collecting cards

Use for cards issued singly or in sets since the 19th century, primarily to be collected, bearing a wide variety of types of images, such as sports figures, movie stars, or flowers. Some may include advertising and thus also be a type of "advertising cards"; some may be included with a product and thus also be a type of "premiums." For cards bearing tradesmen's advertisements, and sometimes a variety of images, produced from the 17th through the 19th century, use "trade cards."