The Language of Flowers – Cigarette Cards from the 1920s, Digital Downloads 1

I love vintage cigarette cards, and have written about them here on our blog previously. I really enjoy the illustrations on the cards and their miniature size. I also love the variety!

I’ve mentioned in previous articles that cigarette cards date back to 1875 in the U.S. The cards were used as advertising and to help stiffen the package of cigarettes. The cards were usually created in sets of 25 or 50 cards, although some sets of 100 cards were also produced. The themes of the cards vary quite a bit – from celebrities to sports figures, nature, historical events, military heroes and uniforms, royalty, and so much more. 

Cigarette cards are collectible, and some are very valuable. I love finding new cigarette cards to add to my collections.

With Spring in the air and Summer approaching, here is a collection of cards with a floral theme from around the 1920s. This collection is called “Floral Beauties and the Language of Flowers”. Each card shows a particular flower along with the meaning of that flower. The cards were produced by the W. Duke & Sons Co. and were packaged inside Duke cigarettes.

Each card in this series of 50 has the same card back, as shown here.

Because these cards are now in the public domain, go ahead and save these digital images and feel free to use them in your scrapbooks, journals, and other altered art or collage work – either in digital format or print them and use the printed copies. I think these cards would make delightful plant markers for your flower gardens, too!

If you’d like more cigarette cards, make sure to visit our Free Downloads section here on our blog.

Floral Beauties and the Language of Flowers

To view each card below individually, just click on the card. From there, you can save the image for your use.

Here are the meanings of each flower shown above:

Pin it to Pinterest!

Cigarette Cards Available In Our Shop: