History with its flickering lamp stumbles along the trail of the past, trying to reconstruct its scenes, to revive its echoes, and kindle with pale gleams the passion of former days. ~Winston Churchill

17 February, 2014

Cigarette Card Animals

From the mid 19th century to about the 1940s, cigarette cards were a common feature of cigarette packets. They would be published in series (usually 25 or 50), encouraging smokers to buy more from the same brand. Now, I don't condone smoking in any way-- but a lot of them are really great! The good old New York Public Library (this blog's star collection of the month, apparently!) has tens of thousands, a huge number of which are digitized. I am definitely going to be featuring these on a regular basis from now on! Today, a cute, silly series featuring animals and well-known phrases (from nursery rhymes to cliches to ad slogans). They are photomechanical reproductions of probably heavily retouched photos-- no date is provided but as one includes the phrase "back up your troubles in your old kit bag," from a song written in 1915, they must date from after that. My guess is 1915-1930.


New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library







New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library




New York Public Library






New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library





New York Public Library




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