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Cartophily: Cigarette Cards (ft. Nizam, Ottomans, palestine, Jane Austen, Sherlock Holmes… etc.)
by Riasath A,li Asrar
Cigarette cards — tiny artworks tucked inside cigarette packs that once educated, entertained, and connected collectors across the world. From their beginnings as simple packaging stiffeners to their rise as cultural artefacts, cigarette cards offer a fascinating glimpse into the everyday history of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In this feature, we’re showcasing a curated selection of cards depicting the last Nizam of Hyderabad, an Ottoman Sultan, scenes from Palestine, and other places, figures, and curiosities that once travelled the world through the smoke trails of history.
Sultan Mehmed V Reşad, half-brother of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, was known as the “Constitutional Sultan” during the Second Constitutional Era, when the Committee of Union and Progress held significant power. He led the Ottoman Empire into World War I alongside the Central Powers but passed away just months before the war’s end—never witnessing the Empire’s collapse.
Tobacco, introduced to the Ottoman world in the 17th century, had a complex legacy under various sultans—banned by some, embraced by others. Sultan Abdul Hamid II (r. 1876–1909), in particular, was famously fond of cigarettes, cigars and pipes. A 1911 Paris auction of his personal effects featured elaborately designed cigarette cases—some bearing his tughra or initials, others adorned with precious stones, including one depicting the Hejaz-railway map. Tobacco wasn’t just a personal indulgence, it became a royal symbol and a state revenue source under his rule.
Muratti Cigrattes was founded in Istanbul by Greek tobacco trader Basil Muratoglu, in 1821. He moved the company to Western Europe in the 1880s, after the Ottoman Empire monopolized the tobacco industry—in 1885 the company was established in Berlin, Germany, and in 1887 in London, Great Britain. It is currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris International (which also owns the famous Malboro Cigarettes). Several Muratti variants have been introduced over the years and were also sold as Ambassador, Ariston, Cabinet, Gentry, Iplic, Peer and Regent.
Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th and last Nizam of Hyderabad (1911–1948), was once the richest man in the world. Featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1937, he ruled a state with its own currency — the Hyderabadi rupee — and immense wealth from the Golconda diamond mines, including the famed Jacob Diamond. A visionary modernizer, he introduced electricity, developed railways, roads, and airports, and founded key institutions like Osmania University, Hyderabad High Court, and Begumpet Airport. He also commissioned major infrastructure projects like Osman Sagar and Nizam Sagar to prevent floods.
The Nizam smoked specially rolled “Charminar cigarettes” by Vazir Sultan Tobacco – a company founded in 1916, now known as VST Industries Ltd, with British American Tobacco holding a stake.
State Express 555 (Three-Fives) — a cigarette brand born in Westminster, London, and originally produced by the Ardath Tobacco Company. Acquired internationally by British American Tobacco (BAT) in 1925, 555. With origins dating back to the late 19th century and a name inspired by Marie Corelli’s novel Ardath, the brand earned Royal Warrants from King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II. This particular card is from the series of “Empire Personalities” by the brand which featured Emperors, Rulers, Kings, Sultans etc from all over the world of the 20th century.
The historic Makkah Masjid of Hyderabad-Deccan. Sultan Muhammad Qutub Shah – sixth ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty – commissioned the construction of the mosque in 1617, and was later completed by Sultan Aurangzeib in 1694. Soil was brought from Makkah – Hejaz (present-day, Saudi Arabia) and was used in the construction of the central arch of the mosque, thus giving the mosque its name.
On the left, is the VIth Nizam of Hyderabad – Mir Mahboob Ali Khan (r. 1869-1911).
Godfrey Phillips — established in 1844 in Aldgate, London, by cigar maker Godfrey Phillips, and after his death styled as Godfrey Phillips & Sons. The company expanded into India in 1936 with the formation of Godfrey Phillips (India) Ltd., producing brands like Cavander’s, De Reszke, and Greys. After a 1968 takeover by Philip Morris Inc., the company evolved into a major tobacco player in India, with facilities in Navi Mumbai, Ghaziabad, and Guntur. Today, it produces well-known brands such as Four Square, Red & White, Stellar, North Pole, Tipper, and licenses Marlboro from Philip Morris.
Jerusalem, Palestine — Featured in Bucktrout’s “Around the World” cigarette series (mid-19th to 20th century).
Jerusalem was then under Ottoman rule, governed by the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, an autonomous district established in 1841 and formally recognized in 1872. This era marked significant administrative shifts and the early emergence of Zionist settlement.
At the time, communities were centered around their sacred sites: Muslims near the Haram ash-Sharif (northeast), Christians by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (northwest), Jews above the Western Wall (southeast), and Armenians near Bab an-Nabi Dawud (southwest). Though not rigidly separated, these locations formed the basis of the city’s four quarters during the British Mandate (1917–1948) — a period that witnessed the intensification of Zionist occupation.
The brand of the cigaratte is unknown. But this is from the series “Beauties of Great Britain : A series of 50 real photographs” which featured various places from the then Great Britain.
Bucktrout, based in Guernsey, featured cities like Damascus in its mid-19th to 20th-century “Around the World” cigarette series. Damascus, a historic center of Arab and Islamic civilization, was under Ottoman rule until World War I, after which it came under the French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon. Palestine and Damascus were part of the broader cultural region known as Bilad al-Sham (Greater Syria).
Despite political upheavals—from Ottoman governance to French control and modern conflicts—Damascus remains a symbol of enduring cultural and religious significance in the Arab and Muslim world, with a strong historical significance.
The House of Carreras was a prominent London-based tobacco business founded in the 19th century by Don José Carreras Ferrer, a Spanish nobleman. The company remained independent until its 1958 merger with Rothmans of Pall Mall, and in 1972, the Carreras name became the foundation for Rothmans International—a consolidation of European tobacco interests.
Carreras’s Regent Street store became a destination for visiting royalty, and by 1866, the business had earned Royal Warrants from both the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In 1874, it was also granted a Royal Warrant by King Alfonso XII of Spain. Handwritten ledgers from this period reveal that the company counted nobility, statesmen, literary figures, and high-ranking military officers among its clientele.
One notable customer was J. M. Barrie, author of My Lady Nicotine (1890), who referred to a tobacco blend he called Arcadia Mixture. It was later discovered that Barrie’s preferred tobacco was actually Craven Mixture, sold by Carreras at their Wardour Street location. In January 1897, Barrie confirmed the blends were the same, and Carreras subsequently leveraged his endorsement in advertising—leading to a sharp rise in both domestic and international sales of Craven Mixture.
During and after World War I, rising demand for cigarettes led Carreras to expand operations. Outgrowing its City Road Arcadia factory, the company opened the Arcadia Works in Mornington Crescent, Camden, in 1928. This new Art Deco facility, officially named Greater London House, is renowned for its Egyptian Revival architecture, designed by M. E. and O. H. Collins and A. G. Porri. Built between 1926–28 on the former communal garden of Mornington Crescent, the building—funded in part by major shareholder Bernhard Baron, a Russian-Jewish inventor and philanthropist—is 550 feet (168 metres) long and clad primarily in white.
Meanwhile, Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817), the celebrated English novelist, offered a vivid depiction of Bath—a city where parts of her novels Northanger Abbey and Persuasion are set. In a letter to her sister Cassandra, dated 5–6 May 1801, Austen described the view from Kingsdown:
“The first view of Bath in fine weather does not answer my expectations; I think I see more distinctly through rain. — The Sun was got behind everything, and the appearance of the place from the top of Kingsdown, was all vapour, shadow, smoke & confusion.”
This cigarette card, from the Famous Explorers series by Smith’s Albion Gold Flake Cigarettes, features Vasco da Gama — the legendary Portuguese navigator whose pioneering 1497–1499 voyage first linked Europe and Asia via an ocean route around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. His landing at Kozhikode (Calicut) in India in 1498 opened the sea-based spice trade, fueling Portugal’s rise as a global imperial power.
Issued by F. & J. Smith, a firm founded in 1858 and later part of the Imperial Tobacco Company (1901), the card comes from a series celebrating key figures of the Age of Discovery. Other explorers featured in the set include Marco Polo, William Dampier, Matthew Flinders, Samuel de Champlain, and more
You’ve probably heard of a numismatist: one who collects coins, or a philatelist: one who collects postage stamps; or at least a bibliophile: a lover and collector of books. People collect all sorts of things — mollusc shells, postcards, tokens, matchbox labels, receipts, fossils, and even teddy bears. Among these curious collectors is a special kind known as cartophilists — collectors of cards (and in our context – cigarette cards).
Cigarette Cards? What’s That?
Let’s dig into a bit of history.
Cigarette cards are trading cards originally issued by tobacco manufacturers to stiffen cigarette packaging. Their origins go back to the late 19th century America, when blank cards known as stiffeners were placed in soft paper packets to prevent cigarettes from being crushed or bent. Soon enough, the idea, of using these cards for advertising by printing pictures and text on them to promote brands, lit up!
Early cards featured sepia photographs or woodburytypes of popular actresses, politicians, and other celebrities. The size of each card was dictated by the cigarette packet it accompanied. Some of the earliest examples were even printed on silk attached to paper backings (which was later discontinued to save paper, post WWII). Occasionally, card-like coupons with special offers were included as well.
For many, these cards became a window to the world, offering glimpses of distant countries, exotic animals, soldiers, medals, and cultures. At that time, cigarette cards carried knowledge and imagery on countless subjects to millions of people. Today, these cards can be (and they are) studied as pieces of historical archives – for example, sports and military historians still study them for details on uniform design and historical accuracy.
Lighting Up the Market
Cigarette cards first appeared in the United States when the tobacco company Allen & Ginter began issuing them as early as 1879, featuring actresses, baseball players, Native American chiefs, boxers, national flags, and wild animals — some of the earliest examples ever made. Other companies, such as Goodwin & Co., soon followed, and the trend spread from the U.S. to the United Kingdom and beyond.
In 1888, W.D. & H.O. Wills became the first British manufacturer to include cards for advertising, and its “Kings & Queens” set of 1897 was the first to feature short notes on the back, offering background information about each monarch. Around 1900, other firms like John Player & Sons and Ogden’s Cigarettes released their own sets, covering a wide range of subjects — weapons, transport, racehorses, and sportsmen.
The Golden Age of Cigarette Cards
By the early 1900s, cigarette cards had gained an almost fanatical following. Over 300 manufacturers issued thousands of themed, full-colour sets — typically 25 to 50 cards each — designed to attract collectors and build brand loyalty. Production halted in 1917 due to World War I material shortages but resumed in 1922, ushering in the Golden Age of cigarette cards during the 1920s and 1930s. These sets covered every imaginable topic — from nature and geography to art and aviation — and reflected the era’s moods and anxieties. On the eve of World War II, cards like “Air Raid Precautions” appeared, while others depicting aircraft specifications were banned for security reasons. In 1940, the British government prohibited cigarette cards entirely, calling them “a waste of vital raw materials,” and post-war rationing ensured that their golden age would never return.
In the early days, the only way to collect cigarette cards was by pulling them from tobacco packets or swapping them with friends. Some vintage postcards even depict humorous scenes of eager collectors pestering others for their cards. The first known cigarette card dealer was Mr. G. A. Johnson of Netherton, Wishaw (North Lanarkshire, Scotland), who issued a four-page sales list in 1916, labelled “Number 6” — though issues 1–5 have never been found. A decade later, in 1927, Mr. Bagnall founded the British Cigarette Card Company, soon renamed The London Cigarette Card Company to avoid confusion with The British Cigarette Company. Its first Catalogue of Prices appeared in 1929, followed by a magazine called Cigarette Card News in 1933 — a publication that still exists today under the name Card Collectors News. Around the same time, organized collecting took root: the Dublin Cigarette Card Club was founded in 1933, followed two years later by The Cameric Cigarette Card Club in London, established by Derek Campbell Burnett and Arthur Eric Cherry. Their first annual general meeting was held on October 8, 1938, and that same year, the Cartophilic Society of The Great Britain was formed.
Legacy
The passion for collecting grew so immense that some individuals built collections of astonishing scale. The largest ever assembled belonged to Edward Wharton-Tigar, whose vast holdings were bequeathed to the British Museum after his death in 1995, and are recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest collection. Among individual cards, none is more famous — or valuable — than the T206 Honus Wagner card, featuring one of the greatest baseball players of the early 20th century. This card has repeatedly shattered auction records, selling in 2016 for $3,120,000. Ironically, Honus Wagner himself was a non-smoker.
What began as a simple stiffener for cigarette packs became, in time, a pocket-sized chronicle of the world. For collectors and historians alike, these little cards continue to tell stories.
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