Mecca Cigarette Cards
Circa 1910-12, Mecca Cigarettes gave away cards as premiums in its "Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter Series." The reverse sides included short biographies and fight records.
During this same period, the Hassan Tobacco Company also gave away similar boxer cards, in addition to those depicting lighthouses, explorers, cowboys, and so on.
Mecca and Hassan cigarettes were two different brand names, but they were both made in New York at Factory No. 649, 1st District (as their cards say), so they were undoubtedly made by the same company. Hassan claimed to be "the largest selling brand of cigarettes in America."
Boxer cards were also issued by other companies, such as Leaf in 1948 and Topps in 1951.
Provided below are some of the boxer examples from both Hassan and Mecca. Many of the cards with numbers on them are Hassans.
Click on image for larger version.
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