Cigarette Collection, once inserted into cigarette boxes as collectable additions, have a long history dating back to the 1600s in Britain and France. By the late 19th century, tobacco manufacturers like Goodwin & Co in the United States began using these cards to promote brand loyalty. They started by using sepia-toned photographic albumen prints, and later chromolithographic reproductions of multi-colored etchings. Often released in series, to complete a set one had to buy lots of cigarettes, an activity known as “cartophily.”
These tiny pieces of cigarette packaging offer an extraordinary window into the visual culture that emerged during the height of smoking’s popularity. They show us the variety of shapes and sizes that were available, the creative effort that was put into making cigarettes appear exotic, luxurious, masculine, feminine, festive or medicinal. They also reveal a whole lot about the people who purchased, used and collected them.
Curating Your Cigarette Collection: Tips for Enthusiasts
While this collection doesn’t include the cards that come in today’s packs of cigarettes, we do have several collections that document cigarette packaging design over time, including the Walter Landor/Landor Associates Industrial Design Collection (AC 500), and the Sandra and Gary Baden Collection of Celebrity Endorsements in Advertising (AC 611). We can also point you to a great resource, the Murray Card Catalogue, for up-to-date prices on collector’s items.
More than 5 trillion cigarettes are smoked worldwide each year and each of these butts is ultimately discarded with little thought about the environmental impacts they create. Sadly, this waste is now being added to the list of things that pose a risk to marine life. To reduce the burden of this toxic waste on our environment, states could consider a Maine-style product stewardship law that would force manufacturers to pay for the mitigation costs associated with each pack of cigarettes sold.
…