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

[Exhibitman]

I think the Angola cards were made in Europe for insertion with colonial tobacco that was imported to Europe. I have no hard evidence, just an inference based on where the cards I found originated 15-20 years ago.

Other examples of cross-pollination of cards:

--Lambert & Butler made a common set of athlete cards in the late 1920s for the UK. A rare brand variant, Machado Tobacco, came from Jamaica. Same art, just different branding.

--Ogdens made a ubiquitous set of boxing cards for the UK around 1901. A different series of the same design was made in Sydney for Australia.

I checked the WTI and it lists the La Morenas as from Barcelona and Venezuela. Not sure where that came from but I would not be surprised if they were made in Barcelona. I am dubious of the Venezuela part. That country has had a pretty good pipeline of cards into the USA via eBay over the last decade or so, and none of them have turned up. The WTI doesn't list the set itself under the La Morena index. The ACC also is silent on the issue.

Some of this stuff is probably beyond anyone's ability to research and prove.

[glchen]

When I bought a few of these on ebay in 2013, I believe it was a European seller who said he bought them at a flea market in Portugal. I also have the "weird" one from Leon's Heritage auction a few years ago. They are definitely interesting cards. I've also added a Tabacalera so folks can compare the different Ruth versions.

[Exhibitman]

Those are great! One thing for sure about both issues is that they are tough.

ETA: there is also a second series of the Sociedade cards with white borders. No baseball but there is a Max Schmeling.

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by glchen

When I bought a few of these on ebay in 2013, I believe it was a European seller who said he bought them at a flea market in Portugal. I also have the "weird" one from Leon's Heritage auction a few years ago. They are definitely interesting cards. I've also added a Tabacalera so folks can compare the different Ruth versions.

Thanks Gary for another confirmation, along with Adam's, of the European origin of these cards. And with the Portuguese on back, it certainly points to Portugal.

Let us now all take a moment to point our fingers at Portugal.

Brian

[Leon]

Originally Posted by glchen

When I bought a few of these on ebay in 2013, I believe it was a European seller who said he bought them at a flea market in Portugal. I also have the "weird" one from Leon's Heritage auction a few years ago. They are definitely interesting cards. I've also added a Tabacalera so folks can compare the different Ruth versions.

Those are great cards. Thanks for sharing. I think I might recognize one...and congrats on the card from my first collection. It's awesome.

.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

Let us now all take a moment to point our fingers at Portugal.

Brian

Which one?

Can't believe I forgot to post this:



Here's the white border:



The Schmeling indicates an issue date on the white borders of 1930-1932 since it refers to him as the new champ; he won the title in 1930, lost it in 1932.

Also, has anyone tried to translate the backs? They say: "The most modern and the best assembled colony factory powered by electricity. Careful handling of tobacco. Selected products. Unrivaled manufacture." Seems to support the colonial export theory as well as the use of the cards as pack inserts. My SWAG is that the colony did not have the printing capacity to make the cards so they were made in Portugal and sent to Angola for inclusion in the ciggies to be shipped and sold in Europe, hence the cards turning up from European sellers.

[Jobu]

I lived in Brazil for a while and speak some Brazilian Portuguese. The text makes me think that these were made in Portugal using tobacco from Angola.

"A mais moderna e a mais bem montada fabrica da Colonia" translates to "The most modern and well-built factory in the Colony". Here "da" is the contraction of "de a" which is "from the".

The fact that they capitalize Colony and simply mention it as if "the Colony" is common knowledge makes it feel to me like these were marketed in the country whose colony it was - Portugal. If they were marketed in Angola they probably wouldn't have gone out of their way to brag about the Colony because I don't know that that would have been a great selling point for anyone actually in Angola.

All pure speculation though.

[swarmee]

I agree. No reason to do the packaging in Angola. Just import the tobacco and package in Portugal. Same rationale for Khedival and Turkish in the US, presuming the tobacco in those cards actually came from Turkey.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by swarmee

I agree. No reason to do the packaging in Angola. Just import the tobacco and package in Portugal. Same rationale for Khedival and Turkish in the US, presuming the tobacco in those cards actually came from Turkey.

I don't think there was any tobacco in those cards; maybe in the packs

[Catfish Fran]

That's right!

Originally Posted by 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

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by 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?

Originally Posted by Catfish Fran

That's right!

Nice to see an 'abroad' perspective on these from a poster from that region of the world. Any insider information you would like to share with us?


Brian

[glchen]

A few more of these "weird" Sociedade variations.

[Exhibitman]

There is a definite Latin American-German connection in the interwar card arena. The common German Die Welt in Bildern set that has about 9 brands and a nice group of boxers (Dempsey, Schmeling and a few others) has a rare Chilean version with the same art. Now these have German and El Salvadoran versions. One of many things to ponder in prewar cards from Latin America.