[tedzan]

Can you enlarge your Malarkey scan to match Jim's CYCLE scan ?

Because I don't see a measurable difference in the gap between adjacent frames of the AMERICAN BEAUTY back vs. the
adjacent frames of the CYCLE back.

If there is no difference, then (as you said)......"ALC used the first pictured layout and made extra cuts to trim the cards
down the proper size and scrapped the little slits of paper".


The designs of all the various Tobacco back's framing width is 1 1/4 inches wide. Since the AB cards are trimmed down to
1 3/8ths inches wide, this may explain why ALC eliminated the FRAME in their subsequent 350/460 and 460-only AMERICAN
BEAUTY backs. On many cards, given the printing and cutting tolerances, the frame design was being partially cut out with
the narrower card.

The real mystery that still remains is....why the AB card's width were trimmed down an 1/8th inch ?

As, the AMERICAN BEAUTY packs contained 10 (standard size) cigarettes; therefore, they were no smaller in size than the
PIEDMONT, SWEET CAPORAL, etc.



TED Z