Original Richard Ward Gouache Painting for a Cigarette Card.  The painting is of a WW2 Vickers Valentia flying over Egypt and is painted on card measuring approximately 5.5 x 2.75 inches (14 x 7.25 cms).  Beautifully painted and far nicer than my photos show, the colour and detail is stunning.  Pasted to a plain piece of white card.  There is some brown spotting to the painting which could possibly be cleaned. 

Provenance: This came from Mardon, Son & Hall of Bristol, who were famous for dealing with the art and printing of the cigarette trade.  The business flourished after being set up in the Victorian era and was able to employ the best artists available.  The detail and quality of their work is incredible.  A team of artists would work for several months producing up to fifty hand painted pieces centred around a certain theme and then present it to the client, often Wills Tobacco company who would then authorise the reproduction.