1925 Player’s Gilbert and Sullivan trading cards were issued with John Player & Sons tobacco products and highlight many characters from the duos beloved operas.
The characters on each card are featured in costumes used by the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company which staged Gilbert and Sullivan operas in England from the 1870s to 1982.
10 of the team’s 15 major works are included on this checklist with all but one, The Sorcerer, receiving several cards. A second series of 50 cards was issued in 1927 which added Trial by Jury to the list of shows included.
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1925 Player’s Gilbert and Sullivan CHecklist
Base Set – 50 Cards
| # | Character | Show |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Casilda | The Gondoliers |
| 2 | Don Alhambra del Bolero | The Gondoliers |
| 3 | The Duchess of Plaza-Toro | The Gondoliers |
| 4 | The Duke of Plaza-Toro | The Gondoliers |
| 5 | Luiz | The Gondoliers |
| 6 | Giuseppe and Marco Palmieri | The Gondoliers |
| 7 | Tessa | The Gondoliers |
| 8 | The Lord Chancellor | Iolanthe |
| 9 | Phyllis | Iolanthe |
| 10 | The Queen of the Fairies | Iolanthe |
| 11 | Private Willis | Iolanthe |
| 12 | Strephon | Iolanthe |
| 13 | Katisha | The Mikado |
| 14 | Ko-Ko | The Mikado |
| 15 | The Mikado of Japan | The Mikado |
| 16 | Nanki-Poo | The Mikado |
| 17 | Pooh Bah | The Mikado |
| 18 | Yum-Yum | The Mikado |
| 19 | Archibald Grosvenor | Patience |
| 20 | The Lady Angela | Patience |
| 21 | The Lady Jane | Patience |
| 22 | Patience | Patience |
| 23 | Reginald Bunthorne | Patience |
| 24 | Captain Corcoran | H.M.S. Pinafore |
| 25 | Little Buttercup | H.M.S. Pinafore |
| 26 | Ralph Rackstraw | H.M.S. Pinafore |
| 27 | Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B. | H.M.S. Pinafore |
| 28 | Frederic | The Pirates of Penzance |
| 29 | Major-General Stanley | The Pirates of Penzance |
| 30 | The Pirate King | The Pirates of Penzance |
| 31 | Ruth | The Pirates of Penzance |
| 32 | The Sergeant of Police | The Pirates of Penzance |
| 33 | King Gama | Princess Ida |
| 34 | Lady Blanche | Princess Ida |
| 35 | Hilarion | Princess Ida |
| 36 | Princess Ida | Princess Ida |
| 37 | Dame Hannah | Ruddigore |
| 38 | Mad Margaret | Ruddigore |
| 39 | Richard Dauntless | Ruddigore |
| 40 | Robin Oakapple | Ruddigore |
| 41 | Sir Despard Murgatroyd | Ruddigore |
| 42 | Sir Roderic Murgatroyd | Ruddigore |
| 43 | John Wellington Wells | The Sorcerer |
| 44 | Colonel Fairfax | The Yeomen of the Guard |
| 45 | Dame Carruthers | The Yeomen of the Guard |
| 46 | Elsie Maynard | The Yeomen of the Guard |
| 47 | Jack Point | The Yeomen of the Guard |
| 48 | Phoebe Meryll | The Yeomen of the Guard |
| 49 | Sergeant Meryll | The Yeomen of the Guard |
| 50 | Wilfred Shadbolt | The Yeomen of the Guard |
