Gallaher Ltd (Belfast & London)
Gallaher was founded in Derry, Ireland (Now Londonderry, Northern Ireland) in 1857 by Thomas Gallaher. Thomas was born in Templemoyle, Co. Londonderry in 1840, beginning an apprenticeship in the tobacco business at the age of just 15 in 1855. Just 2 years later he started his own business, hand-rolling and selling tobacco from the back of a cart. The business grew quickly, enabling Gallaher to take on permanent premises, and in 1863 the business moved to Hercules Street in Belfast, later moving to York Street, Belfast in 1881. In 1887 a large factory was opened in London, at 45 Clerkenwell Road, E.C. In 1896 the company went one step further and opened the world’s largest tobacco factory covering 12 acres and employing some 3,000 people, between York Street and North Queen Street in Belfast. Subsequently operations were also started in London and Ballymena. A year later the company became Gallaher Ltd, In 1900 the company was awarded a Royal Warrant under Queen Victoria, and in 1928, a year after Thomas Gallahers death, the company became a publicly listed company. At this point Gallaher had been succeeded by his nephew, John Gallaher Michaels
The company continued to produce tobacco throughout World War II, even building a new factory in Lisnafillan when the Belfast factories were badly damaged by the Luftwaffe.
In the 1900’s the company went on something of a buying spree, taking over J. A. Pattreiouex (Manchester) in 1936, J. R. Freeman (Cardiff) in 1947, Cope Bros (Liverpool) in 1952, Benson and Hedges in 1955 and J. Wix (USA) in 1962. In 1964 the company launched the Silk Cut brand, which became one of the best known of all tobacco brands.
In 1997 Gallaher was listed on the London and New York Stock Exchanges, and in 2007 was finally taken over by Japan Tobacco International in a £7.5BN deal.
On 24 October 2014 the last cigarettes produced by the company in Northern Ireland ran off the production line in Ballymena, bringing to an end over 150 years of production in the country, and the end of a global tobacco brand that at one point had been the most influential on the planet.
Gallaher was a fairly prolific producer of cards through it’s history, with the 1897 Types of the British Army being the first recorded.
Other notable sets include:
Association Football Club Colours (1910 – Grey Edging)
Released as a set of 100 cards in 1910, this set was released in two variants – one with the image edge in Grey and the other in Brown. The images and numbering are the same on both sets. Each card features a player from the featured team. Two known variants of card #90 exist, with the spelling being Donnolly on one, and Donnelly on the other (Source: Cartophilic Exchange)
Famous Footballers (1925 – Green Back)
Released as a set of 100 cards in 1925, this set features a large number of players from the Irish League as well as players from England and Scotland. Two cards are known to have more than one variant, being #14 – Rollo of Blackburn, and #46 – Gillespie of Sheffield United. (Source: Cartophilic Exchange)
Famous Footballers (1926 – Brown Back)
Released as a set of 50 cards in 1926, this set once again features a number of players from the Irish League as well as players from England and Scotland.
Footballers in Action (1928)
Released as a set of 50 cards in 1928, this set features some lovely artwork of players in action, or pre/post match meeting dignitaries.
