Planes, trains, boats and cars have long been a favourite subject because they look good in framed sets. To meet this need, transport cards often had adhesive backs and albums, with the description from the back of the card alongside each card’s position, were sold.
  

Actors and actresses have been the subject of cigarette cards from the beginning. Stage actors and actresses were displaced by movie stars as the favoured topic from about 1915 when the American Tobacco  Company issued a series of movie stars. Scores of other series followed, issued by various companies all over the world. Movie star cards reached their peak of popularity in the 1930s. Production ceased during the Second World War and never really recovered.

The first series of cards golf cards was issued in Britain in 1900 by Cope. These depicted golfing scenes rather than actual golfers. A series with photographs of golfers was issued by Ogden in 1901. In 1928, Churchman produced a series of fifty "Famous Golfers" followed in 1931 by another fifty "prominent Golfers".
 

The first card issued for any major sport was a hockey card issued in 1879. However, hockey cards were not widely produced until after the Second World War. Today, they are the fourth most widely collected sports card.
 

The first basketball cards were issued in 1948. They were not a success. Further issues were attempted in the late 1950s and during the 1960s, again, without success. It was not until 1986 that the "Fleer Set", featuring the Michael Jordan rookie card, became poplar. The popularity of baseball cards has continued to rise and they are now very collectable.

The first Australian Rules cigarette cards were issued with Old Judge Cigarettes in 1890. Only one series of eleven cards was issued. Sniders and Abrahams’ Standard Cigarettes issued 16 sets of football cards (totalling almost 800 different cards)  from 1904 until the First World War (1914). WD & HO Wills began issuing football cards in 1905 and continued until 1933. From that year both Hoadleys and Allans began including football cards with their confectionary. Through the 1950s, football cards were issued with Kornies cereals and the Argus newspaper and were sold in Coles stores. From 1963 to 1987, a huge range of cards were issued with Scanlens chewing gum. From 1993, Select Australia began producing football cards for the trading card market.

The most sought after Australian Rules cards are the Sniders and Abrahams 1904-1914 sets and the Kornies cards from the 1950s featuring players such as John Coleman, Bill Hutchison, Hugh Mitchell and the Dick Reynolds.
  

The first recognised American football card, depicting Henry Beecher, was issued in 1887. There are earlier so-called "scraps"; these were paper souvenirs dating back as far as the period immediately after the Civil War. (Bear in mind that, until the early 1880s, Americans played a rugby-style game.) 

Baseball cards are the most popular category of all collectable cards. The first baseball card was issued in 1886. Originally they were collected by adults but, gradually, collecting baseball cards came to seen as a children’s’ pastime. From the 1970s, it has re-emerged as an area for serious adult collectors.

The main factor in determining the value of a sports card is the player on the card. Newer players are a more risky investment. Rookie card prices are extremely volatile and can gain or lose value very quickly as people’s expectations of their future performance changes.

In the mid-19th century, blank cards were used to strengthen paper cigarette packs. Manufacturers soon realised the potential of these cards for advertising. The oldest known advertising card was issued in 1878 with Marquis of Lorne cigarettes distributed by the American News Company in the United States. (The card has a picture of the Marquis who was the Governor-General of Canada. Only one example of this card is know.)

Soon afterwards, some manufacturers began to promote their products by producing cigarette cards with each card having a picture rather than just advertising. The cards formed a set with a common theme to encourage buyers to collect the complete set.

Major manufacturers soon followed. "Tobacco cards", as they were called in America, were introduced by Allen and Ginter in America in 1886. In Britain, W D & H O Wills introduced "cigarette cards" in 1888.

In 1880, James Buchanan Duke had entered the cigarette manufacturing business using newly invented cigarette rolling machines to uncut his competitors. By 1888, his American Tobacco Company had achieved dominance of the American market and Duke attempted to buy up the British market. The thirteen main British manufacturers responded by merging to form the Imperial Tobacco Company. Each of the original companies continued to do its own advertising and marketing. This led to the same cards being produced with different manufacturer’s names on them.