The 1932 D.C. Thomson “Speed” set is a collection of 48 non-sports trade cards (numbered 1–48), issued in the United Kingdom by D.C. Thomson & Co. of Dundee, Scotland. The cards were issued as promotional inserts with their popular boys’ adventure comic The Wizard. These vintage cards, distributed primarily in Scotland and England, revolve around the theme of speed and feature colorful illustrations on the front. They depict high-speed subjects such as racing cars, locomotives, airplanes, and motorcycles. The reverse side typically includes explanatory text and factual details about the subject. While often grouped with tobacco-style cards by collectors due to their similar format and era, they are true trade/premium cards tied to the comic rather than cigarettes, and no official album was produced for them.
The cards measure approximately 67 mm x 36 mm (roughly 2⅝ inches by 1⅜ inches), aligning with the standard dimensions used for many contemporary D.C. Thomson Wizard issues from the period. Sizes can vary slightly from card to card or set to set because they were hand cut from larger printed sheets or pages inserted in the publication. This manual trimming by readers or distributors often resulted in minor edge irregularities and small dimensional differences, a common characteristic of such pre-WWII British comic premiums.
There are a total of three cards related to auto racing in this set.
Campbell’s “The Bluebird” – Card #45
Don’s “The Silver Bullet” – Card #46
Segrave’s “Golden Arrow” – Card #47
