N-Cards (19th Century Tobacco)



One important distinction regarding Jefferson Burdick and N-Cards is that his American Card Catalog did not classify N-Cards the way that we do today. His book actually catalogued N-Cards as Central and South American tobacco cards. Today, collectors categorize N-Cards as tobacco issues in the 19th Century. That, understandably, has led to some confusion among collectors.

Tobacco cards were popular (and at least one even led to a marriage) but they were also being blamed for causing all sorts of problems related to children collecting them. After a temporary ban on American tobacco cards in the late 1800s, they came back with a bang in the early 1900s with T-Cards.



Early tobacco cards were incredibly popular with both children and adults. And while ones picturing sports figures were popular, many pictured actresses and unknown women, which were also incredibly popular. Men routinely even pursued women that were pictured on them and at least one relationship that begun as the result of such a pursuit actually ended in a marriage.


19th century tobacco cards in America mostly ended in 1897 because a ban on them existed. However, that ban was lifted a few years later, leading to the reintroduction of tobacco issues by the early 1900s. Additionally, no such ban existed in the rest of the world so other international issues were continued without interruption.



N29 Dwight Tennis
1889 Allen & Ginter
Champions (N29)
N31 World's Dudes Tennis
1888 Allen & Ginter
World’s Dudes (N31)
1888/1889 Buchner
Morning Glory Maidens (N285)
N352 Consolidated Cigarette Baseball Player
1888 Consolidated /
Paxi Cigarettes (N352)
N128 Snapshots from Puck Tennis
1888 Duke
Snapshots of Puck (N128)
N122 Duke Novelties Tennis
1889 Duke/Gail & Ax
Novelties (N122)
 N162 Sears Tennis 2
1888 Goodwin Champions
N165 Top Goodwin Games and Sports
1889 Goodwin
Games & Sports (N165)
N196 Pretty Athletes Tennis
1889 Kimball
Pretty Athletes (N196)
1889 Kinney (N228)
N557 Little Rhody Tennis
1887 Little Rhody Cut Plug
National Sports (N557)
1915-16 Obsequio de Susini
