Weight Machine Cards - Australia

Issuing Company: Various
Country of Issue: Australia
Year of Issue: 1930s
Color/B&W: B&W
Number of Cards in Set:
Card Size: 1 3/16" x 2 1/4"
Issued as insert with what product: Given out when you stepped on a weight machine scale and put in a penny to read your weight.

Notes: There were a handful of different weight machine movie card sets issued in Australia in the 1930s. They will all be covered here in this series of checklists. Weight machine sets were usually issued by many different stores, so the same fronts may contain many different backs with different store advertising. These checklists are probably not complete.

Collector Steve Flemming has been a great help with these checklists. Steve has an Australian weight card from 1883 used to advertise the "Fairbanks Weighing Machine" at the 1883 Tasmanian Juvenile & Industrial Exhibition," by far the earliest weight card I've ever seen. He has graciously sent a scan of that card and many of his Australian weight machine cards so they can be shown with this checklist.

Thanks to Steve Flemming, Eric Panther, and Ian McCullogh for help with this checklist.


Hal Phyfe Study

This particular set has "HAL PHYFE STUDY" written in small text on the fronts of the cards. They also say "A FOX STAR" on the fronts.

The dates I've seen printed on the cards range from September 1933 to April 1934.

These were issued by various firms with different back advertising. Back advertising seen so far (probably not complete) includes:

Faire Markets
Farr's Markets Ltd.
Fisher's
The Goodwill Stores Pty. Ltd.
J. Levenson's

Ralph Bellamy
Joan Bennett
James Dunn
Janet Gaynor
Elissa Landi
Helen Mack
Victor McLaglen
Una Merkel
George O'Brien
Cecilia Parker
Manya Roberti
Peggy Ross
Rosalie Roy
Spencer Tracy
Linda Watkins


Caption in Capital Letters

This set has the movie star name written in capital letters on the fronts of the cards.

The dates I've seen printed on the cards are from 1934.

These were issued by various firms with different back advertising. Back advertising seen so far (probably not complete) includes:

The Big Store. B. Abicare & Co.
Charles Birks
David Copland & Co.
Robey Hansson & Strong Ltd.
J. Levenson's
E. C. Schofield
Western Stores and Edgleys Ltd.

Elizabeth Allan
Heather Angel
Lew Ayres
Warner Baxter
Joan Bennett
Clive Brook
Bruce Cabot
Laura Hope Crews
Frances Dee
Dolores Del Rio
James Dunn
Irene Dunne
Gracie Fields
Norman Foster
Betty Furness
Joan Gale
William Gargan
Janet Gaynor (arms folded)
Janet Gaynor (head only)
Ann Harding
Lilian Harvey
Pert Kelton
Elissa Landi (solid background)
Elissa Landi (striped background above left)
Dorothy Lee
Elissa Landi
Frank Lawton
Francis Lederer
Sari Maritza
Joel McCrea
Nell O'Day
Zasu Pitts
Kane Richmond
Ginger Rogers
June Vlasek
Irene Ware
Diana Wynyard


Caption in Upper and Lower Case Lettering

This set has the movie star name written in upper and lower case letters on the fronts of the cards. I have seen cards in this style dated from 1933 through 1938 on the fronts. This is a long date range, and there is a good chance that these cards could be from more than one set, but I'm lumping them all together in this checklist for the moment.

These were issued by various firms with different back advertising. Back advertising seen so far (probably not complete) includes:

Bayards
Farr's Markets Ltd.
Fisher's
Fresh Fruit and Provision Co.
J. Levenson's
The Myer Emporium Ltd.
Randwick Pharmacy
Western Stores and Edgleys Ltd.

Heather Angel
Frank Atkinson
Lew Ayres
John Barrymore
Warner Baxter (with hat)
Warner Baxter (no hat)
Ralph Bellamy
John Boles
El Brendel
Marion Burns
James Dunn
Sally Eilers (full face)
Sally Eilers (looling over shoulder)
Norman Foster
Joan Gale
Henri Garat
William Gargan
Janet Gaynor (looking down)
Janet Gaynor (looking up)
Minna Gombell
Lilian Harvey
Ursula Jeans
Alex Kirkland (looking front)
Alex Kirkland (looking left)
Elissa Landi (looking left)
Elissa Landi (profile left)
Frank Lawton
Boots Mallory
Colleen Moore
Herbert Mundin
Greta Nissen
Marion Nixon
George O'Brien
Nell O'Day
Gene Raymond
Kane Richmond
Buddy Rogers
Will Rogers
Genevieve Tobin
Spencer Tracy
June Vlasek
Irene Ware
Robert Woolsey
Diana Wynyard
Loretta Young


Numbered Set

This set has a card number written in at the bottom right of the card front.

The dates I've seen printed on the cards are from 1933.

24. Renee Houston


Caption in Italics

This set has the movie star name written in italics on the fronts of the cards.

The dates I've seen printed on the cards are from 1937 and 1938.

These were issued by various firms with different back advertising. Back advertising seen so far (probably not complete) includes:

Findlays Pty. Ltd.
Miss Sims
Mick Simmons Ltd.

Joan Blondell
Sonja Henie
Michael Whalen


Picture in Oval

This set has the movie star picture in an oval on the fronts of the cards.

These were issued by various firms with different back advertising. Back advertising seen so far (probably not complete) includes:

Charles Birks
David Copland
Dallas Doolan
Findlays
Jakettes
E. L. Lakin
J. Levenson's
John Meagher & Co. Ltd.
Piazza Pharmacy
Ryan Inson
O. J. Williams

Don Alvarado
Bert Bailey
Charles Bickford
Nancy Brown
Faye Compton
Sir Gerald Du Maurier
Dorothy Dunkley
Sally Eilers
Gracie Fields
Charlotte Francis
Gene Gerrard
Jimmy Godden
Hal Gordon
Jocelyn Howarth
Bobby Howes
Cecil Kellaway
John Longden
Grant Lyndsay
Ben Lyon
Fred MacDonald
Marian Marsh
Grata Nisson
Harry Tate
Richard Tauber
Hugh Wakefield
John Warwick
Joan Wyndham


Name on 2 Lines, Studio in Italics

This set has the name in two lines and the movie studio written in italics on the fronts of the cards.

The dates I've seen printed on the cards are from 1933.

These were issued by various firms with different back advertising. Back advertising seen so far (probably not complete) includes:

Monaghan's

Eleanor Boardman
Harold Lloyd


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