From thimbles and buttons, to bottle caps and baseball cards, people have been collecting “collectables” since anyone can remember. Before baseball cards, however, “cigarette cards” were the thing to collect and trade.  Back in the day, tobacco companies packaged such cards in their products, and dogs were a common theme of these series.

Many of the dog series had flat-coat cards which often included a few facts about the breed. In the 1950s, Turf Cigarettes, for example, had its 50 Famous Dog Breeds Series, and No. 50 was a Bedlington Terrier.  Earlier in the 1930s, cigarette cards of dog paintings by Arthur Wardle were issued by John Player Cigarettes in a series of 25 breeds (such as the Gordon Setter), while Carreras’ Black Cat, and Gallaher Cigarette Company offered breeds such as the Australian Terrier (1938). All these cards are highly collectable and, depending upon your point of view, affordable. Ebay and Etsy are great sources for the cards, as is Tripod.