Chase cards go back to at least 1889 with Spaulding & Merrick. Card number 20 in their N384/N386 series of actresses and pugilists is probably a chase card that does not survive, and it definitely is an intentional chase card for their N385 series of animals. If all 24 animals were turned in, the smoker received a watch as advertised on the backs.
They may go back further, but is the first intended chase card I am aware of off the top.
|