Prince Albert Tobacco Tins (12) WITH BOX! Extremely rare!

Prince Albert Tobacco has a lengthy history. It began as the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, in 1875. R.J. was the son of a wealthy Virginia tobacco farmer, but after learning the trade, he had bigger plans. He sold his shares in his father's company and moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to start his own tobacco company. Winston-Salem was the nearest town with railroad access, so it seemed perfect. He purchased an old church, calling it the 'Little Red Factory,' and started to produce tobacco, with seasonal workers. In his first year, he produced nearly 150,000 pounds of tobacco, a hefty amount for a first-time producer. But by the time the 1890s rolled around, R.J. was producing millions of pounds per year. RJR quickly grew to be one of the largest manufacturers and producers of tobacco in the United States. Their Winston-Salem factories were the largest buildings in town, despite fellow tobacco producers moving into the region, as well. By the 1900s, RJR was producing over 35% of the tobacco in the US! In fact, the size of the company doesn't really impress until the later 1900s. In 1907, Prince Albert Tobacco was released and was accompanied by some of the most extensive advertising material to-date, including a huge marquee in New York City's Union Square. The company then introduced Camel cigarettes, their first foray into paper-wrapped tobacco. This was immensely successful. So much French Cigarette Paper and Turkish Tobacco was being imported by RJR that the US Government designated Winston-Salem as an official port of entry into the US - despite the fact that it was 200 miles inland!

Named after King Edward by R.J. himself, the name is a tribute to King Edward's name when he was Prince. The future King decided to use 'Edward' as his royal title so as not to sully or dilute the name of his late father. His mother had intended him to use 'Albert Edward,' but he decided that his father's name should 'stand alone.' He was the most popular King England had known since the 1600s and popular culture was sure to grab hold of his coattails. Thus, Prince Albert tobacco was a valued and exceedingly popular choice during the turn of the century and well into the mid-1900s. In fact, there's even a joke attributed to this very product:

A phone call would commence, usually to a druggist's shop, as they were (oddly) the most common location to purchase tobacco products. “Do you have Prince Albert in a can?” The druggist’s answer, “Yes,” was followed by the young prankster’s response, “Then let him out!” at which point the receiver was hung up and gales of laughter would commence.

The 12 tins themselves are in good shape. Yes, there are some nicks and scratches on a few, but for their age, they look great. However, it's not the tins that are the prize, here. Yes, they're lovely, but they can be found in many places, all over the world. You would be hard-pressed, however, to locate this box. It is original to the tins, meaning that this paper box is over a century old! No, it's not in perfect shape. Most of the seals have come apart, it is even torn in a few places and there are marks from decades of tape being used to hold it together. However, through painstaking effort, I managed to remove the tape and foreign detritus with some patience, showing the graphics below with wonderful detail. This box dates to the roaring 20s, when graphics on retail packaging was coming into their own. Seeing the results of consumer-directed advertising and packaging, it's no surprise that RJR spared no expense when it came to their packaging. The colours are beautiful.

Each tin measures 11 cm x 7.3 cm x 2.5 cm and there are 12 of them, all functional and all clean. A few of them need some 'gentle persuasion' to open, but they all open and close well. The box measures 23 cm x 11.5 cm x 10.8 cm and will be shipped with extreme care and caution.

This wonderful piece of history is one of the last you may ever see. The box and tins would make a wonderful addition to the tobacciana collector!

As always, should you have any questions or comments, I'm very happy to return messages almost immediately.

Thanks for visiting C&K!