During the late 1800s, tobacco companies used trade cards to advertise their products, as well as for the practical purpose of stiffening the box. The cards were a powerful advertising method, combining brand marketing with popular, collectible images. They featured such appealing subjects as theatrical and sports stars and wildlife. Much like later bubble gum cards, cigarette cards were meant to be collected and were attractively printed as photographs or by the chromolithograpic process, which used a separate limestone plate for each color.

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