Before kids were saving and swapping baseball cards, adults were getting “cigarette cards” with each pack of smokes. John Player, more commonly known as Player’s, was one of the first tobacco companies in the UK to include sets of general interest cards in their packs of cigarettes. Today, the company is part of the Imperial Tobacco Group, but back in 1820, the small tobacco factory was set up by William Wright in Craigshill, Livingston, West Lothian. The business earned him a small fortune, and in 1877, Wright sold it to John Player in 1877.  Player had the distinction of offering pre-packaged tobacco at a time smokers rolled their own from loose tobacco and cigarette paper.

Cigarette cards were initially used to stiffen cigarette packaging and advertise brands, the first ones issued by American companies like Allen and Ginter. They were of actresses, boxers and Native American chiefs, but in 1931,  John Player issued cards created from painting of dogs by Arthur Wardle, an English painter born in 1860 whose work was highly sought after. There were 50 dog breeds in the series.

Cigarette cards became “the” thing to collect and trade, and if you think there isn’t a market for them, consider this. In 2007, $2,350,000 was paid for a single card that was sold a year later for a new world record price of $2,800,000. As an aside, and to be fair, the card was unique. It featured Hans Wagner, a shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1897 to 1917, and a dedicated non-smoker. Wagner objected mightily when a tobacco company planned to picture him on a cigarette card without his permission. The threats of legal action kept it from being released, but a few got out, and it was one of these that fetched such a high price at auction. 

The reverse side of each “dog” cigarette card provided a narrative on the characteristics and history of the breed. Over the years, reproductions of the cards have been issued (the original cards have become increasingly scarce), an “authorized reproduction” meaning that a supplier in England has bought the rights to accurately reproduce the original card, front and back. You can see a list of the breeds that were created here.

We’ve come across sites where original cards can be bought (like this one), but it pays to do homework to make sure of the authenticity of such a thing.

Image: A Player cigarette card by Wardle from 1939