1899 T488 Murai Brothers DISTINGUISHED PERSONAGES -Itagaki Taisuke (JAPAN). Issued almost entirely in Japan by Murai Brothers who were the exclusive distributors of cigarettes made by the American Tobacco Co, making the item tough to find in the US. Considered a "Tobacco War" Issue (issued during the time there was a monopoly in US and virtually no Tobacco Cards were distributed in the USA, dating from roughly 1891-1908). These cards are really gaining in popularity with US collectors due to their connection to the ATC. Card appears hand-cut in scans but it is not, just has some slight curvature to the card so that is how it scanned. The person on front is identified in the characters on front, not in English, the back has text in both Japanese and English.

Please see scans for condition.

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