Thanks to the ease of international communication these days I was able to learn about, and purchase, this outstanding collection from its Belgian-based compiler,  playing card collector Pascal Raemdonck. The collection comprises 263 cards with some form of cigar, cigarette, cigarette paper, pipe, or smoking tobacco advertising. The bulk of the collection are European brands and companies, but the United States is also well represented. The illustrations for this exhibit are flat-bed scans made, and purchased from, Pascal. The cards are modern (after 1960) bridge-size narrow cards. In a few cases, I will show the face of the card along with the back, as European face cards are frequently quite different than the standard faces that U.S. card players are accustomed to. Cigar company cards are in another exhibit.

    The cards and scans arrived in no discernible order. I have begun sorting them topically, by type of tobacco product rather than by country of origin, but am hampered by not knowing much about European cigar companies and less about the other tobacco products, including such basic information as what they are and what country they are from.

    I urge visitors who can supply information, even if it’s only for one brand, to please do so. I’ll keep rearranging as Museum visitors step forward and help. Please email me with any and all information you can provide about the type of product, manufacturer, and country of origin. Include the card number so there’s no confusion. Please send information to  <Tony@CigarHistory.info>