Trade card describes small cards, similar to the visiting cards exchanged in social circles, that businesses would distribute to clients and potential customers. Trade cards first became popular at the beginning of the 17th century in London. These functioned as advertising and also as maps, directing the public to merchants' stores, as no formal street address numbering system existed at the time. Visiting card of Johann van Beethoven, Brother of Ludwig van Beethoven Visiting cards first appeared in China in the 15th century, and in Europe in the 17th century. ... The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster which contains Big Ben London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... Generally speaking, advertising is the paid promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas by an identified sponsor. ... A map of the world by Johannes Kepler A map is a simplified depiction of a space, a navigational aid which highlights relations between objects within that space. ...

The trade card is an early example of the modern business card. Some businesses began to create increasingly sophisticated designs, especially with the development of color printing. A few companies specialized in producing stock cards, usually with an image on one side and space on the other side for the business to add its own information. As the designs became more attractive and colorful, collecting trade cards became a popular hobby in the late 19th century, since color images were not yet widely available. Attorney business card 1895 Business cards are shared during formal introductions as a convenience and a memory aid. ... A hobby is a spare-time recreational pursuit. ...

In its original sense, the "trade" in trade card refers to its use by the proprietor of a business to announce his trade, or line of business. By moving into the realm of collecting, trade cards gave rise to the trading card, the meaning now shifting to the exchange or trade of cards by enthusiasts. Some cards, particularly those produced by tobacco companies featuring baseball players, later developed into collectibles and lost their function as a business advertisement. The hobby of collecting consists of acquiring specific items based on a particular interest of the collector. ... A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card which is intended for trading and collecting. ... Species N. glauca N. longiflora N. rustica N. sylvestris N. tabacum Ref: ITIS 30562 as of 2002-08-28 Tobacco () is a broad-leafed plant of the nightshade family, indigenous to North and South America, whose dried and cured leaves are often smoked (see tobacco smoking) in the form of... A view of the playing field at Busch Stadium in St. ... A collectible (or collectable) is a manufactured item designed for people to collect. ...