Trading Cards for Girls in the 1960s

Trading Cards for Girls in the 1960s
Where are the Cards Now?

While the guys put Micky Mantle on the spokes of their bicycles, my girlfriends and I collected horses, dogs, cats, flowers, and country scenes.  These were sold at the five and dime in our town in Maryland and have no markings to indicate their manufacturer.  I've searched the Internet and antique stores and never found any of them.  Either they had a very limited distribution or my friends still keep their cards in a shoebox, too.

The trading cards are the size of playing cards and have rounded edges. There were many traditions associated with the cards.   For example, most of us organized them by category, horses first.  Then dogs, cats, flowers, outdoor scenes, and boats.  There were some that looked like miniatures of  the Dutch grand masters, but they may have been made by another company.

The horses above were not the "best," though the one of the mother and foal in the middle was close to the top.  With the same line of thought boys employed when they put baseball cards on spokes, we put our favorite cards on top of the pile, and secured them with a rubber band.  Can you say wrinkled?  This was long before plastic sleeves, of course.

Within each group of cards were the favorites among dogs, cats, flowers, etc.  For example, these terriers were often on top of the dog pile, so to speak, and were often followed by spaniels or setters.

I'm curious about these cards.  Do you have any?  Do you know who produced them?  Though I write mysteries, I cannot fathom the solution for this one.