27 Cute and Silly Animal Cigarette Cards From the Early 20th Century

From the mid 19th century to about the 1940s, cigarette cards were a common feature of cigarette packets. They would be published in series (usually 25 or 50), encouraging smokers to buy more from the same brand. The cards featured pictures of anything from animals to celebrities and they often came with tidbits or facts on the opposite side.

Here, below is a cute, silly series featuring animals and well-known phrases (from nursery rhymes to cliches to ad slogans). They are photomechanical reproductions of probably heavily retouched photos-- no date is provided but as one includes the phrase "back up your troubles in your old kit bag," from a song written in 1915, they must date from after that.

(via The Passion of Former Days)