncut sheets, cellos, wall charts, mugs, magazine ads, and much more.  So much to collect, so little spare money (sigh...).

Here's an interesting fact, Red Rose "borrowed" a series or two from England. Brooke Bond had been putting tea cards in the tea long before Red Rose considered it. I believe it was the success of the British premium promotion that encouraged it be tried in the Americas. There were many successful British series to choose from but a lot were geared solely toward the British interest. Trees in Britain, British Butterflies, British Costume and the like would have a limited interest in the Americas.

Red Rose did adapt some of the concepts though. Tropical Birds was a British set that Red Rose did as well. Not a picture is alike although a lot of the names of the birds are duplicated It kinda makes sense, doesn't it. There are only so many different tropical birds. Wildlife in Danger is the same. Not a matching picture.

There are a couple of near exact matches. One is the African Animals series. Both British and Red Rose match on almost all paintings and the texts are similar. Another near match is the Transport(ation) Through the Ages series. That is an interesting one to dive into.

Brooke Bond sold Red Rose a long time ago ('85 for Canada and '90 for the US) but they issued cards in England right up until 1999.

In South Africa, three sets were issued. Some count a variation in the first series as a second series making the total four.

Here is a sample card from the 1967 "Our Pets" series. It is card number 29, The Cockatoo.

Last modified: April 25, 2020

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