[canjond]

Leon - actually, the thicker card would pose a problem. Coupon cigarette packs are very thin paper. The use of a thicker card would have likely torn the pack.

Imagine a newly printed card with sharp corners being inserted into a thin paper pack - it would easily have torn open the product. And, after all, the card was a companion piece to the cigarettes. So, if the insert was ruining good packs of cigarettes, well then we have a problem since the product being sold is the cigarettes, not the card, and who would buy a torn pack of cigarettes?

While I certainly agree with you that it would be logical to use sturdier cardboard for a thin paper pack, practically speaking, it would have ruined the product - so a thinner, more flixible cardboard would have been more proper. Also, let's not forget that while cigarette cards were originally conceived (so the rumor goes) to add a stiffener to cigarette packs, by 1909-1911, this was not the case. Cards were widely collected at this point, and inserting cards into packs had become a "cracker jack for adults." This is clearly evident by the fact certain issues had redemptions T3s, T4s, etc. for example. Cards were collectible - the practical use of the cardboard was a thing of the past.