Cigarette Cards and other ephemera
Cigarette Cards, Trade Cards, Miniature Playing Cards and other ephemera.
Cigarette Cards, Trade Cards,
Miniature Playing Cards and other ephemera.
Playing Cards often feature in the design of items such as cigarette cards, trade cards, score cards, phone cards, matchbox labels and lottery tickets, as well as in advertisements, calendars, cigarette packets, chinaware, brochures, beer mats, key rings, cigar bands, sweet wrappers, post cards, book illustrations, music manuscripts, inside Christmas crackers and so on…. more
Peruvian Cigarette Cards
Above: two cards from 40-card lithographed pack, probably manufactured in Spain for the Peruvian tobacco market, c.1890.
Above: miniature Disney Mickey Mouse cards.
Above: Spanish trade cards from razor blade boxes, c.1938.
Above: Cigarette packet. See more►
Above: D Harper & Co Ltd was a British manufacturer of fancy goods in the early 20th century, exhibiting at the British Industries Fairs of 1922, 1929, 1937 and 1947. The cards, which appear to be a copy of Goodall's Tom Thumb patience cards, are in a faux leather folder, with a press stud enclosure (marked "English Maker") in apparent cheeky parody of a Victorian family bible. The spine has the text "Let Us Play", quite radical for the period! (Click image to zoom). Images courtesy Matt Probert.
Above: in around 1935, Wix gave away free miniature playing cards in packets of Kensitas cigarettes. Smokers could also save coupons (known as certificates) from packets of Kensitas cigarettes and then exchange these for a full-size pack of cards. It would appear that two cards were issued in a packet of 10 cigarettes, and in packets of 20 five miniature cards with instructions for a magic trick. The miniature cards were produced with ornamental back designs in either red or blue. Image courtesy Matt Probert.
Above: miniature playing cards inset into collectable cigarette cards manufactured in Peru, c.1920 more →
Above: miniature playing cards for W.D. & H.O. Wills' Flag Cigarettes c.1930. Image courtesy Matt Probert.
Above: miniature playing cards inserted into consumer products as a sales incentive and for children to collect more →
Above: Waddingtons playing cards on Bermuda postage stamps commemorating the World Bridge Championship, 1975.
Children’s Card Games with Advertising
Sales incentives - from the collection of Rex Pitts
Whist Score cards
from the collection of Tony Hall
Cigarette Paper Packets
from the Biblioteca Nacional de España online collection
Above: cigarette paper packets from the Biblioteca Nacional de España online collection►
Above: the 1917 original Wills's Cigarette "Arms of Companies" series cigarette card depicting the "Playing Card Makers". Courtesy Matt Probert.
Above: from a set of four cork-backed coasters made in England by Present Solutions. The playing card designs are post-1974. Courtesy Matt Probert.
Above: Las Vegas “Poker” Watch. Image courtesy Matt Probert.
Above: postage stamp with playing card from a costume pack by Avril & Cie. Courtesy Roddy Somerville.
By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
I am the founder of The World of Playing Cards (est. 1996), a website dedicated to the history, artistry and cultural significance of playing cards and tarot. Over the years I have researched various areas of the subject, acquired and traded collections and contributed as a committee member of the IPCS and graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal. Having lived in Chile, England, Wales, and now Spain, these experiences have shaped my work and passion for playing cards. Amongst my achievements is producing a limited-edition replica of a 17th-century English pack using woodblocks and stencils—a labour of love. Today, the World of Playing Cards is a global collaborative project, with my son Adam serving as the technical driving force behind its development. His innovative efforts have helped shape the site into the thriving hub it is today. You are warmly invited to become a contributor and share your enthusiasm.
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