N-Cards (19th Century)

Introduction

N-Cards are tobacco cards from the 19th Century when trading cards first arrived. In addition to the N-Card designated issues, many releases were printed that were not cataloged. Those issues are listed at the end in alphabetical order. N-Cards are one of two tobacco card types. They represent 19th Century cards while T-Cards are tobacco cards from the 20th Century.

One important distinction regarding Jefferson Burdick and N-Cards is that his American Card Catalog did not classify N-Cards the way that we do today. His book actually catalogued N-Cards as Central and South American tobacco cards. Today, collectors categorize N-Cards as tobacco issues in the 19th Century. That, understandably, has led to some confusion among collectors.

Tobacco cards were popular (and at least one even led to a marriage) but they were also being blamed for causing all sorts of problems related to children collecting them. After a temporary ban on American tobacco cards in the late 1800s, they came back with a bang in the early 1900s with T-Cards.

Many N-Cards feature color lithography. Some, however, look drastically different. Issues such as the early Old Judge cards of actors and actresses feature actual sepia-tone photographs that were printed then mounted onto cardboard backing. Many of these types of cards have faded over time, making them difficult to preserve. N-Cards that were similarly produced have a premium placed on them if the images are clear.

Note that this page contains only 19th Century tobacco cards here. Other 19th Century cards appear on other pages and grouped together as similar items.

19th century tobacco cards in America mostly ended in 1897 because a ban on them existed. However, that ban was lifted a few years later, leading to the reintroduction of tobacco issues by the early 1900s. Additionally, no such ban existed in the rest of the world so other international issues were continued without interruption.

Like the other non-sports pages, this is not meant to be a full listing of non-sports issues in this category. Rather, it includes only some of the more popular ones listed in the American Card Catalog.