The first published hobby article, 1935....noted here

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Posted By: Joseph

SCD, of all places, actually wrote (not too long ago) about an earlier and no doubt more widely read article about tobacco cards. In the May 4, 1929 issue of The New Yorker, Arthur Folwell--in a article entitled "A New York Childhood - Cigarette Pictures"--writes about his youthful experiences collecting these little gems. Wonderfully whimsical piece, it has a picture of an Allen & Ginter Glasscock, a discourse on "Gold Coin" ballplayers, and pays homage to Old Judges ("There has never been anything like the Old Judge ball players"). The article, which basically ends in scope before the turn of the century, covers all types of cigarette cards, but it's obvious the writer is a baseball fan.

I have a PDF of this piece, which I'll be happy to send along...