The cigarette and trade picture cards widely produced before 1939 are now highly collectable and, periodically, facsimiles are produced to meet a demand beyond the available original cards. The motives of card producers is frequently questioned because of changed views on tobacco, but they were eagerly collected at the time and were highly informative. – Much Recommended
NAME: The History of Cigarette and Trade Cards, The Magic Inside The Packet FILE: R2767 AUTHOR: John Broom PUBLISHER: Pen and Sword BINDING: soft back PAGES: 158 PRICE: £16,99 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: Picture cards, cigarette cards, trade cards, free gifts, collections, collectors
ISBN: 1-52672-174-O
IMAGE: B2767.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/y9mqqyrz LINKS: DESCRIPTION: The cigarette and trade picture cards widely produced before 1939 are now highly collectable and, periodically, facsimiles are produced to meet a demand beyond the available original cards. The motives of card producers is frequently questioned because of changed views on tobacco, but they were eagerly collected at the time and were highly informative. - Much Recommended The range of topics covered by the cards was extensive. There were series depicting regimental uniforms, sets covering aviation, cricket, battles, ships, and almost every area of life. Collecting them became addictive for generations and much was learned in the process. There have been several estimates of how many cards were produced but the number ran to many million. They were colourful and generally high quality artwork, providing an insight into cultural history. At the time when the originals were released, it became an absorbing hobby, particularly for school boys who traded cards with school friends to build complete sets. Today, society may condemn the cigarette cards because their purpose was to promote the use of tobacco. To put it into better perspective, smoking was considered a very normal part of life and doctors lent their names to advising people to “smoke for your health's sake”. On into the 1960s, most people smoked and mainly smoked cigarettes. How much the cigarette cards increased smoking is debatable but society was different and the picture cards had a positive aspect, as did trade cards. Today, the principles continue with picture cards and medallions being produced from time to time, but the impact is different because there are so many other sources of information and subjects for collectors. Surviving collections of original cards are highly sort and sell for some amazing figures. It has become a serious hobby and the attractive nature of the cards has led to facsimiles being printed, but usually sold as sets, often as framed pictures with glass front and back so that the text on the reverse side can be read. The author has produced a delightful view of the cards and covered a wide, but not exhaustive, range of card topics. It is a very interesting review and will undoubtedly encourage more collectors.