What are the Bird Variations?

So we talked about issues... that's not the whole story through, is it? No, there are a bunch of variations in the issues. A detailed look at all of the bird variations is below. But first, Terry Calleyne has done a ton of research and work for collectors and has come up with a lettering scheme we can use to differentiate the many types of bird cards. With all those variations, his work is much appreciated! Thanks, Terry, for sharing your "types" with us. The types are presented in the order that Terry feels the cards were issued, based on his research. The cards without type letters remain unclear as to when they were issued. Some of the Series Names display as links. If you click the link you can see an example of the type.

A few things have changed since Terry came out with the lettering codes. My friend Bill Smart suggested some additional codes to cover those that are uncoded for the 16 Yarra cards. Thanks Bill. He has me in the naming mood so I'll take a swag at the remainder.

I've finally added all of the missing example pictures of cards in this list. It's been long enough, eh? As I did the research I found some cards for sale on eBay and was pleased to see lots of auctions referencing my letter types. Pretty neat. See, I knew I was good for something... ;-),

Birds Tea Card Variations
Series Name (from Medallion)	Quantity	Span	Type	Note
Tuckfield's Australiana Series Birds	32	1 to 32	"A"	Number at Bottom of Card saying "of series of Thirty-Two cards" along with "TUCKFIELD'S TEAS, MELBOURNE"
Tuckfield's Australiana Series Birds	32	1 to 32	"B"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series of Thirty-Two cards", bottom says "TUCKFIELD'S TEAS TY-NEE TIPS ORANGE PEKOE TANGO"
Tuckfield's Australiana Series Birds	64	33 to 96	"C"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series of Ninety-Six cards", bottom says "TUCKFIELD'S TEAS TY-NEE TIPS ORANGE PEKOE TANGO"
Tuckfield's Australiana Series Birds	32	97 to 128	"D"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series of 192 cards", bottom says "TUCKFIELDS TEAS Always Please"
Tuckfield's Australiana Series Birds	96	1 to 96	"E"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series", bottom says "ALBUMS can be purchased..."
Tuckfield's Australiana Series Birds	96	97 to 192	"F"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series of 192 cards", bottom says "ALBUMS can be purchased..."
Tuckfield's Australiana Bird Series	96	193 to 288	"G"	Number at Top of Card saying "of a series", bottom says "ALBUMS can be purchased..."
Tuckfield's Australiana Series Birds	96	289 to 384	"H"	Number at Top of Card saying "of a series by Deidre Hunt", bottom says "SPECIAL BOOKS to hold your collection..."
Tuckfield's Australiana Bird Studies	96	1 to 96	"I"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series", bottom says "SPECIAL BOOKS to hold your cards...". Smaller Medallion
Tuckfield's Australiana Bird Studies	96	1 to 96	"I-2"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series", bottom says "SPECIAL BOOKS to hold your cards...". Larger Medallion
Tuckfield's Australiana Bird Studies	96	97 to 192	"J"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series of 192 cards", bottom says "SPECIAL BOOKS to hold your cards..."
Tuckfield's Australiana Bird Studies	96	193 to 288	"K"	Number at Top of Card saying "of a series", bottom says "SPECIAL BOOKS to hold your cards..."
Tuckfield's Australiana Bird Studies	96	289 to 384	"L"	Number at Top of Card saying "of a series by Deidre Hunt", bottom says "SPECIAL BOOKS to hold your cards..."
Australiana Bird Studies	96	1 to 96	"M"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series", bottom says "SPECIAL BOOKS to hold your cards..." for Copper Kettle only and with no "protective coating" clause
Australiana Bird Studies	96	97 to 192	"N"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series of 192 cards", bottom says "SPECIAL BOOKS to hold your cards..." with no "protective coating" clause
Australiana Bird Studies	96	193 to 288	"O"	Number at Top of Card saying "of a series", bottom says "SPECIAL BOOKS to hold your cards..." with no "protective coating" clause
Australiana Bird Studies	96	289 to 384	"P"	Number at Top of Card saying "of a series by Deidre Hunt", bottom says "SPECIAL BOOKS to hold your cards..." with no "protective coating" clause
Australiana Bird Studies	96	385 to 480	"Q"	Number at Top of Card saying "OF A SERIES" and is in a box, bottom says "Special books to hold your cards..." with no "protective coating" clause
Australiana Bird Studies	96	1 to 96	"R"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series", bottom says "Special books to hold your cards..." with "protective coating" clause
Australiana Bird Studies	96	97 to 192	"S"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series of 192 cards", bottom says "Special books to hold your cards..." with "protective coating" clause
Australiana Bird Studies	96	193 to 288	"T"	Number at Top of Card saying "of a series", bottom says " Special books to hold your cards..." with "protective coating" clause
Australiana Bird Studies	96	289 to 384	"U"	Number at Top of Card saying "of a series by Deidre Hunt", bottom says "Special books to hold your cards..." with "protective coating" clause
Australiana Bird Studies	96	385 to 480	"V"	Number at Top of Card saying "OF A SERIES" and is in a box, bottom says "Special books to hold your cards..." with "protective coating" clause and "ILLUSTRATED BY SUE McINNES"
Tuckfield's Australiana Series Birds	64	129 to 192	"W"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series of 192 cards", bottom says "ALBUMS can be purchased...". Text is in BLUE
Tuckfield's Australiana Series Birds	64	129 to 1921	"X"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series of 192 cards", bottom says "SPECIAL ALBUMS obtainable from...". Text is in BLUE
Tuckfield's Australiana Series Birds	64	129 to 1921	"Y"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series of 192 cards", bottom says "SPECIAL ALBUMS obtainable from...". Text is BLACK and for the most part, this back is only seen under blue backs
Australiana Bird Studies	96	1 to 96	"Z-1"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series", bottom says "Special books to hold your cards..." with "protective coating" clause This is identical to the Type "R" except for the address of 16 Yarra Street
Australiana Bird Studies	96	97 to 192	"Z-2"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series of 192 cards", bottom says "Special books to hold your cards..." with "protective coating" clause This is identical to the Type "S" except for the address of 16 Yarra Street
Australiana Bird Studies	96	193 to 288	"Z-3"	Number at Top of Card saying "of a series", bottom says "Special books to hold your cards..." with "protective coating" clause This is identical to the Type "T" except for the address of 16 Yarra Street
Australiana Bird Studies	96	289 to 384	"Z-4"	Number at Top of Card saying "of a series by Deidre Hunt", bottom says "Special books to hold your cards..." with "protective coating" clause This is identical to the Type "U" except for the address of 16 Yarra Street
Australiana Bird Studies	96	385 to 480	"Z-5"	Number at Top of Card saying "OF A SERIES" and is in a box, bottom says "Special books to hold your cards..." with "protective coating" clause and "ILLUSTRATED BY SUE McINNES" This is identical to the Type "V" except for the address of 16 Yarra Street
Kinkara Tea Australiana Bird Studies	96	1 to 96	"AA"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series", bottom says "SPECIAL BOOKS to hold your cards..." to the Liverpool address
Kinkara Tea Australiana Bird Studies	96	1 to 96	"AB"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series", bottom says "SPECIAL BOOKS to hold your cards..." to the South Yarra, Victoria address
Kinkara Tea Australiana Bird Studies	96	97 to 192	"AC"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series of 192 cards", bottom says "SPECIAL BOOKS to hold your cards..." to the South Yarra, Victoria address
Kinkara Tea Australiana Bird Studies	96	193 to 288	"AD"	Number at Top of Card saying "of a series", bottom says "SPECIAL BOOKS to hold your cards..." to the South Yarra, Victoria address
Copper Kettle Instant Coffee Australiana Bird Studies	96	1 to 96	"AE"	Number at Top of Card saying "of series", bottom says "SPECIAL BOOKS to hold your cards..." to the Liverpool address

¹ - changed lower card from 97 to 129 - thanks to Mark Calabretta for his research.

Are There Any Albums?

Yes, there are 5 basic albums representing each of the 5 different 96 card groupings as well as a very first album that held only the first 32 cards. There are different editions of the albums as they have been reprinted over time. There are also at least two Kinkara albums that I have seen. I haven't explored too much there but I am sure we will as time goes on.

Last modified: October 26, 2024

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