A History of Cigarette and Trade Cards: The Magic Inside the Packet

By John Broom

How trading cards captured the popular culture—from war to sports, science to celebrities—with tips on how to start and develop your own collection.
 
The collection of picture cards has fascinated generations of children and adults since the late nineteenth century. Between 1900 and 1940, cartophily, as the hobby became known, became widespread as hundreds of millions of attractive cards were issued, usually with packets of cigarettes. These cards give us a unique insight into the cultural history of the period. Although the production of cigarette and other trade cards has declined in recent decades, millions of people worldwide now collect trading cards and stickers issued by the likes of Topps and Panini.
 
This attractive and extensively illustrated guide to collecting cigarette and other trade cards gives the reader a lively history of the hobby, and offers the collector some valuable advice on how to begin and maintain a collection. The wide variation of themes of card issues is explored, with many of the stories behind the cards revealed. It will appeal to novice and established card collectors, and those with an interest in twentieth century social and cultural history.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Aug 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781526721754

John Broom

After graduating in History from the University of Sheffield in the early 1990s, John Broom pursued a career in teaching, firstly in his chosen subject and latterly with children with Autism.A chance inheritance of family papers eleven years ago prompted his interest in the spiritual and ethical issues of the twentieth-century world wars. John is currently completing a PhD on Christianity in the British Armed Services at the University of Durham.

Book preview

Introduction

The heyday of the collectable picture card, commonly referred to as the ‘cigarette card’, but which also included cards issued by other firms, which occurred from the 1880s to the outbreak of the Second World War, was a period of huge social, cultural, political, military and technological change. It saw two world wars, the rise of the Hollywood film industry, the development of motor and air transport, the transformation of sporting stars into household names and a huge expansion in education for the masses. These changes were both reflected and supported by the cigarette and trade card. Since the Second World War, the production of collectable cards with tobacco products has declined, but in its place the collection of cards given away with other grocery products, and cards designed to be bought in their own right, has grown, thus meaning the practice of card collecting, or cartophily, continues to develop today.

The ability to mass-produce such an attractive and appealing array of cards was the result of rapid improvements in colour printing technology and the need to produce effective advertising for an ever-expanding consumer market. Books were still expensive relative to disposable household income, so cigarette cards provided a wealth of knowledge that would otherwise have been beyond the reach of millions of people, in an appealing and easily digestible form. Each complete set of cards formed a mini-encyclopaedia on the given subject.

Unlike similar collectable items, such as stamps and postcards, cigarette and trade cards were designed to be collected as their primary raison d’être, and for some the addiction of collecting a full set could match the addiction of the tobacco products themselves. Today the picture cards remain highly collectable as their subjects are so varied – there is a topic to suit everyone’s interest. Original cigarette and trade cards are masterpieces in miniature, with the standard sized card being 36 x 68mm. As Jefferson R. Burdick, the renowned American card collector, put it:

A Card Collection is a magic carpet that takes you away from the work-a-day cares to havens of relaxing quietude where you can relive the pleasures and adventures of a past day – brought to life in vivid picture and prose. Here is a phase of our heritage without which history has no full meaning, and only history can help man to understand the past and present for the future. This is history from an original source.

Cards depict the devastation of nature’s fury, the crashing armies of conquering nations, and the increasingly mad whirl of modern existence. They also show the serenity of a quiet country life, the gracious humility of those called great, the joyous romp of children on Christmas morning, and a thousand other homely things we love to remember. Every set of cards is a glorious picture window of the past. Pen, brush and camera have joined forces with the graphic arts to bring to life these groups of pictorial gems. Their important role in our past is now receiving a just recognition. History cannot ignore them and be complete. (Jefferson R. Burdick, The Standard Guide on All Collection Cards, 1980)

This book is not the first to portray the world of cigarette and trade card collecting. I.O. Evans produced Cigarette Cards and How to Collect Them in 1937. In the mid-1940s Alfred J. Cruse brought out All About Cigarette Cards. Nearly two decades later, Dorothy Bagnall’s Collecting Cigarette Cards and Other Trade Issues appeared in 1965. Roy Genders’ A Guide to Collecting Trade and Cigarette Cards was published in 1975, and renowned trader Martin Murray’s The Story of Cigarette Cards came out in 1987. Most recently Gordon Howsden’s Collecting Cigarette & Trade Cards was published in 1995. All of these books are now out of print, but available through various specialist outlets, and give an overview of how the hobby of cartophily has evolved over the decades. In addition, scores of books are available which focus on specific card issue companies and collecting themes.

In many ways, there has never been a better time to begin card collecting. There is now a wider variety of sources from which to purchase cards than ever before, and fewer collectors, especially of the older cigarette cards, than there were in previous decades. Thus cards in general have become more easily accessible and affordable. The selection of topics included here aims to provide a general overview of the broad spectrum of card issues available. The selection of cards highlighted is a personal one. Every reader would be able to make a similarly broad but individually unique choice of interesting and worthwhile cards, such is the richness and depth of the subject matter. Each of the chapter headings would warrant a full book, which space does not permit. The author has not set out to write an overly technical guide to cartophily, but an introduction for those relatively new to the hobby. However, it is hoped that even the most experienced cartophilist will find something new to add to his or her enjoyment of the subject.

The focus here is largely on British-issue cards, as they offer a window into the world of the customs, beliefs, practices and cultural assumptions of our grandparents and great-grandparents. These generations lived, as do we, through an era of revolutionary change in many aspects of life. It is sometimes tempting to look back and see their world as static, frozen in a moment in time. However, by taking the broad sweep of cigarette, trade and trading cards as a whole, it is possible to see the world through the eyes of the past. Collectable cards can be a voice speaking to us from recent but vanished times, and for many, the thrill of holding something many decades old gives an immediacy of connection to our forebears. They can help us to interpret the world around us in a fresh light and enrich our experience of life. I hope you enjoy this journey through the world of cards as much as I have enjoyed writing it, and embark on your own voyage of discovery and fulfilment.

Chapter 1

A Brief History of Cigarette, Trade and Trading Cards

From the beginning to 1916

The origins of the cigarette and trade card can be traced back to the eighteenth century, when it became common for tradesmen to produce cards which contained their business details, with perhaps a logo or pictorial representation of their work. During the twentieth century, the development of recognizable national brands, and advances in colour printing technology, led to a rapid increase in the production of trade cards and they became a popular promotional tool throughout Europe and North America. The Au Bon Marché store in Paris was one of the first shops to develop the idea of a series of cards, aimed at keeping the customer returning to the store in order to complete the set. Over 400 sets of Au Bon Marché cards were issued between 1840 and 1912. The cards were beautifully coloured and featured subjects as diverse as Musical Instruments, Halley’s Comet and In the Year 2000. They also sought to show the pleasure of shopping at the Au Bon Marche storé.

The Liebig Extract of Meat Company, manufacturers of products such Oxo cubes and Fray Bentos pies, issued over 4,000 sets in a range of European languages over the course of nearly a century. When making a purchase from this company, customers could collect coupons from the products they bought and exchange them for a series which would be of interest to them, rather than having to collect the series currently in distribution. In addition, the series were generally limited to between 6 and 12 cards. This meant that customers were more likely to stay loyal to the brand, rather than opting for an alternative if the topic of the current series was of little interest. Their choice of subjects was eclectic to say the least, including Strange Feminine Hair Styles and The Cultivation of Tobacco in Sumatra. The Education in Ancient Greece series was issued in France in 1888. Some collectors devote their entire interest in cartophily to the collection of Liebig cards, such are their attractiveness and variety. In 1971 the company was acquired by Brooke Bond, themselves a significant producer of trade cards in the twentieth century. Despite their beauty and collectability, many original sets of Liebig cards can be bought for a few pounds and therefore a sizeable collection can be formed quickly.

The progression from the general trade card into a cigarette card occurred due to the fragility of early cigarette packets. Commercial production of cigarettes had been started in 1865 by Washington Duke of North Carolina. These were individually hand-rolled and as the craze for smoking them spread, a skilled worker could make 250 cigarettes an hour. It was with the invention of the cigarette-making machine in 1881 that the mass-production of cigarettes, and with them the associated cigarette trade card, really took off, with cigarette companies increasing productions from about 40,000 hand-rolled cigarettes per day to around 4 million by the 1890s.

The cigarettes were sold in a flimsy paper wrapping and were liable to damage before they could be smoked, therefore a thicker piece of card was inserted to stiffen them. James Buchanan Duke, who had taken over the cigarette business from his father, decided to include a colourful advert on these card stiffeners. The first known dateable cigarette card appeared in 1879 and featured the Marquis of Lorne, son-in-law of Queen Victoria (see Chapter 11).

Shortly afterwards, in 1880, a set of four Actresses and a set of four Presidential Candidates were issued. Soon other tobacco manufacturers followed suit, as rival companies sought to appeal to the ever-expanding but highly competitive smoking market. A variety of subjects was chosen to appear on these cards, ones that it was thought would appeal to the male smoker; glamourous actresses, beauties, sports stars and military themes. These one-off cards were quickly developed, as had been the case with Au Bon Marché and Liebig, into themed sets, appealing to people’s desire to collect the complete series.

The cards had to be of sufficient quality, both in terms of the card and the design, to persuade the consumer to complete the set. Therefore they were initially produced to be both visually appealing and informative. Manufacturers then realised that the card’s attraction could be further enhanced by reducing the size of the company logo on the back, and providing a brief description of the subject of the illustration.

These early American cards featured subjects that would become popular themes over the next century: Dogs of the World, Great World Leaders and Flags of All Nations. However, one series that would be considered tasteless and offensive today was Kimball’s 1890 series of Savage and Semi-Barbarous Chiefs and Rulers, a selection of rulers from North America and the Indian subcontinent.

By 1890 almost every American tobacco firm had issued at least one series. They frequently featured pictures of attractive ladies to appeal to the male smoker. These included Actresses and Beauties, Dancing Women, Our Little Beauties and Dancing Girls of the World. In fact, card issuers needed little excuse to feature an attractive-looking female, with Kimball’s Pretty Athletes series of 1890 depicting women demonstrating a variety of sporting pursuits, with the emphasis certainly not on improving people’s understanding of sporting techniques. In addition, sporting and military subjects were popular. American patriotic spirit was encouraged by the Liberty series, featuring events such as the Boston Tea Party and the Battle of Concord.

It was in 1890 that Duke’s company became instrumental in the formation of the American Tobacco Company, an amalgamation of the five largest tobacco firms; in addition to Duke’s the ATC included Allen & Ginter, Goodwin & Company, W.S. Kimball & Company & Kinney Tobacco. By 1901 the ATC had absorbed the business of 250 firms, some of whom continued to trade in name only, but under the auspices of the ATC. Many sets of cards were issued multiple times, under different company names but under the umbrella of the ATC. However, according to I.O. Evans in his Cigarette Cards and How to Collect Them (1937) ‘card collecting had little vogue among American youth...as the cards appeared intermittently, and were often exchangeable, sometimes for albums and sometimes for boxes of sweetmeats.’

It was the Bristol company of W.D. & H.O. Wills which became the first British issuer of cigarette cards. In 1887 they began to print a few lines of wording on the stiffeners included in their packets. By 1890 they had replaced the wording one side with a small picture of their product and by 1894 they were issuing small replicas of eight of their showcards. Early themed issues including Soldiers of the World (100 cards) and the quirky Animals in Fancy Costume (50 cards). In 1895 they produced a series of 25 Ships and in 1896 a set of 50 Cricketers, the latter being one of the most collectable issues today, with a catalogue price of nearly £5,000. By 1901 they had issued series on Soldiers and Sailors, Beauties, Seaside Resorts, Sports of All Nations, Kings and Queens and a second Cricketers set. Other British tobacco manufacturers were quick to copy the idea. These included John Player & Sons of Nottingham, Godfrey Phillips, Lambert & Butler, Cope and Kinnear. Among the early Player’s sets were Castles and Abbeys, A Gallery of Beauty and Actors and Actresses. Like their American counterparts, the British cards were mainly designed to appeal to men, who in those pre-First World War days made up the vast majority of the smoking population. Therefore the subjects contained a high percentage of sporting and military themes, as well as pictures of attractive-looking women.

The patriotic fervour of the Boer War, and the issuing of sets of cards on that theme by British manufacturers, had seen a sharp decline in UK sales for the American Tobacco Company. To reassert their position within the British market, in September 1901 the ATC purchased Ogden’s, a Liverpool-based firm, for over £1,000,000. Ogden’s continued their prolific output of cigarette cards under their new owners and to combat this threat, the thirteen remaining major British manufacturers consolidated to form the Imperial Tobacco Company Ltd in November of the same year. Over £12,000,000 was paid out in compensation to existing shareholders. The war over the British market between the ATC and the ITC was brief, and in 1902 an agreement was signed between them that they would each focus on their domestic markets in the USA and the UK.

Cigarette cards themselves reflected this ‘tobacco war’, with the American-owned Ogden’s issuing cards with the slogan, ‘British made by British Labour’ on them. In riposte, Godfrey Phillips produced a card depicting a Union Flag with the