Now all roads lead to France and heavy is the tread
Of the living; but the dead returning lightly dance.
Edward Thomas, Roads

Saturday, September 20, 2014

The History of the War — Through Cigarette Cards



This great compilation of regular contributor Cyril Mazansky's work is to be published in the spring by Schiffer Publishing of Pennsylvania.  His work approaches the history of the war from a unique perspective. Utilizing remarkably detailed  issues of cigarette and trade card sets related to the First World War, the author provides a richly illustrated and descriptive tapestry of this great conflict. Not only are the usual political and armed services aspects of the war covered in detail, but also other components of the military such as armaments, awards, uniforms, and militaria and the important role that propaganda played. The social and literary aspects of the war form an important part of the book as well. All these written details, a significant amount of which is drawn from the descriptions on the cards, complement the hundreds of card illustrations found throughout the work.

Cyril's book can be pre-ordered here:

Here are some examples from his collection we have not presented previously.








3 comments:

  1. What a colorful and interesting book this will be. Looking forward to publication.

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  2. The "Tale of Enver Pasha" the other day...the Sultan certainly didn't strike the handsome pose of this card. Well I guess an accurate depiction might not have sold, although I would think it would have been effective for the British propaganda effort.

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