The mysteries of ancient Egypt have fascinated generations of Europeans trying to unravel the secrets of pyramids, but the discovery of the tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amen by the Earl of Carnarvon and Howard Carter in 1922 thrilled the world. The amazing treasures revealed and the strange circumstances of the Earl's early death giving rise to rumours about "the curse of the Pharoahs", sparked a frenzy of interest in Egyptology. Tobacco company Cavanders decided to exploit this phenomenon and in 1928 they commissioned cards on the subject of ancient Egypt. These cards feature colour pictures based on original Egyptian drawings set on a rich gold or silver background. This illustrate every aspect of everyday life in the Nile Valley such as winnowing corn, making pottery, textiles and bricks, fishing etc. The set also includes troops, trumpeters and archers of the army and we learn about their kings and gods in the highly informative texts. Amongst the gods featured is Anubis who is portrayed with a mummy and a bird. We are told that resurrection of the body was believed necessary for the after-life so the dead were carefully embalmed and the bird represents the spirit or soul returning to breathe life back into the mummy whilst Anubis prepares to unwrap the bandages ready for the body to live again. Cavanders also produced a standard size set in the same format, but with different illustrations. This large size set is size 89 x 60mm.

Number of cards in set: L25