Love the packs Jon!
Tanner, here are some of the ads I spoke of together with a little more history.
Gypsy Queen cigarettes were introduced to the market mid 1886 in an ornate paper pack as shown by Jon above on right. It is interesting how the product launch advertisements state "The ONLY new Cigarette in the Market that SELLS ON ITS MERITS ALONE, and gives universal satisfaction, WITHOUT PRIZES OR INDUCEMNET OF ANY KIND". June 2nd 1886 New York Sun ad as follows.
Highly successful brands were being launched by other firms including Duke's Cameo cigarettes and Allen & Ginter's Virginia Brights. The competition didn't sell on merit alone, they immediately inserted cards or redemption offers for prizes such as cabinets ("Cigarette Makers", "Young Lady Base Ball Nine", etc.).
Sometime between December 1886 and mid 1887, Gypsy Queen would transition to slide & shell box. The very first boxes may have remained ornate but quickly migrated to the more simple box as shown by Jon above left. No later than September 1887, Goodwin would start inserting cards in packs of Gypsy Queen cigarettes (couldn't rely on merits alone forever, everyone else was caving to the insert craze by late 1887). Following is the earliest advert I've found (9/15/1887) that states baseball, pugilists, and actresses were inserted. Within a week, similar ads were found in several different papers and would continue to be printed with regularity.
Here is more of the same with a little more fancy ad (11/23/87), similar to what you posted above but again with the mention of the card inserts.
During the last week of 1887, (12/26/87), we see the first mention of not just Baseball Players, but more specifically "Eastern and California Baseball Players". Several more ads would appear advertising the "California Baseball Players" including the cats playing a game as you posted but all these would cease about a month after it began. The California League cards may have had a very short distribution period.
Back in January of 2014 there was an interesting Bay Area find of Gypsy Queen cards. There was an old scrap book page with trimmed GQs; pugilists on top, baseball players on bottom. Mixed in are a pair of California League cards (Clements & Donovan - circled in red).
We can only hope more GQs will surface, I think they are all special, whether Eastern or California League players. In full disclosure, I do not own any of the cards I posted and I hope current owners don't mind me posting the old find.
1888 would see introduction of N162 (Goodwin Champions) which would displace many of the photographic cards. While the N162s are gorgeous, I sure would love to be chasing some 1888 photographic GQ Detroits but alas it wasn't meant to be.