Please note: this deck has been carefully checked and counted. It includes all 52 standard playing cards, one original Joker and one original blank card, making a complete 54-card deck as issued. An original WW2 era Wills’s “Wild Woodbine” Cigarettes advertising playing card deck, complete with its original branded card box. Produced as a promotional item for the famous W.D. & H.O. Wills tobacco company, the reverse of every playing card features the iconic Wild Woodbine cigarette packet, making this an attractive piece of British advertising memorabilia as well as a functional deck of cards. Woodbine cigarettes became one of Britain’s most recognisable cigarette brands during the WW2 period and were smoked by both civilians and servicemen alike. Promotional items such as these evoke the everyday life of wartime Britain, making them an appealing addition to any Home Front collection or display. The cards retain their original advertising backs, while the branded tuck box survives with honest signs of age and use, adding to its period character. The deck displays very well and would be equally at home in a collection of vintage tobacco advertising, British social history or WW2-era memorabilia. Condition is very good for its age. The cards have been checked and counted, with all 52 standard playing cards present alongside the original Joker and blank card. The original box remains complete, showing expected age-related wear including light edge wear, minor creasing and small splits around the small opening flaps and the main flap is missing, but remains sturdy and displays well. The cards themselves show light signs of handling and age but remain clean and highly presentable. A charming and increasingly uncommon survivor from Britain’s wartime era, combining tobacco advertising, social history and vintage gaming into one attractive collectible.
