This guide gives details of how to start and maintain a collection of cigarette and/or other trade cards. Non-collectors with a small number of cards may find the information here particularly useful, as may anyone who is new to the hobby.
The aim of any cartophilist must be to collect full sets of cards, to display them well and to preserve them. This document (probably) contains everything you'll need to know to get you started.
Before you start collecting, it is advisable to decide what you would like to collect. Theme collecting, ie. collecting cards of similar subject matter, is very popular. Steve collects mainly scientific, engineering and informative cards; David collects flags, maps and cartoon characters.
Some people collect exclusively cigarette, trade or trading cards, or those produced by one company (eg. Liebig or Brooke Bond).
Murray's Guide to Cigarette and Other Trade Cards is widely accepted as the standard source of information on cigarette cards. It is split into three sections: British tobacco companies, foreign tobacco companies and other companies (ie. companies producing trade cards). Within each section there is an alphabetical list of manufacturers; under each manufacturer is an alphabetical list of the sets they produce.
In some cases the lists of sets are incomplete, either because not all sets are known to Murray's or there are too many to list (eg. the Liebig Extract of Meat Co.). In the latter case a separate catalogue is available.
Each set is given a one-line entry and gives information on the size of the cards (see below), the number of cards in a set, the name of the set and the value of a set and each individual (odd) card. The common card sizes are as follows:
| Code | Meaning | Approx. Dimensions of Card |
|---|---|---|
| (none) | standard size | 36 x 68 mm |
| K | smaller than standard | 41 x 51 mm |
| M | medium | 52 x 80 mm |
| L | large | 71 x 80 mm |
| T | Typhoo / Doncella | 52 x 106 mm |
| X | extra large | 113 x 80 mm |
| P | postcard | 165 x 110 mm |
| G | cabinet size | 165 x 228 mm |
| E | too large for albums | |
| D | dual (more than one size) | |
| S | stereoscopic series | |
| F | photographic series [ illustration ] |
In recent years there has been a trend away from the old standard size towards larger cards. For more information on the standard size and why it is so called, see the History of Cartophily.
It should be noted that although there is no mention of it in Murray's catalogue, Carreras cards are slightly longer than standard.
There are two other priced catalogues that we know of in the UK: those produced by Albert's (London) and The London Cigarette Co. Ltd. (Somerset). There also exist several reference books giving details of card series. See the Recommended Further Reading List for some titles.
The most popular way to store cigarette cards is in an album. Although many card manufacturers produce specific albums for their sets, it is generally better to store cards in the special cigarette card albums available at many shops as these protect the cards better. Also, many set albums require that the cards be stuck in, and while this may look nice it usually ruins the cards (and their value). Corner mount marks caused by early slot-in albums also reduce value.
In the UK there are two sizes of special album widely available. Both use plastic sheets into which the cards slot which are held in ring binder albums. The most common size of sheet is about 25cm by 20cm (10 by 7 inches); the other is more than twice as large. Obviously, the latter can hold more cards (up to 25 per sheet).
The "standard" sheet of the common size is split into pockets to hold 10 cards. They are also widely available to hold 8, 6 large, 6 Typhoo/Doncella and 4 cards, and some other sizes are also available. The larger the cards, the larger the pockets you will need to hold them and so the less you'll get on a sheet. Here is a rough guide:
| Size of Card | Size of Sheet Needed |
|---|---|
| smaller than standard | 15 |
| standard, smaller than standard or Carreras | 10 |
| medium | 8 |
| large | 6 (L) |
| Typhoo/Doncella | 6 (T) |
| extra large | 4 |
| postcard | 2 |
| cabinet size | 1 |
The sheets for medium cigarette cards can also be used to store telephone cards.
It is possible to frame cards. Cardboard backing plates are available in which the cards sit. A sheet of glass (sometimes non-reflective) is then inserted in front of the cardboard and placed into a frame. A sheet of glass is often applied to the rear so the backs can be read. If it becomes necessary to fix cards into the frame then photographic corner mounts can be used to hold the cards to the glass.
It is also possible to obtain plastic sheets which clip together, holding one card between. These come with a stand and may be stood in either portrait or landscape format. This is recommended for cards of high monetary or sentimental value, and is quite common for baseball cards in the United States.
Different cards have different values, as can be seen by a quick glance though Murray's Catalogue. In general, the older the card the more valuable it is, particularly if it has survived one or both world wars. Also, the fewer cards that were produced (or that have survived), ie. the rarer it is, the more valuable it is likely to be.
Your best guide to value should be one of the catalogues mentioned above, such as Murray's Catalogue. Murray Cards (International) Ltd. will sell you cards at the price listed in their catalogue either at one of their London shops or by mail order. From a second hand dealer I would expect to pay roughly half this for more common sets, although the price will approach the catalogue value as rarity increases. You are unlikely to be able to sell common cards to a dealer for much more than a third of their catalogue value, although there is no harm in trying for a higher price, and you should almost certainly not accept anything less. You wouldn't want to sell your cards anyway, would you?
The single most important thing affecting the value of any given card is its condition. There are a variety of classifications of condition. I use the following, although it is by no means definitive:
| Classification | Description |
|---|---|
| MINT | Almost as good as new; entirely unblemished. |
| EXcellent | As good as could be expected: cards clean with a minimum of damage. |
| Very Good | Slight damage only. Corners not creased. |
| Good | Some damage, possibly including corner damage. |
| Fair | Card may be damaged by a fold, crack or dirty mark. |
| Poor | Card with a number of the above faults. |
These descriptions apply to individual cards. When describing sets, I normally use the classification(s) which apply to the majority of the set. It is not unusual for the first and last cards in a set to be damaged more than the others (because they sit on the outside of a pile) and so these cards are slightly more valuable. In some cases you may have to pay twice as much for these cards as for any other card in the set.
You may also see the classification "CMM" used, which stands for Corner Mount Marks and indicates that the corners of the card(s) have been damaged by mounting.
To avoid damage to your cards, it is recommended that you store them in plastic sheets and handle them with flat stamp tweezers. Attempting to remove cards which have been glued usually seriously damages them to the point of making them virtually worthless, although a complete set of good-condition cards stuck into an album may in its own right be valuable. If you must, the best way to remove glue is usually to steep the cards in warm water for a short while, then try to prise them off. You should try not to use any kind of glue on previously unglued cards in your collection.
Slightly dirty cards can often be cleaned by rubbing them with a soft pencil eraser. However, it is possible to rub the ink off old cards, so be careful.
The following are some things of which you should be aware when collecting cards.
Errors are cards which contain, as their name suggests, a slight error. This is normally small, although there have been some real clangers. Cards bearing errors may be rare (and valuable) if the error was spotted and a correction card released. Errors are also known as howlers.
Varieties are due to the manufacturer knowingly changing information or pictures. This could be due to changes of the subject matter, eg. changing flags or maps, or a correction to an error.
Often valuable sets are reprinted (with the manufacturer's permission). These reproduction sets are invariably less valuable. The text is often printed in a different colour and may include a statement to the effect "Reproduced with the permission of...".
You should not necessarily be disappointed if you discover that a set in your collection is a reproduction. Some reproduction sets are now out of print and are themselves becoming increasingly valuable.
Forgeries are sets reprinted without the manufacturer's permission. These are then passed off as originals, although they are considerably less valuable in most cases. Be careful when purchasing!
Popular sets of cards have very often been followed by a second edition, which contain another series of different cards, rather than reprints or varieties. To discern which set a card belongs to it is necessary to look at the back of the card. An example is given in the Cartophilic Picture Gallery.
Silks are not really cards, but designes woven onto pieces of silk or other material. They are usually much more valuable than their cardboard counterparts due to their increased fragility - the material has a tendency to fray.
Since silks were also formerly distributed with cigarettes, they are collected by some cartophilists.
You might like to try any or all of the following places to obtain cards. We advise new collectors to try the locations at the top of the list first, then work down.
You may find that many stamp and/or postcard shops will sell at least cigarette card albums and leaves, if not cards as well.
A separate list of useful addresses of catalogue producers, dealers and cartophily magazine publishers is included in the Cartophily Contact List.
While collectable cards were and sometimes still are found with tobacco products, we would not encourage the use of such products, particularly not solely as a means of obtaining cards. Information about the dangers of smoking can be found on the Action on Smoking and Health web site.
It is a sad fact that cigarette cards seem to be decreasingly seen. Therefore, if you do obtain some, please look after them!
Cartophily is fun!
This should be your guiding principle when collecting cigarette cards. It is very difficult to make a profit on cigarette cards unless you are an expert and a dealer, and trying this as an ameteur can end up being very costly and disappointing. When buying cards buy what you can afford and like - there is no point buying cards which you do not like because they are cheap, or because you believe that they will appreciate in value. Instead, aim to buy cards which you will enjoy owning.
There is a tendency of people to say, "If only I had kept those cards, they would now be worth a fortune." It is the very fact that many people did treat cigarette cards badly or threw them away which makes those which remain in good condition so valuable. It also makes the task of finding the cards you want more difficult but ultimately more rewarding.
Just remember, do not become obsessed with the catalogue value of your cards - they are invariably not worth that much, and you should not allow people to sell you cards for that amount! The most important advice is: Enjoy your collection!
This information is designed to be of use to you in understanding cartophily or starting a collection, but is by no means a definitive list. We recommend you consult other sources of information as well, such as those given in the Recommended Further Reading List.
Above all, though, we hope that if you start collecting cigarette cards you enjoy it.
Sources of information include Collecting Cigarette & Trade Cards by Gordon Howsden (ISBN 1-872727-87-5), Murray's Guide to Cigarette and Other Trade Cards and other Internet sites.
This page was last updated on 11 December 2002. © Steve Talbot and David Snowdon 2002.
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