Elizabeth Oakes Smith as featured in the Mogul Cigarette Card "Toast" Series, 1910
In the Winter of 2002 we received a visit from a collectibles dealer by the name of Nikk Salata. He was currently trying to sell this Mogul cigarette card on EBay.com, and wrote to thank us for the information on Oakes Smith. The first bid was set at $4.00.
In an email to me Mr. Salata explained the series in which we find Smith's toast:
"There are a total of 550 cards in the "Toast Series" set. The set is made up of 5 sub sets or groups. Group 5 is called Famous Authors. There are 25 different famous authors and each has five cards with different "Toasts" printed on the front. The image is the same but the wording is different. The tobacco card guide I use for reference just lists the first few words of the different toasts. For Elizabeth Oakes Smith they are as follows: 1) "Charity without ostentation......" 2) "Fortune- the guardian....." 3) " "May we never...." 4)"Memory- may it...." 5)"The two largest....." Collecting these cards is difficult , in that, Mogul cigarettes is a rare brand and finding cards that were issued in 1910 is tough."
What seems especially significant for literary historians is the startling fact that here in 1910, in this popular consumer form, Oakes Smith's name was still being used, her writings still being quoted, long after the work she had done to reform her society had been long forgotten. Many thanks to Mr. Salata for supplying this image. Best of all, there are still four other Oakes Smith Mogul cards to locate!
