Cigarette Cards

How it All Began....for me.... Pete Townsend! Rough Mix - Track listing: My Baby Gives It Away, Nowhere To Run, Rough Mix, Annie, Keep Me Turning, Catmelody, Misunderstood, April Fool, Street In The City, Heart To Hang Onto, Till The Rivers All Run Dry.	So what in the world does Pete Townsend have to do with cigarette cards? It was an album released by Pete called Rough Mix...1977 Atco Records, that caught my attention for a number of reasons. This studio collaboration between Pete Townshend and his old friend, the late Ronnie Lane, resulted in eleven tracks featuring the likes of John Entwistle, Eric Clapton, Charlie Watts and Rabbitt. The music of course was great, but the cover art was a collage of these cool little pictures of cars, boats, trains, motorcycles, people, events, places and on and on. I was into miniatures and these really intrigued me. Found out very little about them at the time except that they were apparently tobacco or tea cards. These collector cards were in boxes of tea and cigarettes in the late 1800's and first part of the 1900's, and were numbered series of different themes. The variations of theme seemed amazing. These were produced in a number of countries but the UK seems the most prolific. The German's had various series even depicting the Nazi's and military themes. The practice was taken up again by companies periodically after that and of course we all knew about sports cards as kids. Along came the Internet and I stumbled onto a whole world of collectors and cards, and given my then "adult?" perspective considered the investment potential. But the fact is...I just loved 'em! My best advice is deal with respected authorities. I can put you in touch with several in England if you'd like.
Here are some examples from completed sets in my collection. View the Variety links at bottom and see single cards which I bought from dealers in lots. It's a great way to get a variety of cards at a reasonable price which are great for framing and display.
HOWLERS: A cartoon series as the name implies. This is a 40 card set issued in 1937 by The Imperial Tobacco Co. under the label W.A. & A.C. Churchman
	Views of Interest: The second series of 48 hand painted photograph cards. This is #49-96 issued with Sunripe & Spinet Oval Cigarettes. R. & J. Hill, Ltd, Shoreditch, London, E.I. & Birmingham
GEMS of BRITISH SCENERY: This is a 25 card set issued in 1917 by John Player & Sons, Branch of the Imperial Tobacco Co. (of Great Britain & Ireland). Ltd.
	GARDEN HINTS: A series of 5o cards issued in 1938 by The Imperial Tobacco Co. (of Great Britain & Ireland. Ltd.) under the label W.D. & H.O. Wills. They depictall types of tips for growing, potting, pruning and so on.
DOGS: This a set that was issued in two series of 48 by Gallagher Ltd. Virginia House, London & Belfast in the 1930's. My set is numbered 1-48 but is a combination of Series 1 & Series 2 (which was from 1938).
	THE SEA-SHORE: A series of 5o cards issued in 1938 by The Imperial Tobacco Co. (of Great Britain & Ireland. Ltd.) under the label W.D. & H.O. Wills.
NATIONAL FLAGS AND ARMS: A series of 5o cards issued in 1936 by The Imperial Tobacco Co. (of Great Britain & Ireland. Ltd.) under the label John Player & Sons. Places I've never even heard of!
	DANDIES: A series of 5o cards issued in 1936 by The Imperial Tobacco Co. (of Great Britain & Ireland. Ltd.) under the label John Player & Sons. We've got some extremely gay looking heritage!
AIRCRAFT: A series of 5o cards issued in the 1930's by The Imperial Tobacco Co. (of Great Britain & Ireland. Ltd.) under the label John Player & Sons. Some really incredible aircraft.
	TRAINS OF THE WORLD: This a series of 48 cards by Gallagher Ltd. Virginia House, London & Belfast in the 1930's. You can see why people become train buffs.
LUCKY CHARMS: A series of 5o cards issued in 1923 by The Imperial Tobacco Co. (of Great Britain & Ireland. Ltd.) under the label W.D. & H.O. Wills.
	LIFE IN THE ROYAL NAVY: A series of 5o cards issued in 1939 by The Imperial Tobacco Co. (of Great Britain & Ireland. Ltd.) under the label W.D. & H.O. Wills.
SPEED: A series of 5o cards issued in the 1930's by W.D. & H.O. Wills. Manufacturers of GOLD FLAKE, CAPSTAN, and STAR CIGARETTES (Branch of The Imperial Tobacco Co. of Great Britain & Ireland. Ltd.) My favorite set which includes trains, planes, automobiles and ships of the era.	Click on the Links to view a sample of my favorite collection. SPEED 1 SPEED 2 SPEED 3 SPEED 4
	PIRATES AND HIGHWAYMEN: A series of 25 cards issued in 1925 by W.D. & H.O. Wills, Bristol & London. Rogues and bandits represented on their own cards!
WONDERFUL RAILWAY TRAVEL: This is a 50 card set issued by The Imperial Tobacco Co. under the label W.A. & A.C. Churchman. All manner of rail travel is depicted with an emphasis on mountain railways from around the world.
	Here's a variety, though only an extremely small example, of the subjects used on tobacco cards. I've visited several shops in England that specialize in philatelic collectibles and been completely blown away by the variety. These lots are a great way to get started or to just get a cross-sample of cards. Lots are available through some of the sites you'll find links for here. Hey, they'd make a great album cover!

The terms are often interchangeable but in general "tobacco cards" has been most often used in the USA to describe these collectibles, in particular the early ones such as those featured on Cartophily Kate's. In The other major producer Great Britain, the "cigarette card" description is favored.
Now, in the "global village" environment either term is often used to describe the same cards but, for an interesting range of pre-War "Cigarette Card" sets (and wholesale offers) try:

This is debatable and the answer varies depending on who you ask and what they consider to be a "tobacco card", as opposed to an example of the other closely-related genre "trade cards". Most of the more academically minded place it as c1879 in the form of an insert issued with Marquis of Lorne cigarettes. It featured a portrait of the gentleman of the same name, who just happened to be Governor of Canada at the time, although the brand was an American one. Only one known example of this card exists.

The material quoted above is exclusive to C. &. N. Smith and is protected by Copyright.