The Brooke Bond Picture Cards reference book 5th edition lists several reprint sets of cards, including two that are rarely listed elsewhere. Both Prehistoric Animals and the History of Aviation are the only two sets originally printed with black backs to have been reprinted. As the reprint sets were also printed with black backs the two printings are considered identical.

Recently however, fellow cartophilist John Cotton has sent information which shows that it is possible to differentiate between the two printings, but the difference is subtle. Most of the original sets were printed on a thicker card than the reprints, and by comparing a mint set of original cards against a mint set of reprint cards it is possible, on the example examined, to see a noticeable difference in the thickness of the two stacks. The reprint set needs about another ten cards to make the two stacks equal in thickness.

However when comparing a large pile of odd cards, wear and tear to cards that have been handled plus a variety of thicknesses make them hard to find, and it is suggested that only the best quality cards are used for this purpose. With careful manipulation it is possible to find thick cards and thin cards but you will also find many in between that are hard to decide upon.

There appears to be no other way of telling the two printings apart and despite the fact that this subtle variation may not be of interest to the majority of collectors, the variation deserves listing purely because reprint card sets can be identified separately.

Thanks to John Cotton for help in the preparation of this article - March 2004

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