[Steve D]

Jeff Burdick was a card collector, meaning he collected essentially all forms of trade cards. The alphabetical system he devised, is basically as follows:

A = Tobacco Albums
B = Blankets/Rugs
BC = Cloth Items
BF = Felt Items
C = Canadian Tobacco
D = Bakery Inserts
E = Early Candy & Gum
F = Food Inserts
FC = Canadian Food Inserts
G = Banners/Posters/non-insert Albums/Movie Stills/Sheet Music/Calendars/Cigar Band Labels
H = Advertising Issues
J = Soda Cards
K = Coffee Cards
L = Leathers
M = Periodicals
N = Central & South American Tobacco *
P = Tobacco Pins/Buttons
PC = Postcards
PD = Bakery Buttons
PE = Early Candy Pins
PF = Food Buttons
PL = Playing Cards
PR = Recent Gum Pins
PU = Misc Pins
Q = Stereoscope Cards
R = Gum Cards (1930 and after)
S = Silks
SC = Canadian Silks
SN = Central/South American Silks
T = 20 Century U.S. Tobacco
U = Unclassified Issues
V = Canadian Candy Cards
W = Album Cards
Y = Rewards of Merit/Tokens of Affection/Name or Calling Cards/Bible Cards/Scrap Pictures
Z = Paper Dolls

* As indicated, Burdick used the "N" to designate "Central & South American Tobacco Cards". He simply numbered 19th Century U.S. tobacco cards 1 - 693, without a letter designator. Bert Randolph Sugar, when he published the "Sports Collectors Bible" in 1975, added the "N" to Burdick's numbering system to signify 19th Century U.S. tobacco cards.

With what we now know as "N" cards, Burdick numbered each set according to brand, i.e.:

1 - 68 = Allen & Ginter
70 - 157 = Duke
162 - 175 = Goodwin
180 - 206 = Kimball
210 - 246 = Kinney
250 - 277 = Lorillard
280 - 291 = Buchner
295 - 317 = Mayo
321 - 338 = SF Hess
342 - 349 = Thomas Hall

Within each of the above brands, Burdick numbered each set alphabetically, by size. For instance, with Allen & Ginter, 1 - 34 are "normal sized issues, 35 - 44 are "large" cards, and 45 - 54 are photo cards, and 57 - 68 are "Special Issues". There is no set numbered 55 or 56.

For "T" cards, Burdick used T1 - T16 to designate "extra-large cards" or "premiums". and T25 - T177 as general, non-sports issues. He gave general, sports issues numbers between T200 and T235. Unlike the 19th Century issues, Burdick did not number the 20th Century issues within each brand; he simply numbered them alphabetically by title, with some exceptions in higher numbers as new finds were catalogued.

I found the above information in the American Card Catalog (ACC), the book "American Tobacco Cards" by Robert Forbes and Terence Mitchell, and The Sports Collectors Bible by Bert Sugar.

Steve

Edited to show a more detailed list of lettered categories.