Tobacco collection, 1828-1996

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Summary

Creator:
David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Abstract:
The Tobacco Collection contains material assembled by library staff related to the manufacturing, sale, and use of tobacco in the United States, particularly in North Carolina and Virginia. There are also items referring to tobacco cultivation and processing. Printed advertising predominates, but the contents also include items that are not paper products. Typical paper-based items include cigarette and cigar advertising trade cards of W. Duke, Sons & Co., Lorillard, Liggett and Myers, John Player and Sons, and various other American and British companies; tobacco advertisements by Krueger and Brown of N.Y.; and souvenir tobacco albums published by Allen & Ginter. Other forms of advertising in the collection include broadsides, pamphlets, books, leaflets, letters, envelopes, cigar and cigarette boxes and labels, cans, a plate, wrappers, labels, and catalogs. Images include birds, animals, battle scenes, and persons, including a series on "African Types."
Extent:
5.4 Linear Feet
Language:
Material in English and Spanish
Collection ID:
RL.01300

Background

Scope and content:

The Tobacco Collection contains material assembled by the library staff related to the manufacturing, sale, and use of tobacco in the United States, particularly in the South. There are also items concerning its cultivation and processing. Printed advertising predominates, but the contents also include artifacts and cloth items. Typical items include cigarette and cigar advertising trade cards of W. Duke, Sons & Co., Lorillard, Liggett and Myers, John Player and Sons, and various other American and British companies; tobacco advertisements by Krueger and Brown of N.Y.; and souvenir tobacco albums published by Allen & Ginter. There are also many posters, large and small, and printed materials, chiefly pamphlets and leaflets, some addressing tobacco farmers. The contents are primarily domestic, chiefly pertaining to business concerns in North Carolina and Virginia, but items from other countries are also included, and there are some items in Spanish.

The collection contains many advertising posters from the early years of American commercial color printing. Also present are cloth items: small silks, blankets, and rugs that were in use in the period around 1912 as both inserts and premiums. The various series of these cloth materials are listed in Jefferson R. Burdick's The American Card Catalog. Trade cards are present, chiefly in the W. Duke Sons & Co. Papers, as insert cards that were issued not only by the Dukes but also by their competitors. Card depict animals, flags, battle scenes, photographic views, and various persons, including a series on "African Types" from the 1930s. Other forms of advertising in the collection include broadsides, pamphlets, books, leaflets, letters, envelopes, cigar boxes and labels, cans, a plate, wrappers, labels, and catalogs. Pamphlets include an almanac, a smoking guide, a company history, and many other publicities related to tobacco cultivation and manufacturing. One 20th century item found in the collection is a plastic box for Camel cigarettes dated circa 1945-1949, typical of those distributed at Duke football games.

Acquisition information:
The Tobacco Collection is an artificial collection assembled from items acquired by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library from the 1930s to the present.
Processing information:

Processed by Rubenstein Library staff.

Encoded by Paula Jeannet, Feb. 2011 from data prepared by staff.

Updated to include accession 2015-0038 by Alice L. Poffinberger

Additions processed and collection guide edited by Richard Collier, December 2025.

All accessions through 2015-0038 are represented in this finding aid.

Arrangement:

Organized alphatically by company name.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Tobacco collection, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1v951