Article: L'Imitation de Jesus Christ, Parent Desbarres Librairie, 1837.

L'Imitation de Jesus Christ, Parent Desbarres Librairie, 1837.
Leather engraving cover with gold leaf gilding.
From COLLECTION OF DEMONOLOGY AND SACRED BOOKS.

The Imitation of Christ (Latin: De Imitatione Christi) by Thomas à Kempis is a Christian devotional book. It was first composed in Latin ca. 1418–1427. It is a handbook for spiritual life arising from the Devotio Moderna movement, of which Kempis was a member. The Imitation is perhaps the most widely read devotional work next to the Bible, and is regarded as a devotional and religious classic. Its popularity was immediate, and it was printed 745 times before 1650. Apart from the Bible, no book has been translated into more languages than the Imitation of Christ. The text is divided into four books, which provide detailed spiritual instructions: "Helpful Counsels of the Spiritual Life", "Directives for the Interior Life", "On Interior Consolation" and "On the Blessed Sacrament". The approach taken in the Imitation is characterized by its emphasis on the interior life and withdrawal from the world, as opposed to an active imitation of Christ by other friars. The book places a high level of emphasis on the devotion to the Eucharist as key element of spiritual life.

The ideal of the imitation of Christ has been an important element of Christian theology, ethics and spirituality. References to this concept and its practice are found in the earliest Christian documents, such as the Pauline Epistles. Saint Augustine viewed the imitation of Christ as the fundamental purpose of Christian life, and as a remedy for the imitation of the sins of Adam. Saint Francis of Assisi believed in the physical as well as the spiritual imitation of Christ, and advocated a path of poverty and preaching like Jesus who was poor at birth in the manger and died naked on the cross. The theme of imitation of Christ existed in all phases of Byzantine theology, and in the 14th century book Life in Christ Nicholas Cabasilas viewed "living one's own personal life" in Christ as the fundamental Christian virtue. Against this backdrop, the Devotio Moderna movement was started by Geert Groote who was highly dissatisfied with the state of the Church and what he perceived as the gradual loss of monastic traditions and the lack of moral values among the clergy. The initial focus of Devotio Moderna was the rediscovery of genuine pious practices and conversion and re-conversion of the lukewarm clergy. The Imitation was written within the Devotio Moderna community, as it was flourishing in Northern Europe, but grew far beyond that movement which came to an end with the Protestant Reformation.

The book was written anonymously in Latin in the Netherlands ca. 1418-1427 and Thomas à Kempis is generally accepted as the author. Several sources of authority, including members of his own order, name Kempis as the author, and various contemporary manuscripts, including one autograph codex, bear his name. An 1874 edition from Tours, France Joseph N. Tylenda S.J writes that the book was composed anonymously is "not surprising" since the author writes in the Imitation that one should "love to be unknown."(Book 1; Chap.2). Regarding the anonymity of the work, William C. Creasy also notes that the author of the Imitation wrote, "Do not let the writer's authority or learning influence you, be it little or great, but let the love of pure truth attract you to read. Do not ask, 'Who said this?' but pay attention to what is said."(Book 1; Chap.5). By 1471, the manuscripts of the book were so frequently hand copied and passed across monasteries, that there are around 750 extant manuscripts of the Imitation. Thomas à Kempis's 1441 autograph manuscript of the book is available at the Bibliothèque Royale in Brussels. The first printed edition appeared in Augsburg in ca.1471-2. By the end of the 15th century, the book had more than 100 printed editions and translations in French, German, Italian and Spanish. The book received an enthusiastic response from the very early days, as characterized by the statement of George Pirkhamer, the prior of Nuremberg, regarding the 1494 edition: "Nothing more holy, nothing more honorable, nothing more religious, nothing in fine more profitable for the Christian commonwealth can you ever do than to make known these works of Thomas à Kempis." The number of counted editions exceeds 2000; 1000 different editions are preserved in the British Museum. The Bullingen collection, donated to the city of Cologne in 1838, contained at the time 400 different editions. De Backer enumerates 545 Latin and about 900 French editions. A critical edition was published in 1982. A new translation from the original Latin text into English by William Creasy was published in 2015.

The Imitation of Christ is regarded as the most important devotional work in Catholic Christianity and is the most widely read devotional work next to the Bible. Apart from the Bible no book has been translated into more languages than the Imitation of Christ. The book was admired by the following individuals: St. Thomas More, Chancellor of England and renowned humanist who was executed by King Henry VIII of England; St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus; and twentieth century American Catholic author and monk, Thomas Merton. It also has been admired by countless others, both Catholic and Protestant. The Jesuits give it an official place among their "exercises". John Wesley and John Newton, the founders of the Methodist movement, listed The Imitation among the works that influenced them at their conversion. General Gordon carried it with him to the battlefield. José Rizal, the Philippine polymath and national hero, reportedly read the book whilst incarcerated within Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila, shortly before the Spanish colonial government executed him by firing squad for sedition on 30 December 1896. Swami Vivekananda, the 19th-century Hindu philosopher and founder of Vedanta Society, drew a number of parallels between the teachings of the Imitation and the Bhagavad Gita. Vivekananda wrote a preface and a translation of the Imitation in 1899. Vivekananda would always carry a copy of the Bhagavad Gita and the Imitation. Spiritual writer Eknath Easwaran compared the teachings of the Imitation with the Upanishads. The Imitation of Christ was an early influence on the spirituality of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, who used it in her prayer life, distilled its message and used it in her own writings which then influenced Catholic spirituality as a whole. Thérèse was so attached to the book and read it so many times that she could quote passages from it from memory in her teens. Theologian Shailer Mathews wrote that the Imitation presents an accurate description of the Christ of the Gospels, and gives an unbiased reading of the words of Jesus. He also wrote "For centuries men have found in it inspiration to sacrifice and humility, and to severest self-examination...He who has never come under its influence has missed something that would have made him more humble and more ambitious for purity of life." Spanish crypto-Muslim writer known as the Young Man of Arévalo included adaptations of many passages from the Imitation in his Islamic devotional work Summary of the Account and Spiritual Exercise. He removed specific Christian contexts and features with Islamic ones, while keeping the spiritual and moral meaning intact. The adaptation of Christian devotional literature in his Islamic work was likely the result of his being obligated to attend missionary sermons (after forced conversions of Muslims in Spain), and a lack of access to actual Islamic literature.

More info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imitation_of_Christ

Article: Paroissien Roman, Barbou Freres, Limoges, 1837.

Paroissien Roman, Barbou Freres, Limoges, 1837.
Leather engraving cover with gold leaf gilding.
From COLLECTION OF DEMONOLOGY AND SACRED BOOKS.

The Roman Missal (Latin: Missale Romanum, Fr: Paroissien Roman) is the liturgical book that contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Before the high Middle Ages, several books were used at Mass: a Sacramentary with the prayers, one or more books for the Scriptural readings, and one or more books for the antiphons and other chants. Gradually, manuscripts came into being that incorporated parts of more than one of these books, leading finally to versions that were complete in themselves. Such a book was referred to as a Missale Plenum (English: "Full Missal"). In 1223 Saint Francis of Assisi instructed his friars to adopt the form that was in use at the Papal Court (Rule, chapter 3). They adapted this missal further to the needs of their largely itinerant apostolate. Pope Gregory IX considered, but did not put into effect, the idea of extending this missal, as revised by the Franciscans, to the whole Western Church; and in 1277 Pope Nicholas III ordered it to be accepted in all churches in the city of Rome. Its use spread throughout Europe, especially after the invention of the printing press; but the editors introduced variations of their own choosing, some of them substantial. Printing also favoured the spread of other liturgical texts of less certain orthodoxy. The Council of Trent recognized that an end must be put to the resulting confusion. 

Implementing the Council's decision, Pope Pius V promulgated, in the Apostolic Constitution Quo primum on 14 July 1570, an edition of the Roman Missal that was to be in obligatory use throughout the Latin Church except where there was a traditional liturgical rite that could be proved to be of at least two centuries’ antiquity. Some corrections to Pope Pius V's text proved necessary, and Pope Clement VIII replaced it with a new typical edition of the Roman Missal on 7 July 1604. (In this context, the word "typical" means that the text is the one to which all other printings must conform.). A further revised typical edition was promulgated by Pope Urban VIII on 2 September 1634. Beginning in the late seventeenth century, France and neighbouring areas saw a flurry of independent missals published by bishops influenced by Jansenism and Gallicanism. This ended when Bishop Pierre-Louis Parisis of Langres and Abbot Guéranger initiated in the nineteenth century a campaign to return to the Roman Missal. Pope Leo XIII then took the opportunity to issue in 1884 a new typical edition that took account of all the changes introduced since the time of Pope Urban VIII. Pope Pius X also undertook a revision of the Roman Missal, which was published and declared typical by his successor Pope Benedict XV on 25 July 1920. A French prayerbook of 1905 containing extracts from the Roman Missal and the Roman Breviary of the time with French translations Though Pope Pius X's revision made few corrections, omissions and additions to the text of the prayers in the Roman Missal, there were major changes in the rubrics, changes which were not incorporated in the section entitled "Rubricae generales", but were instead printed as an additional section under the heading "Additiones et variationes in rubricis Missalis". In contrast, the revision by Pope Pius XII, though limited to the liturgy of only five days of the Church's year, was much bolder, requiring changes even to canon law, which until then had prescribed that, with the exception of Midnight Mass for Christmas, Mass should not begin more than one hour before dawn or later than one hour after midday. In the part of the Missal thus thoroughly revised, he anticipated some of the changes affecting all days of the year after the Second Vatican Council. These novelties included the first official introduction of the vernacular language into the liturgy for renewal of baptismal promises within the Easter Vigil celebration. Pope Pius XII issued no new typical edition of the Roman Missal, but authorized printers to replace the earlier texts for Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil with those that he began to introduce in 1951 and that he made universally obligatory in 1955. The Pope also removed from the Vigil of Pentecost the series of six Old Testament readings, with their accompanying Tracts and Collects, but these continued to be printed until 1962. 

More info: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Missal

Article: Paroissien Roman, Pellion et Marchet Frere, Dijon, 1881.

Paroissien Roman, Pellion et Marchet Frere, Dijon, 1881.
Leather engraving cover with gold leaf gilding.
From COLLECTION OF DEMONOLOGY AND SACRED BOOKS.

The Roman Missal (Latin: Missale Romanum, Fr: Paroissien Roman) is the liturgical book that contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Before the high Middle Ages, several books were used at Mass: a Sacramentary with the prayers, one or more books for the Scriptural readings, and one or more books for the antiphons and other chants. Gradually, manuscripts came into being that incorporated parts of more than one of these books, leading finally to versions that were complete in themselves. Such a book was referred to as a Missale Plenum (English: "Full Missal"). In 1223 Saint Francis of Assisi instructed his friars to adopt the form that was in use at the Papal Court (Rule, chapter 3). They adapted this missal further to the needs of their largely itinerant apostolate. Pope Gregory IX considered, but did not put into effect, the idea of extending this missal, as revised by the Franciscans, to the whole Western Church; and in 1277 Pope Nicholas III ordered it to be accepted in all churches in the city of Rome. Its use spread throughout Europe, especially after the invention of the printing press; but the editors introduced variations of their own choosing, some of them substantial. Printing also favoured the spread of other liturgical texts of less certain orthodoxy. The Council of Trent recognized that an end must be put to the resulting confusion.

Implementing the Council's decision, Pope Pius V promulgated, in the Apostolic Constitution Quo primum on 14 July 1570, an edition of the Roman Missal that was to be in obligatory use throughout the Latin Church except where there was a traditional liturgical rite that could be proved to be of at least two centuries’ antiquity. Some corrections to Pope Pius V's text proved necessary, and Pope Clement VIII replaced it with a new typical edition of the Roman Missal on 7 July 1604. (In this context, the word "typical" means that the text is the one to which all other printings must conform.). A further revised typical edition was promulgated by Pope Urban VIII on 2 September 1634. Beginning in the late seventeenth century, France and neighbouring areas saw a flurry of independent missals published by bishops influenced by Jansenism and Gallicanism. This ended when Bishop Pierre-Louis Parisis of Langres and Abbot Guéranger initiated in the nineteenth century a campaign to return to the Roman Missal. Pope Leo XIII then took the opportunity to issue in 1884 a new typical edition that took account of all the changes introduced since the time of Pope Urban VIII. Pope Pius X also undertook a revision of the Roman Missal, which was published and declared typical by his successor Pope Benedict XV on 25 July 1920. A French prayerbook of 1905 containing extracts from the Roman Missal and the Roman Breviary of the time with French translations Though Pope Pius X's revision made few corrections, omissions and additions to the text of the prayers in the Roman Missal, there were major changes in the rubrics, changes which were not incorporated in the section entitled "Rubricae generales", but were instead printed as an additional section under the heading "Additiones et variationes in rubricis Missalis". In contrast, the revision by Pope Pius XII, though limited to the liturgy of only five days of the Church's year, was much bolder, requiring changes even to canon law, which until then had prescribed that, with the exception of Midnight Mass for Christmas, Mass should not begin more than one hour before dawn or later than one hour after midday. In the part of the Missal thus thoroughly revised, he anticipated some of the changes affecting all days of the year after the Second Vatican Council. These novelties included the first official introduction of the vernacular language into the liturgy for renewal of baptismal promises within the Easter Vigil celebration. Pope Pius XII issued no new typical edition of the Roman Missal, but authorized printers to replace the earlier texts for Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil with those that he began to introduce in 1951 and that he made universally obligatory in 1955. The Pope also removed from the Vigil of Pentecost the series of six Old Testament readings, with their accompanying Tracts and Collects, but these continued to be printed until 1962.

More info:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Missal

Article: Fortune Telling Cards, Ferd Pianik & Sohne, Wien, c.1800

Fortune Telling Cards, Ferd Pianik & Sohne, Wien, c.1800

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During the 19th century a system of fortune telling arose in Europe using unnumbered, pictorial cards depicting popular imagery with subtitles in several languages. These cards continue to be sold today under various names such as Sehr Feine Aufschlagkarten, Fortune Telling Cards, Gypsy Fortune Telling, Zigeuner or Biedermeier Cartomancy Cards. Many seem to have originated in Austria, but they also emanate from Germany and Hungary.

These oracle cards contain several images that were originally seen as vignettes in earlier divination games as well as cartomancy sets devised by Lenormand and her successors, but the whole repertoire has become a distinctive tradition with unique images and a format of its own. They are not the same as Le Jeu du Destin or the Parlour Sibyl. The cards are unnumbered and do not contain playing card insets as the Lenormand type do. The images, which may serve to facilitate clairvoyance or just for light-hearted readings, are allegorical and evocative, presented in a popular style: Hope is a woman with an anchor, Fidelity shows a dog by his master's grave. Inconstancy in the earlier sets, showing a man and a woman quarrelling, is replaced with Constancy, an all-seeing eye (Das Auge Gottes / Oko Boží) in editions by Piatnik published in Vienna and Budapest.

The old Austrian traditional card printing company Piatnik also pruduced a small circulation of Fortune Telling Cards, at the end of the 19th century. After only a short time, Ferdinand Piatnik found out, that his new Gypsy Fortune Telling cards, the so calles Piatnik Aufschlagkarten were sold like hotcakes. Nearly 150 years now, the Piatnik company still sells this kind of fortune telling cards as Gypsy cards and there are hundred thousands of fortune teller in the world, who still use the Piatnik variant of Fortune Telling cards.

Piatnik & Söhne is an Austrian playing card company based in Vienna. The company was founded in 1824 by the card manufacturer Anton Moser (1784–1842) in Vienna's 7th district. Upon his death, his professional colleague Ferdinand Piatnik (1819–1885) took over in 1843, marrying Moser's widow a few years later. Piatnik's three sons joined the ranks in 1882 adding their names to their father's company name. Ferdinand died in 1885, leaving the successful business to his sons and his widow. By the turn of the 19th century, Ferd. Piatnik & Söhne began to expand, purchasing a sister company known as Ritter & Cie (Prague). Piatnik & Söhne are still in business today. For the past 40 years Piatnik has also produced games. The Activity game first published in 1990, has been the best-selling game in Austria for the past three years and has been translated into five languages.The Piatnik Group markets and sells through its own subsidiaries in Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the USA and in other countries through a network of exclusive distributors.

More info:

http://www.fortune-telling-cards.com/antique-piatnik-gypsy-cards.html

http://www.wopc.co.uk/tarot/austrian-cartomancy-decks

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piatnik_%26_S%C3%B6hne

Article: Carreras narrow-sized Fortune Telling Cards with figure-head inserts, 1926.

Carreras narrow-sized Fortune Telling Cards with figure-head inserts, 1926.

The Carreras Fortune Telling Cards were published in 1926 for W.D. & H.O. Wills, Bristol, and issued by Carreras Ltd in various sizes (wide and narrow size) and formats (playing-card inserts or figures). The cards were printed by chromo-lithography by B. Dondorf in Germany, based on the “Dondorf Lenormand” fortune-telling cards made in the 1880s. A single card was enclosed inside every packet of “Black Cat” cigarettes. “Black Cat” was launched in 1904 and became the first cigarette in the United Kingdom to contain coupons which were redeemable for gifts. These coupons evolved into the collectible cards which became a huge marketing success.

The antecedents of the Carreras business stem back into the eighteenth century (their products and advertising materials consistently bore the legend 'Established 1788'), and forebears of the founder’s family were Spanish apothecaries. The founder of the business was a Spanish nobleman, Don José Carreras Ferrer, who fought in the Peninsular Warunder the Duke of Wellington (1808–1814). After serving with distinction and receiving the highest military honours, it is believed he was obliged to leave Spain on account of his political views.

During the early years of the 19th century Carreras began trading in London at a time when cigars were increasing in popularity and Don José became a pioneer in his field. However, although the business prospered it did not become a major concern until his son, Don José Joaquin, began to specialise in the blending of tobaccos and snuff. By 1852 Don José Joaquin Carreras had established himself near Leicester Square at 61 Prince's Street W1, and in 1853 was granted a warrant as the sole supplier of cigars and tobacco to the Spanish Legation in London. His fame as a tobacco blender soon spread, and he produced blends to suit the individual tastes of the highest members of society, with customers visiting his showrooms to select their own tobaccos. One of Don José's most famous customers was the third Earl of Craven. A special blend, to become known as Craven Mixture, was created specially for him and this blend has since spread in popularity throughout the world. Some of Don José's tobacco brands became world famous, including Guards' Mixture and Hankey's Mixture. Over one thousand brands of cigar could be bought from Carreras, together with snuffs, cigarettes, pipes and all the usual requisites of the trade.

In 1860 Carreras became the founder committee member of the Tobacco Trade Benevolent Association, and soon opened another shop, this time in the Arcade in London's newly developed and fashionable Regent Street W1.

The business remained in the hands of the Carreras family until 1894, when Mr W J Yapp, a well-known figure in the shoe leather industry, took control. Prince's Street became part of Wardour Street in 1878, and Number 61 became known as Prince's House, No 7 Wardour Street. The House of Carreras became a London landmark, and it was here that Prince Edward (later Edward VII) often came to select the finest cigars.
Early 20th century.

In 1881, the first cigarette making machine was patented in the United States by James Bonsack and by 1883 one of the British manufacturers, W. D. & H. O. Wills, had pioneered the use of the Bonsack in England. Wills joined with twelve other companies to form the Imperial Tobacco Group, from which both Rothmans and Carreras chose to remain independent, and by 1901 the Bonsack machine, making 200 cigarettes a minute, was exclusively available only to members of this Group. However, another of the cigarette machine makers, Bernhard Baron, had returned to London from the United States in 1896 with a patent for a new machine which could make 450 cigarettes a minute, and his progress was watched with interest by Mr Yapp who was by then running the Carreras business but who was keen to make cigarettes a paying venture.

Baron was determined to put his making machine into a small concern such as Carreras. Having been deprived of the opportunity to sell his machines to the newly formed Imperial Tobacco Company, which had a monopoly on the Bonsack machines, Yapp was able to negotiate a business arrangement with Baron in 1903. On 6 June 1903, Carreras became a public company with Yapp and Baron as directors and, under the leadership of Bernhard Baron, heralded the beginnings of defiant competition for the now powerful Imperial Tobacco Group and the new American invader, James Buchanan Duke, who was also capturing large slices of the British market with Ogden’s Guinea Gold, the firstVirginia cigarette made in this country. The original Carreras prospectus was heavily criticised in the City press, but within a short time the shares were fully subscribed, particularly by members of the tobacco trade who were quick to realise the potential of the new venture. The Baron family had a reputation as good employers who treated their staff well. Bernhard Baron would walk amongst his employees daily, enquiring after their families, and his son, Louis, and his grandson, Maurice, also made regular visits to the factory floor. A tradition developed that on Bernhard's birthday, each December, all employees were given two weeks' wages and a cake to take home.

In 1904, an allied company was established. Called Carreras and Marcianus Ltd and operating from St James's Place, Aldgate EC3, the former Baron Machine Company works, the company’s purpose was to commence production of machine made cigarettes. During the last six months of 1904 three brands made their debut, including Black Cat, the first cigarette in the United Kingdom to contain coupons which were redeemable for gifts.

In 1905 yet more brands were introduced such as Chick, Jetty and Sweet Kiss and Carreras began coupon trading in Black Cat. Business prospered and in 1906 additional premises were opened nearby, introducing new brands such as Carreras Ovals and Seven Up. Baron chose many novel schemes for the promotion of Carreras’ pipe tobacco and cigarette brands. In 1909, the company introduced the Baron automatic pipe filler in cartridges, which revolutionised pipe smoking and sold by the million.

In 1907 Carreras introduced an early version of the football pools. Coupons listing forthcoming matches were available from tobacconists and prizes were given for both the best forecast and to the owner of the shop from where the coupon had been purchased.

Expansion of the business continued and, in 1907, the first Arcadia Works was built on City Road EC1. More developments were made in the pipe field, including a cartridge case. Other brands were introduced before the First World War including Fireball, Golden Clipper, Red Route Mixture and Life Ray.

In 1913, Carreras acquired the prestige business of Alexander Bugoslavsky and opened a showroom at 55 Piccadilly W1 which still retained many of its grand, privately occupied houses and clubs. The medallion which is still reproduced on each packet of Piccadilly Filter was acquired with the purchase of Bugoslavsky's company.

The 1914-18 war caused a rapid acceleration in cigarette smoking and Carreras was to the fore in supplying cigarettes to the armed forces. Cigarettes were in short supply but Baron did not deviate from his object of better quality marketing of better quality products than his competitors. As an example, he enclosed French dictionaries in the containers of all cigarettes sent to the Front and supplied millions of copies of phrase and grammar books.

In 1921, immediately after the launch of Craven A, Carreras launched yet more brands such as Wall Arms, Piccadilly and Turf. By 1927 the business had outgrown the Arcadia premises in City Road, the war had increased demand for cigarettes and, despite taking on additional London premises at Aldgate, Carreras had to find a new factory. In 1928, the famous Arcadia Works was opened in Mornington Crescent NW1, formerly a favourite residence of artists and writers. This building, which has become a major London landmark, was as revolutionary in its concept as it was unusual in its design. It was the first factory in Britain to make use of pre-stressed concretetechnology, the first to contain air conditioning and a dust extraction plant and the company was the first to provide full welfare services for its employees. Such was the fame of the Arcadia Works that it was often visited by royalty, including the Duke of Windsor when he was the Prince of Wales, King George VI when he was the Duke of York, and the late Duke of Kent. Many other important visitors from every part of the globe were entertained at Mornington Crescent. Dominating the entrance to the building were two large bronze cats. Cast at the Haskins Foundry in London, these versions of the Egyptian god Bastet were each eight feet six inches tall and stood guard over Arcadia Works until 1959 when Carreras merged with Rothmans of Pall Mall and moved to a new factory in Basildon, Essex. The cats were separated, with one making the short journey to Essex, but one went to bask in the sun outside the Carreras factory at Spanishtown, Jamaica.

Between the two World Wars, Carreras' sales in the United Kingdom and overseas increased and more brands were launched. In 1929 valuable trade-marks were acquired with the purchase of John Sinclair Ltd of Newcastle upon Tyne (including Barneys Tobacco, Barneys Punchbowle and Parson's Pleasure). Soon after the purchase of Sinclairs the grandson of the founder of the firm, John Alexander Sinclair, was elected to the Board of Carreras and later became Joint Managing Director.

More info:
http://www.dxpo-playingcards.com/xpo/variations/pages/dondorf-ft-00b.html
http://www.lenormand-museum.com/carreras-fortune-telling-cards-small-card-inset.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carreras_Tobacco_Company

Article: Carreras wide-sized Fortune Telling Cards with figure-head inserts, 1926.

Carreras wide-sized Fortune Telling Cards with figure-head inserts, 1926.

The Carreras Fortune Telling Cards were published in 1926 for W.D. & H.O. Wills, Bristol, and issued by Carreras Ltd in various sizes (wide and narrow size) and formats (playing-card inserts or figures). The cards were printed by chromo-lithography by B. Dondorf in Germany, based on the “Dondorf Lenormand” fortune-telling cards made in the 1880s. A single card was enclosed inside every packet of “Black Cat” cigarettes. “Black Cat” was launched in 1904 and became the first cigarette in the United Kingdom to contain coupons which were redeemable for gifts. These coupons evolved into the collectible cards which became a huge marketing success.

The antecedents of the Carreras business stem back into the eighteenth century (their products and advertising materials consistently bore the legend 'Established 1788'), and forebears of the founder’s family were Spanish apothecaries. The founder of the business was a Spanish nobleman, Don José Carreras Ferrer, who fought in the Peninsular Warunder the Duke of Wellington (1808–1814). After serving with distinction and receiving the highest military honours, it is believed he was obliged to leave Spain on account of his political views.

During the early years of the 19th century Carreras began trading in London at a time when cigars were increasing in popularity and Don José became a pioneer in his field. However, although the business prospered it did not become a major concern until his son, Don José Joaquin, began to specialise in the blending of tobaccos and snuff. By 1852 Don José Joaquin Carreras had established himself near Leicester Square at 61 Prince's Street W1, and in 1853 was granted a warrant as the sole supplier of cigars and tobacco to the Spanish Legation in London. His fame as a tobacco blender soon spread, and he produced blends to suit the individual tastes of the highest members of society, with customers visiting his showrooms to select their own tobaccos. One of Don José's most famous customers was the third Earl of Craven. A special blend, to become known as Craven Mixture, was created specially for him and this blend has since spread in popularity throughout the world. Some of Don José's tobacco brands became world famous, including Guards' Mixture and Hankey's Mixture. Over one thousand brands of cigar could be bought from Carreras, together with snuffs, cigarettes, pipes and all the usual requisites of the trade.

In 1860 Carreras became the founder committee member of the Tobacco Trade Benevolent Association, and soon opened another shop, this time in the Arcade in London's newly developed and fashionable Regent Street W1.

The business remained in the hands of the Carreras family until 1894, when Mr W J Yapp, a well-known figure in the shoe leather industry, took control. Prince's Street became part of Wardour Street in 1878, and Number 61 became known as Prince's House, No 7 Wardour Street. The House of Carreras became a London landmark, and it was here that Prince Edward (later Edward VII) often came to select the finest cigars.
Early 20th century.

In 1881, the first cigarette making machine was patented in the United States by James Bonsack and by 1883 one of the British manufacturers, W. D. & H. O. Wills, had pioneered the use of the Bonsack in England. Wills joined with twelve other companies to form the Imperial Tobacco Group, from which both Rothmans and Carreras chose to remain independent, and by 1901 the Bonsack machine, making 200 cigarettes a minute, was exclusively available only to members of this Group. However, another of the cigarette machine makers, Bernhard Baron, had returned to London from the United States in 1896 with a patent for a new machine which could make 450 cigarettes a minute, and his progress was watched with interest by Mr Yapp who was by then running the Carreras business but who was keen to make cigarettes a paying venture.

Baron was determined to put his making machine into a small concern such as Carreras. Having been deprived of the opportunity to sell his machines to the newly formed Imperial Tobacco Company, which had a monopoly on the Bonsack machines, Yapp was able to negotiate a business arrangement with Baron in 1903. On 6 June 1903, Carreras became a public company with Yapp and Baron as directors and, under the leadership of Bernhard Baron, heralded the beginnings of defiant competition for the now powerful Imperial Tobacco Group and the new American invader, James Buchanan Duke, who was also capturing large slices of the British market with Ogden’s Guinea Gold, the firstVirginia cigarette made in this country. The original Carreras prospectus was heavily criticised in the City press, but within a short time the shares were fully subscribed, particularly by members of the tobacco trade who were quick to realise the potential of the new venture. The Baron family had a reputation as good employers who treated their staff well. Bernhard Baron would walk amongst his employees daily, enquiring after their families, and his son, Louis, and his grandson, Maurice, also made regular visits to the factory floor. A tradition developed that on Bernhard's birthday, each December, all employees were given two weeks' wages and a cake to take home.

In 1904, an allied company was established. Called Carreras and Marcianus Ltd and operating from St James's Place, Aldgate EC3, the former Baron Machine Company works, the company’s purpose was to commence production of machine made cigarettes. During the last six months of 1904 three brands made their debut, including Black Cat, the first cigarette in the United Kingdom to contain coupons which were redeemable for gifts.

In 1905 yet more brands were introduced such as Chick, Jetty and Sweet Kiss and Carreras began coupon trading in Black Cat. Business prospered and in 1906 additional premises were opened nearby, introducing new brands such as Carreras Ovals and Seven Up. Baron chose many novel schemes for the promotion of Carreras’ pipe tobacco and cigarette brands. In 1909, the company introduced the Baron automatic pipe filler in cartridges, which revolutionised pipe smoking and sold by the million.

In 1907 Carreras introduced an early version of the football pools. Coupons listing forthcoming matches were available from tobacconists and prizes were given for both the best forecast and to the owner of the shop from where the coupon had been purchased.

Expansion of the business continued and, in 1907, the first Arcadia Works was built on City Road EC1. More developments were made in the pipe field, including a cartridge case. Other brands were introduced before the First World War including Fireball, Golden Clipper, Red Route Mixture and Life Ray.

In 1913, Carreras acquired the prestige business of Alexander Bugoslavsky and opened a showroom at 55 Piccadilly W1 which still retained many of its grand, privately occupied houses and clubs. The medallion which is still reproduced on each packet of Piccadilly Filter was acquired with the purchase of Bugoslavsky's company.

The 1914-18 war caused a rapid acceleration in cigarette smoking and Carreras was to the fore in supplying cigarettes to the armed forces. Cigarettes were in short supply but Baron did not deviate from his object of better quality marketing of better quality products than his competitors. As an example, he enclosed French dictionaries in the containers of all cigarettes sent to the Front and supplied millions of copies of phrase and grammar books.

In 1921, immediately after the launch of Craven A, Carreras launched yet more brands such as Wall Arms, Piccadilly and Turf. By 1927 the business had outgrown the Arcadia premises in City Road, the war had increased demand for cigarettes and, despite taking on additional London premises at Aldgate, Carreras had to find a new factory. In 1928, the famous Arcadia Works was opened in Mornington Crescent NW1, formerly a favourite residence of artists and writers. This building, which has become a major London landmark, was as revolutionary in its concept as it was unusual in its design. It was the first factory in Britain to make use of pre-stressed concretetechnology, the first to contain air conditioning and a dust extraction plant and the company was the first to provide full welfare services for its employees. Such was the fame of the Arcadia Works that it was often visited by royalty, including the Duke of Windsor when he was the Prince of Wales, King George VI when he was the Duke of York, and the late Duke of Kent. Many other important visitors from every part of the globe were entertained at Mornington Crescent. Dominating the entrance to the building were two large bronze cats. Cast at the Haskins Foundry in London, these versions of the Egyptian god Bastet were each eight feet six inches tall and stood guard over Arcadia Works until 1959 when Carreras merged with Rothmans of Pall Mall and moved to a new factory in Basildon, Essex. The cats were separated, with one making the short journey to Essex, but one went to bask in the sun outside the Carreras factory at Spanishtown, Jamaica.

Between the two World Wars, Carreras' sales in the United Kingdom and overseas increased and more brands were launched. In 1929 valuable trade-marks were acquired with the purchase of John Sinclair Ltd of Newcastle upon Tyne (including Barneys Tobacco, Barneys Punchbowle and Parson's Pleasure). Soon after the purchase of Sinclairs the grandson of the founder of the firm, John Alexander Sinclair, was elected to the Board of Carreras and later became Joint Managing Director.

More info:
http://www.dxpo-playingcards.com/xpo/variations/pages/dondorf-ft-00b.html
http://www.lenormand-museum.com/carreras-fortune-telling-cards-small-card-inset.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carreras_Tobacco_Company