What do the Factory designations on T cards actually mean?

[Archive]

Posted By: runscott

The purpose of the cards was to advertise the product, so it makes sense that the factory designation would be associated with the tobacco rather than where the card was printed. The Sweet Cap overprints make sense in this context - If you needed more Sweet Cap cards to go in cigarettes produced at factory 42, but you were low on cards with that designation and had extras from another factory, less expensive to "overprint" with factory 42 than to print up a bunch of new cards.

I have a load of old cigar boxes and most of them have the factory printed along with the district and state, just as the cigarette packs did. Also, and Pete would have a better idea about this than I would, I see no reason why the cigarette packs and cards had to be printed at the same location. And finally, there is no "factory/district" designation on any cards other than tobacco cards - caramel and gum cards don't have this - so I think it has to do with the tobacco. Why would anyone care what district a card was printed in?