In late 19th century, tobacco companies struck upon a golden idea. They would insert illustrated trade cards in cigarette packs to advertise the brand, stiffen the packaging, and build loyalty. The cards, however, achieved a lot more.

A delightful product of their time, cigarette cards, many of which were beautifully illustrated, now act as a window into a distant era, as historians study them for details on uniform design of sports and military men.

Initially depicting sports personalities and actresses, cigarette cards were so novel that they quickly became collectibles. Tobacco companies like WD & HO Wills and John Player and Sons, realising their popularity, introduced series of cards, with the idea that smokers would want to collect the whole set. Usually issued in numbered series of 25, 50 or more, cigarette cards featured an illustration on one side with related information and ad text on the other.

In a series titled British Empire, John Player and Sons issued cigarette cards bearing images of India. Most of these illustrations showed the India that British officers experienced – hunting, riding on elephants – but some also bore idyllic depictions of rural India, its folk traditions and famous monuments.

One card had an illustration of the natives of Andaman Islands dancing on one side, and this explanation on the flip side: “The passion for dancing seems to be common to all the races of mankind, though it finds outlet in many different ways. There can be few stranger dances than those indulged in by the Andaman Islanders.”

According to the website of the New York Public Library:

“The height of cigarette card popularity occurred in the early decades of the 20th century, when tobacco companies around the world issued card sets in an encyclopedic range of subjects…. While most cards were produced by conventional offset or other economical commercial printing processes, a few series were issued as original gelatin silver photographs or printed on silk or linen fabric; others were created as puzzles or paper toy cut-outs.”

The appeal of cigarette cards fell by the 1950s, the website adds, and their production and distribution was stopped.

A large collection of cigarette cards are now available on the NYPL website. These are part of the out-of-copyright items – including manuscripts, images and photographs – that were released on the website in January for free high-resolution download. Here is a selection of them: