Posted By:
Jon CanfieldThe Drum pouches are too small to have ever contained the cards. Also, the pack image from the book resides in a board member's collection and I hope he chimes in since I believe the image was from the front of the box that was cut out to make it more symetrical. I am 99% positive Drum's never came with the pouches although I could be wrong.
Just from an advertising perspective, why would the back of the cards advertise Drum Cigarettes when, in fact, the cards were packaged with tobacco? Furthermore, having found proof of a Drum cigarette product just lends more credence to this theory.
Edited to add: I don't have a scan of the Drum image I am referring to above on hand, however if you go to Trae's site, www.t206.org and look at "galleries" and then "Drum", you will see the image I am referring to. Note that on the "ad" or "box top", whichever is your belief, the image states "20 for 5 cents". This is clearly, without question, a reference to the number of cigarettes packaged within the cigarette back. Even if this is an ad, it shows that there was a Drum cigarette product aside from the tobacco pouch. The "20 for 5 cents" could, in no way, be referring to tobacco. Also, note that the font on the image matches that of the Drum back almost identically. Again, I feel completely comfortable in my belief that Drum t206's were not packaged in a tobacco pouch but rather Drum Cigarette packs.
Also, I don't find it odd that Drum cigarette packs have not surfaced to date. As a rule of thumb, the rarer the back, the rarer a surviving pack. In fact, I've never come across a Hindu pack although we know what they look like from the ads. Also, Broadleaf's are exceedingly rare in which I have only confirmed 2 that exist from the proper time period.