Interpreting and collection of woven and printed cigarette silk inserts: the Slaney Collection, 1914-25
Doctoral Candidate: Adrian Slaney
Supervisors: Dr Caroline Archer-Parré, Dr David Osbaldestin
This thesis draws on the ‘Slaney Collection’ of British silk cigarette inserts, the majority of which were produced in the period 1914–25. Just as cards were placed in cereal, confectionary, tea, and cigarettes packets as commercial giveaways, so too colourful and beautifully illustrated silk inserts were included in cigarette packets, periodicals, and other products. This thesis examines the history of the manufacture, design, distribution and consumption of these silk inserts and considers their use as important promotional tools during a period of rapid social, cultural and economic change. It also surveys the associated advertising generally aimed at the male smoker, but which also included advertising that specifically focused on encouraging female smokers or attempted to urge juvenile consumers. Whilst silk inserts are usually considered solely as collectable items of ephemera, this thesis questions to what extent these items of everyday life played a role in the cultural and social worlds of consumers during the First World War and the first half of the 1920s. The principal research methods are historical: archival sources provide evidence for the context to the issuing of the silks, and this is supported by a wide range of secondary texts which have enabled the necessary background understanding of social and cultural history of the period, alongside advertising, and the development of the British tobacco industry. The Slaney Collection is the main resource for primary material. This thesis takes a qualitative approach to analysing the silks for their design and manufacture and focuses on three particular series as case-studies—‘Beauties’ pre-1914; ‘Football Colours’, 1914-18; and ‘Maharajas’, 1919-25—for understanding their social relevance. Each series was chosen as they reflect the varying cultural complexions of Britian, its many regional and national identities, and the social concerns of the nation over three time periods. Through a detailed consideration of the case-studies, this thesis has shifted perspectives from viewing the silks as disposable items of ephemera or simply collectors’ items to understanding their importance as sites of social and cultural interaction.
