Quote:
Originally Posted by darkhorse9
I'm not sure why people use the claim that T206 cards and similar tobacco cards were used to help stiffen the cigarette packages.
Tobacco cards didn't begin distribution until the Duke cigarette company developed the sliding box packaging around 1886. Other manufacturers like Kinney, Allen & Ginter, and Godwin quickly followed suit.
The packages were already firm with the box. The cards were purely for advertising and marketing and served no physical value to the pack.
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There were cards that came in very flimsy packs too. Not sure about the stiffening of said packs but that is what has always been thought. I am not sure it's a myth. I had a Pirates unopened pack, circa 1910s. It was a flimsy pack, not cardboard, and the card inside sure helped stiffen it on one side. That is not a myth. My guess is the cards were mostly for marketing though.
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