1893 Lorillard’s Red Cross Tobacco Boxing Positions & Boxers Set and Checklist (N266)

Posted on December 2, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Lorillard’s Red Cross Tobacco Boxing Positions & Boxers (N266)
Year	1893
Size	2 1/4″ x 4″
Images	Color
Type	19th Century Tobacco
Number in Set	25

1893 Lorillard’s Red Cross Tobacco Boxing Positions & Boxers Overview

N266 Carney vs Mitchell Boxing.jpg These boxing cards were among the more unique ones of the 19th century. Interestingly, while this is undoubtedly a boxing set, some of the cards depict wrestling moves.

Produced by Lorillard’s for their Red Cross Tobacco brand, each card featured depictions of a fight by two boxers. But the pictures also served a secondary purpose of demonstrating a particular boxing action. The set is highlighted by cards featuring John Sullivan, Peter Jackson, Nonpareil Dempsey, and James Corbett, among others.

A title of said action was printed at the top with the scene playing out below. The names of the two boxers pictured were printed beneath their images and the backs included some details of the specific fight, including boxers’ weights, the amount of money up for grabs, and the location and winner.

While they are similar to other instructional issues, they are different in that many of those types of set featured generic subjects and were not picturing actions in real fights.

Finally, an odd variation of these cards minus the advertising has shown up as well. While they remain a bit of a mystery, they have sold for big money in the past.