Where were the 1928 Sociedade Industrial dos Tabacos de Angola produced/distributed?

[brianp-beme]

Tom S. posted in the International Card thread an example of the very scarce black and white action cards known as the Sociedade Industrial dos Tabacos de Angola. I have posted another example below from the set that I found on the internet.

My question is, where were these cards produced and or/distributed? I have read a couple of theories, including that it is a South American issue (the 1928 Tabacalera La Morena that is believed to have been issued in El Salvador shares the same checklist), and that it was produced in Portugal for Angolan distribution.

As far as I can tell, the backsides of the Sociedade Industrial dos Tabacos de Angola are written in Portuguese. The only Central or South American country where Portuguese is widely spoken is Brazil. If the Tabacalera La Morena cards, which have Spanish text on back, are from El Salvador, then Brazil would be the only real possibility for the Sociedade Industrial dos Tabacos de Angola cards if they were indeed a South American issue. And being from the same neck of the world's wood makes sense, being that these sets share the same photos/checklist.

On the other hand, I have also read that they were produced in Portugal for distribution in Angola. Angola is a country in southwest Africa, and the main language in Angola is Portuguese, so that lines up. But how/why would these sets share the same photos? And was Angola a market for these cards? I have a sneaky feeling that, in a somewhat similar fashion as the Bulgaria Cigarettes cards, whose product and cards were actually produced in Germany, the Angola name is for where the tobacco product came from.

Any thoughts?

Brian (card shown from Prewar card site)



How

[swarmee]

Reasonable assumption. Surely baseball at that time had little to no interest in Angola the country. But "tobacos de Angola" does translate to "tobacco from Angola."

[Tom S.]

Brian,

I don't have any idea for sure where the Sociedade Industrial cards may have been produced. Since that set does not limit itself to baseball-only cards (due to its connection to the Tabacalera La Morena set), Angola may still be the source of the Sociedade cards though.

In the 2020 Heritage Summer Sports Card Auction currently underway, there is a large group of 75 Tabacalera cards (Lot #56666) that encompass a wide spectrum of other sporting endeavors (boxing, soccer, wrestling, tennis, track & field, swimming, cycling, hockey, etc.); some of which might have been of interest to your average Angolan at the time.

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by Tom S.

Brian,

I don't have any idea for sure where the Sociedade Industrial cards may have been produced. Since that set does not limit itself to baseball-only cards (due to its connection to the Tabacalera La Morena set), Angola may still be the source of the Sociedade cards though.

In the 2020 Heritage Summer Sports Card Auction currently underway, there is a large group of 75 Tabacalera cards (Lot #56666) that encompass a wide spectrum of other sporting endeavors (boxing, soccer, wrestling, tennis, track & field, swimming, cycling, hockey, etc.); some of which might have been of interest to your average Angolan at the time.

It does seem odd to me that these sets that share the same subjects/images would be issued during the same year on different continents. I guess it could happen, but to me it feels unlikely. Definitely baseball is not the main focus in these sets, but there is enough that you would think at least the Tabacalera set was created first, being that baseball had a substantial presence in Latin America and a fair amount of interest in US baseball (I think there are 25 baseball cards in the set), compared to what I assume was minimal amount of interest/exposure in Angola.

Brian

[Exhibitman]

I've acquired a number of the boxing cards over the years. Several came from sellers in Spain and Portugal. Angola was a Portuguese colony and tobacco was grown there and exported back to Europe. I think it likely that the cards were made in Portugal for inclusion in packets of ciggies made from Angolan tobacco.

As far as art-sharing with the La Morena set, that too was not unknown. There is a common German set from the late 1920s, Die Welt Im Bildern, from a Dresden manufacturer. The same artwork was used in a rare South American set called "Chilena Dos Tabacos". The artwork from the rare E211 York Caramel boxing set was used for an even rarer 1931 tobacco set from Venezuela, issued by a company called Bigott.

That offering in Heritage is stunning, BTW, some major eye candy well worth checking out. I really wish they'd busted them up more into singles. I'd be all over several of them.

[brianp-beme]

Thanks for providing a broader perspective Adam. I guess the world was a smaller place than I imagined in 1928.

So if I am correct, you believe these Sociedade cards were produced AND distributed in Portugal, and were packaged with tobacco product that originated in Angola?

Brian