Brooke Bond 'The Race Into Space Race' Tea Cards

Brooke Bond 'The Race Into Space Race' Tea Cards

A completed Brooke Bond tea card set. This 'The Race Into Space' set of collectible cards was one of many sets of collectible cards produced by the tea makers Brooke Bond - as part of their advertising strategy. Introduced in 1971 they show how popular the theme of space travel had become and how the public were invested in the battle going on between the Soviet Union and the USA to conquer space.

Following the end of rationing on tea in 1952, the Brooke Bond company began looking for new innovative ways of advertising their tea. In 1954 they started issuing ‘picture cards’ as collectibles – with the first series of cards focussing on natural history. Taking the idea from the popular cigarette cards that had been given away by tobacco companies before World War II, Brooke Bond collectible tea cards reached an annual distribution of over 700 million.

'The Race Into Space' cards were produced in 1971 with a team of experts helping to create the content. The set includes 50 cards focusing on 50 different highlights of space exploration. The content was written by Kenneth Gatland and Michael Wilson, whilst the images were created by David Lawson. The album includes a foreword by Sir Patrick Moore, who points out that the set of cards '...is factual, comprehensive and well-produced'.