Both salesmen and the merchants they called on were busy people.  Appointments were to everyone’s advantage.  Mail delivery 1890-1920 was exceptionally good, and first class mail travelled great distances in a day or two for a penny. So salesmen began to send out “Advance Cards” to notify their customers of their pending arrival, and hopefully keeping them from buying competitor’s cigars “just yesterday.” 

It appears as if, in many cases, the salesmen designed or had a hand in the design of their own cards.  The personalities of the cards may tell us something about the men who used them.