Description: It is a little-known fact that local cigar makers produced 100 cigars for each man, woman, and child living in Chicago in 1895. Late nineteenth-century Chicago cigar making was a labor-intensive process involving the city's bustling immigrant workforce, particularly Germans and Bohemians (Czechs). Most of these workers labored from their homes, the equivalent of today’s telecommuting. There they toiled for long hours hand rolling cigars and helped establish Chicago as a tobacco hub during the time (take that North Carolina!). Some of the workers even pooled their money and hired a lector who would read newspapers, books, or even revolutionary political texts aloud to keep the workers engaged during the long, monotonous hours of rolling cigars. This practice helped with morale and also spurred political and social awareness among the working class, many of whom were involved in labor movements such as the 1886 Haymarket Square riot. Enter the Spaulding & Merrick Tobacco Company, located near modern-day 103 E. Lower Wacker Drive in Chicago’s Loop. Founded in 1864, Spaulding specialized in chewing, pipe, and rolled cigarette tobaccos, not cigars, and purchased thousands of “hogsheads” or barrels of Southern tobacco. Under names such as Plow Boy and Sweet Burley, Spaulding & Merrick sold prodigious amounts of tobacco throughout the latter part of the century and even issued some of the earliest cabinet trade cards showing boxers, actors, animals, Native Americans, and Chicago Colts (Cubs) and White Sox baseball players. The few that survive sell well (see last photograph) such as a 1910 White Sox player for almost $2000 (card is not included in this offer). The company was purchased by the American Tobacco Company monopoly in 1911 and Spaulding and Merrick brands like Sweet Burley disappeared by 1925. That makes this box a true antique. Manufactured and packed in Chicago well before 1925, this is an excellent example of a Burley tobacco product grown in Kentucky and Tennessee. The air-cured Burley had become a popular tobacco type by the late nineteenth century for its mildness and adaptability to flavoring. Mostly used as chewing and rolled cigarette tobacco, it was suitable for sweetening variants like "Sweet Burley,” which contained added sugar like breakfast cereals. The brand was especially popular in the American Midwest, in cities like St. Louis and Cincinnati. This tin metal box measures 6 x 3.5 x 2.25 inches (15.5 x 9.5 x 6 cm). It is of solid construction with the snap-off top lid still connected to the rest of the box. The paint is colorful and highly visible, with just the right patina of corrosion. Looks its age. Perfect for a tobacco or tin box or container collection. A great place to put change or buttons or hide that something “special” from prying eyes. Shipped carefully packed. Check out our other tin collectibles at www.ebay.com/str/agitpropshoppe GH112013
Price: 29.87 USD
Location: Michigan
End Time: 2024-10-13T19:30:24.000Z
Shipping Cost: 8.99 USD
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Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Brand: Spaulding & Merrick Tobacco Company
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
