I can give a bit of information on the genesis of the card idea from some research I've done on the boxing card side of things:
I don't think the card idea was created by the tobacco companies but was adapted from the popularity of CDVs in the Civil War era and thereafter. It appears that the first commercially produced boxing cards were a series of CDVs offered by Charles DeForest Fredricks under his "Specialite" line. The cards in that series depict famous persons of the day, appear to have been issued pre-1870 (based on the archaic format of copyright information on them that was changed on later issues) and were sold in his gallery in New York City.
The first T boxing cards I can locate are the four N167 offerings.
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