In the 1900s, trading cards featuring automobiles and auto racing were rare but historically important, appearing primarily on European promotional and collectible cards rather than organized sport‑card issues. One of the key sources from this decade was the Félix Potin contemporary celebrities series — a massive French set produced around 1908 as part of the company’s chocolate and confectionery promotion. These long cards featured a wide array of subjects, and among them were automobile and racing‑related subjects, including early cars and drivers, reflecting both the novelty of motor vehicles and early public fascination with speed and competition in Europe.
Another important international issue from the period was the 1908 Garfield Tea Syrup New York–Paris Auto Race trade card series, which commemorated one of the era’s most ambitious endurance events and included illustrations of the competing vehicles and crews. These were trade cards for promotion rather than numbered hobby cards, but they remain significant for collectors as early depictions of auto racing on collectible cards. Additionally, British manufacturers such as Ogden’s issued multi‑theme cigarette card series in the 1900s that included automobile subjects as part of broader transportation or speed‑themed groups, further marking early motorsport imagery in the hobby. Because organized racing card sets wouldn’t become common until later decades, collector interest in the 1900s today often focuses on these rarities and international inserts that touch on automotive competition and culture.